I want to put all of my md collection on my computer, are there any md walkmans/players that have an optical out, or is recording the analog signal the only way?

Quite a few have optical outs... but you'll still get pretty good quality out of the analog line out. Using a male/male cord, plug it in to the Line In on your computer. Drop the Line In level in the Windows mixer (bottom left of the screen) to about 75%, then use any program (Cool Edit Pro is tops) to record.