Maps and MP3 players:

I'm heavily biased towards USGS maps just because anyone can easily print a good topo map for free in that format. Some collegues and I surveyed the options for doing so and wrote up instructions for use by folks in our local outdoor club, but these are applicable anywhere in the U.S.:
http://www.mountaineers.org/foothills/hiking/docs/how_to_print_usgs_maps_for_free.html

I do understand the MP3 distraction issue. I can't recall it ever causing me a problem, as I guess I sort of manage to split my consciousness sufficiently well. I did have an experience 2 years ago of setting up camp and then walking a forest service road uphill a ways in hopes of getting internet connection --- watching the signal strength on my phone screen I sort of tuned out the warning rattle and almost stepped on a snake right in the middle of the road. It wasn't that I was listening to anything, just that my concentration was elsewhere on this easy-to-walk surface.

I will say that even on shorter trips I'll sometimes bring an MP3 player as a sort of "mood changer". In particular I find that the right music can help me easily deal with a long climb that might otherwise feel like a slog. That doesn't mean that I stay disconnected from my surroundings all day (!). My own tendency is to use music or stories for long relatively boring stretches, "long green tunnel" or really barren, viewless terrain.