mp3? convert to that first? too many options?

Having lived with Komputers since the days of 1.4 and 2.8
modem speeds, I now enjoy USB ports and the EZ life (?)
however
I seem to strike out attempting to copy and reorganized a
music CD to a CDR. I have read about converting to MP3
format (dont even own an mp3 device....) Than I read one
has to have a formatted CD first? So I format one
(somehow, its been several weeks to recover from all this)
and still nada.
Of course I have both WMP and Roxio ez CD5.... and then my
brain says 'all this stuff is not interchangeable' and you
cant jump from system A to B and back to A....

HELP!!!!!

sign me- "Its not easy being Green when you're Grey"