For someone with no ties, the Zune is the best choice. Someone who already has an ipod may find that it is excessively difficult to switch from an ipod to a Zune however.
For everyone that bashes the FM radio because "who wants to listen to the same songs over and over" I for one love it because it means when I get to the gym, I don't have to stop listening to the morning show I like- something that I can only listen to on FM. Not to mention the 500 different radio contests every week that are easier to win if you can listen to the radio on the go.
As for the compatibility score- I for one chose the Zune based on compatibility. As someone who had already ripped a few thousand songs to WMA format, Apple could never entice me enough to go through the pain of converting all my files. It is for this reason why I know that current ipod users will continue to be ipod users.
I personally was thrilled when I found the Zune 80- I knew it was the right choice, and that my quest for a good quality WMA compatible player was over. I've considered creative zens and dell jukeboxes, among other various players, and none quite stand up. Not to mention that the software for other players is often sub-par.
The Zune pass is possibly the best thing that's ever happened to digital music. Especially now that you get 10 free song credits with your 14.99/month. I personally have become addicted to downloading music, finding all the songs I've ever wanted, but stopped looking for after I gave up the virus-infested P2P programs.
Of course, since we're talking about being fair, it'd be hypocritical of me to ignore the obvious nuisance with the Zune Marketplace- the Microsoft Points. Forget that they use points instead of straight up cash to mask how much you're paying- but for how albums, songs, and tv shows are priced, and the fact that you can only buy points in increments of 500, it seems like you always have points leftover that aren't enough to use for anything. I think there's a gratification in knowing that I used all the points that I just paid for- they should make the prices uniform, allow you to add however many points you want, or add dumb things like games and backgrounds that you could by for 5-10 points, just to get rid of that excess.
I guess it really comes down to what is the right choice for you- but everyone should do their research- there's a lot of horror stories out there about dying ipods and having to deal with Apple. I'll admit that there are a lot more ipod users, which means a lot more problems- but certain stories, if true, it seems Apple is less than sympathetic when it comes to defective products.
I've made my choice, and I absolutely love the Zune.