I despise the earphones that come with the iPod. They simply don't fit my ears correctly and they don't really sound all that great .....
So anyway, I went out to Circuit City and bought the most expensive earbuds they sold - Sony something or other for $59. Mistake. They absolutely sounded like cheap tinny crap. So then I figured maybe I should just get it over with and plunk down the $300 for some Etymotics. But I decided to try one more. Bought some Phillips HE592's for $20 at Target ..... these things sound friggin' fantastic! Great base (for earbuds) and they've got some sort of "reflected-speaker design" that replicates surround sound. So I'm happy for now - at least until I demo a pair of Etymotics.
btw:
How did I live without an iPod?