For ripping i use Exact Audio Copy which you can get from
here and Lame. EAC will rip and encode it'self.
Like AE i use
RazorLame if i want to convert wav's from your HDD.
I recently have been trying dBpowerAMP Music Converter which you can get
here the basic program is free and you can install codecs to increase the file types it can handle.
g
EDIT: Razorlame link added