ipod shuffle - how does one buy songs or albums from the itunes store? I have an account but when I try to buy, the drop-down list doesn't have a 'buy it' on it and is headed only by 'gift a friend'. What am I doing wrong?

This is not specifically related to your iPod shuffle... In the iTunes Store, click ON the price for song. The drop-down list next to the price shows additional options. The main option is to buy the song, which is done by clicking the whole button (where the price is shown).

NOTE: You can also sync songs to iPod that you add to your iTunes library from other sources. For example, if you have physical music CDs, you can import them into iTunes library, and sync to iPod.