Look into a plugin called "Cyberlink" for Windows Media Player. I think they have an eval version, but if not the plugin is like $15 or something like that. It also downloads song titles and album covers via the 'net, and the performance (at least for me) is excellent. A 45-60 minute CD takes about 2-3 minutes, tops, and about 10-20 seconds prior to the rip to download track titles.

I also rip at 256Kbps (as opposed to the standard 128Kbps), so maybe that's why it takes less time? ? I run a 2.8 gig P4 dual core with an 800 Mhz FSB, and a gig of 800 Mhz dual channel ram, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Still, even on my laptop (which has about half the performance of my desktop and 1/4th the RAM) I can still rip a CD in 4-5 minutes using WMP.