Do I have to use iTunes if I buy an iphone?

I'm considering buying an iphone but I don't want to deal with the setbacks of using primarily apple software like itunes. Would I be able to use Windows Media player to sync my music with an iphone?

No. Has to be iTunes.

You have to use itunes but you don't have to buy through it, just sync through it. I use mp3 songs all the time, but I just add them into my itunes list and copy to my iphone, so you can add any of your music into itunes.