There are many kinds of headphones and depending on what your needs are you have an easier decision on what kind you will actually need. There are five kinds of headphones: earbuds and in ear which stick in your ears, on ear which sit on top of your ears, over ear which cover your ears completely, wireless which are cordless, and finally headsets which add a microphone to the mix.

Earbuds and In Ear Headphones

Earbuds and in ear are great for commuters as the sound is in your ear and does not "leak" out to others around you. The real advantages are that these headphones are very very portable and kind of hidden within your ears. There are however drawbacks to these earbud style headphones. With a small size of headphone you will not have the big soundstage and range of sound that a larger speaker can give you. One of the biggest problems is that since these headphones sit inside your ear and this can be dangerous at large volumes leading to hearing problems in later life.

On Ear Headphones

These on ear type are a great type of headphone around the house. They will give great response and have a big range as well as the possibility of a very large soundstage. The drawback of the on ear headphone style is that since the sound is not blocked by anything much more sound can leak out and people around you can hear the music that you are listening to especially at higher volume.

Over Ear Headphones

Over the ear style are the kind that you are most used to seeing. These headphones cover your entire ear and are the kind that are most often noise cancelling. The sound on these headphones can not be beat and the lack of outside noise and the control of the sound by the manufacturer in making the sound perfect in your ear. The drawback of these headphones is that they are large and when wearing and listening these headphones will mean that you can not hear anyone around you....maybe this is good and maybe not.

Wireless Headphones

Wireless are the headphones that you will use if you want to move around listening to music. With wireless, since they are usually over the ear, there are no limits to how good they sound. Since these headphones need to use wireless RF technology the real drawback is the weight and price.

Headsets

Headsets are on ear with a microphone. Usually these are paired up with a computer and video games so the quality is not expected to be great and often is not. The really great thing about these style of headphones is that you can in fact multitask listening to music until you need to talk on the phone or whatever you are using the microphone for.

Headphones are a great investment for many people. With the cost of speakers being so high and with the proliferation of MP3 players there is a real need for most people to have a great music listening experience by listening to music with one of the sets above.