Two choices really... iRiver 400 or TDK Mojo 860. The 860 ranks higher on a lot of reviews but I'd still say they're pretty comparable but the 860 is still new and harder to get.
Panasonic does have some sweet 3rd generation CD MP3 players coming soon... browse around Amazon, they have pics. I currently own a Panasonic SL-MP35 with the dotmatrix display I bought overseas. It's available here for $80 and the 3rd gens are the same price, slimmer and undoubtably better. It has FRIGGIN long playtime and the display is quite good. You can view by ID3 artist, album, track title, or by filename or directory name.
Initial boot up time is ok (15 seconds about), but for $80 and gawd knows how much continuous play time... I played it for 14 hours straight and it didn't quit. I once accidentally left it on overnight and listened to it in the afternoon for a couple of hours before batteries died. That's running on 1800maH NiMHs. If the SL-MP80 is anywhere near as good, esp for $70... it's a deal right outta the gates as long as you don't need super thin like the SlimX 400 and Mojo 860.