Hi and welcome dazzling,
The smoothest and best-sounding headphones tend to come from specialty manufacturers who build only headphones, not from brands like B&O or Bose. Here are some excellent brands to consider: Grado, Sennheiser, Koss, Beyer, and AKG.
There are many options: do you want them to be portable and compact, usable with iPods and portable players? Or just for use at home? Good sounding home phones tend to be larger, but there are some models like the Koss SportaPro (or PortaPro) that fold up and work well with portable devices or at home. The latter have very good sound and are a bargain--about $19 to $39, and are comfortable on most users.
Comfort is a huge factor. Our external ears (pinnae) are different shapes and sizes and so are heads, so some headphones may be comfortable on some and feel like a vice on others.
Do you want the headphones to shut out all outside sound, in which case you should look at over-the-ear types that encase your entire ear, or tiny earbuds that you insert into your ear canal.
The best earbud types are made by Shure, Etymotic Research, and Ultimate Ears. Again, fit is crucial. Earbuds shut out most outside sounds but some are much better than others. You may or may not like the feeling of earbuds inserted into your ear canal.
Differences in headphone sound quality tend to diminish fairly rapidly over the $100 mark, however, you may find a particular model that perfectly suits your tonal preferences and is very comfortable. I've used the Grado SR125 at home for years and find them very comfortable on my head.
You'll get more feedback from others on these message boards. Try doing a search as well. We've discussed headphones at various times over the years.
Regards,
