i use EAC with lame

320vbr

LAME with these settings should give perceptual transparency for almost everything (while maintaining a decent bitrate.)

-V 2 --vbr-new

Ogg is the best

for Quality and portability and compressibilty

Hi

If you want something that will work in any player that offers no compression

whatsoever, it's going to be WAV

The downside is, being the largest in terms of file size.

For MP3 Encoders, I like Fraunhofer, but it's not free.

I usually encode mp3s @ 320 Kbs 44100 Khz for CD copies, or 320 48000 Khz,

if I'm making my on mixes.

There are so many out there, I would suggest you listen before you decide.

There's no better, just what sounds best to you.

Good Luck!