I prefer the zune. If people could let go of some of some of the hype surrounding ipods/apple products, they'd like this a lot. If you dont care about watching video from the device, 4/8gb model will be fine.
Things that youll need to get use to with Zune - the different interface to load music (probably the only thing I prefer from the IPod). And if you used an ipod for a long time, this doesnt have the same circle motion pad. But even monkeys can learn simple tasks. You're smarter than a monkey, right? Hahaha... of course you are.