iPod replacement recommedations?

[H.B. Elkins]

I'm looking to replace a 160 GB iPod Classic. The clickwheel interface
has become a bit cumbersome, and I'm increasingly not a fan of having
to use iTunes to load music onto it. I also have an older iPod Touch
and I like its interface, but again, am not a fan of using iTunes, and
capacity is limited. My collection consists about 99 percent of MP3s
ripped from CDs, with very few digital downloads.

I have an old Android phone with a Micro SD card slot, and a 256 GB
Micro SD card, so it will more than adequately hold my music
collection. But my biggest issues with its native music player are,
when you use the "back" button you go all the way back to the
alphabetical beginning of the entire collection, instead of just back
one level like "back" on the iPod Touch does. And, there's a noticeable
gap between tracks when playing songs that are meant to seamlessly
segue, such as Chicago's "Ballet For A Girl in Buchanan" or a live
album. The iPod handles these perfectly if the CD was ripped in iTunes;
a live album downloaded from one of the MP3 Usenet groups will have
annoying gaps between tracks.

So, I'm looking for something that has an iPod Touch-like interface,
accepts Micro SD cards, and accepts files via drag-and-drop instead of
a proprietary interface like iTunes.

Anyone here have any recommendations?

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