After years of fiddling around with freeware converter apps, I finally bit the bullet and bought dBpoweramp reference. It's worth every penny imo. The time savings alone in regards to the configuration needed for most freeware apps is worth it. This just works. Install it and start using it, that's it.
You can convert just about any format to any other format with just a couple of clicks. It's got batch conversion, CD ripper and more.