The truth is, the EarPods bundled with Apple devices actually sound a lot better than they used to. Still, if you're serious about your music, those plastic pods can only take you so far. The single best accessory upgrade you can buy for a new media player, smartphone, or tablet is a solid pair of headphones. With so many choices, ranging from $30 cans you can pick up at the local Best Buy, to budget-busting, finely tuned masterpieces, finding the right pair of headphones can be tough. But if you spend the time to pick the right pair, and you take good care of them, your headphones can easily outlive the device that's delivering your music.

The Headphone Advantage

There's an endless selection when it comes to headphone design, but you're basically choosing between padded over-the-ear headphones or snug in-canal earphones. Both have their merits, but for this roundup we're focusing on the over-the-ear and around-the-ear design of traditional headphones.

Generally, headphones are able to reproduce richer low-end, since they have larger drivers than earphones and they don't rely on an in-ear seal to deliver sound. Some listeners also find headphones more comfortable to wear, and easier to put on and take off, than they do earphones. This naturally means that headphones are bulkier, and less suited to the gym. If you prefer the in-ear design, we have separate lists for The Best Earphones and The Best Headphones for Running.

Noise-Canceling

You might try to dismiss the din of the outside world by cranking up the volume, but the best solution for saving your sanity—and your ears—is to invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones, so you can enjoy your audio at much lower volumes.

Active noise-canceling headphones use microphones on the earcups to measure outside noise and adjust the signal to cancel it out. It's an effective technology, but it depends on power for the noise-canceling circuitry to work. For more, have a look at our picks for The Best Noise-Canceling Headphones.

If you just want to block out sound without noise-canceling circuitry, good over-ear headphones will naturally do that to some extent. This is called noise isolation, and it simply works from the earcups forming a good seal over your ears to prevent outside noise from getting in. It's not as effective, but it's less expensive than active noise concellation and doesn't require power.

Wireless Headphones

Wireless headphones can be convenient in any situation where you don't want to deal with dangling cables—like the gym, for example. After years of poor-to-mediocre sound, Bluetooth wireless stereo audio has made great strides in sound quality. While the data signal containing Bluetooth audio is compressed, headphone and earphone manufacturers have found ways to enhance the signal to compensate for its deficiencies in a way that makes them less audible than before. We've included some wireless options here, but if you're really keen on cutting the cord, check out The Best Wireless Headphones.

No matter what type of headphones you want, you can't go wrong with any of the options here. That said, you don't need to spend top dollar for a quality pair of cans. If you're shopping on a budget, take a look at our picks for The Best Headphones Under $50.

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