Without getting too technical—the classic one has the biggest amount of storage and is physically biggest. The mini and nano come in various colors and have smaller amounts of storage. The shuffle has the least amount of storage and doesn’t have a good screen so you cannot go through your music as easily. There is recently a new mini/nano out. I don’t know which they called it, but if it can be gotten for $150, it is probably what you’re looking for. It can do the extras, but also has a nice screen for doing the music and comes in a lot of bright colors.