Why MP3 is not your solution
One solution you have considered is ripping your entire CD collection to MP3, and for some people this works fine. But this does not work for you because:

First, you do not have either the time or the patience to spend literally months ripping your entire CD collection to MP3 format.

Second, even if you did have time to do all that ripping, you've just made an exact duplicate of your existing music collection in an INFERIOR sound format!

MP3 might be fine for the gym or on the road, but if you are really going to listen to your music, MP3 quality sound just doesn't cut it.