OK, here it is in a (large) nutshell (there are many ways to skin this cat but I do it this way to keep a backup for cd making, etc.):
1) Insert cd and rip, using EAC (action -> copy image and create cuesheet). EAC pulls metatdata off freedb to populate the cue sheet with correct album, artist info. This produces, in a folder of you choice, two files, a large wav file and an associated small 1-2k file called a cue sheet (text-like file that has track and artist info). Example, AbbeyRoad.wav and AbbeyRoad.cue. I keep these in a folder for safe keeping. I'll get to it in a moment.
2) Download a freeware program called Daemon Manager. It creates a virtual drive (called it drive "M") on your pc. I'll get to it in a moment.
http://www.disk-tools.com/download/daemon3) Using any number of pc front ends like Foobar, I then open that cue file in Foobar and right click on the entire playlist (all 15 songs) and convert to FLAC, individual songs, and store that for use with Squeeze Center, etc. It will automatically have all the metadata inbedded in the FLAC file (via the info from the cue file).
Now that you have 15 FLAC files (individual songs) in a folder called Abbey Road or something, let's get back to the wav and cue sheeets sitting in that original folder (called "music backup" or something).
4)With Daemon manager, right click, find your "fake" virtual drive (it will be the default) and "mount" the cue sheet Abbeyroad.cue. Your pc (and iTunes, etc.) thinks this is a cd inserted into a drive called "M" and will show up in iTunes , ready for import. Use whatever import scheme you wanna use in iTunes (AAC, MP3, etc.). It goes very fast (10-20x) cuz there is no real reading of a disc, just a large file.
Summary: So, now you have AAC lossy files in iTunes, lossless FLAC files in your Squeeze Center library, and only two files (one large wav, one small cue) to clutter up your backup folder, ready for later use if needed. Remember, if you want to use EAC or Nero or something to now burn a cd for car use, just use Daemon Manager to load that cue file and fake the pc and burner into thinking it's a physical disc. The burner will fly (again, no errors, no spinning disc).
I realize this is more steps than some need, but for me it's become a simple process once everything is in place, and produces enough flexibility and backup for me. I used to not do the Foobar convert (separate songs in FLAC) thing and just convert the whole large AbbeyRoad.wav file to FLAC via FLAC 's front end, but then you need TWO versions of the damn cue file (one that points to the FLACC file) and most software front ends have issues with cue files, let alone albuma rtwork, etc.. Squeeze Center and Foobar don't but it's a hassle and very non-conforming.