[Blackjack]

You get what you pay for.

For reliability, I've owned a pair of Sonys for well over ten years that originally cost me around $45 and are still going strong - save for the foam around the ear pieces coming away! Hell, it's even got a gold plated line/jack adaptor.

When I'm DJing/sound engineering I use a cheapish pair of HMV 'phones which I "found" in the DJ booth one night - very bassy and cut out the background noise just fine.

If your're just using them for your Discman/MD while you walk around or wait for the bus, buy cheap, nasty ear pieces. Sure, they'll break after a while but I've yet to find a rugged, compact set of 'phones that'll do the job better than the standards. The wires go very quickly so be prepared to replace 'em every so often. Goddamn.