Real music lovers miniaturize entire bands and symphonies and implant them in their cochleal system... This of course denies the rest of the world the music of the best bands, and they'll eventually die in your ear, expand and explode your head, but sacrifices must be made.
Or you could use a naked iPod. Those work too. So I'm told.
I have an iSKin, but I just got HP Tattoos (printable labels) for my iPod cuz I wanted to custominze. Plus, the iSkin is rugged, but adds bulk. I'll probably still use it on trips, but day to day I am going without.
I hear the lint's not so bad after you wash it or baby powder it. Mine's ghost so it's not too noticable but if you're bored at work, run some tape over the skin.
I used the offical iPod case, it came packed in with my 3rd gen 40 gig iPOD. Now I use the iPOD sock. It doesnt offer heavy duty protection but it fits like a glove over my ipod, and is a lot less bulkier than other cases.