If you drop them often then just buy another cheap Panasonic. They are the best value.
If you are going to be especially careful since you now know what happens when they get dropped, splurge and get an iRiver.
CD-mp3 players used to be the best value on the market by a mile but that distinction is shrinking fast. Lots of other options out there for $100 now. Personally I'd never go back to cd-mp3 unless I traveled a lot and needed the extra batter life. The flash players are just too small, too cheap, with too much storage to deal with anything as big as the cd-mp3 players.
I dropped my Panasonic CD player and needless to say it doesn't work anymore. Shopping for a new one is very confusing, I can't find any knowledgeable sales people in Electronic Departments or Electronic Stores. Everything I have looked at is marked MP3 and WMA. I don't download a lot of music but I have burned some CDs. The advantage of having a disc player as well as an MP3 would be great, but I primarily want a CD player. Could someone shed a little light on this subject for me thank you.

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic