For badly scratched CDs, I use Matshita CR-177 and Audiograbber. If I have failed with my drives (Toshiba & Philips) and with the Plextor of my friend, I use Matshita. It is a generic 24X CD-ROM and has never failed to rip so far - no need to use the analog mode.
It even rips some protected CDs (by EMI). Too bad it is a slimline CD.