I came across this awesome video on how to make your own noise canceling headphones. They're not going to be the earbud kind but pretty good none the less... and for only $20! Basically the guy shows you how to modify some ultra slim shooting earmuffs into headphones. I think they look pretty decent also, but I'm not sure how comfortable they are.
On a side note, you might also want to check out Turn Down the Volume. It's a campaign started by American Speech and Hearing Association in efforts to draw awareness to the potential of hearing loss from listen to your music too loudly with those white ear buds.
Here are some of the educational videos from the Turn Down the Volume campaign.