Having just recently become part of the internet P2P/Torrent universe, I agree with JJJ, a CD by a band you like has more to offer than just the download from i-tunes. I have downloaded 4 complete rare albums from the i-tunes+ catalog replacing some old albums I lost in a fire 7 years ago. I really like the idea of acquiring music simply by logging in and selecting what you like, and the catalog of music is getting larger every week. However,,,I truly wish that i-tunes offered me the full WAV format too, I don't have an i-pod and only listen to my music on my surround system, in fact I use my computer to edit etc. but then I burn a disc in WAV format when I want to listen to it. There is a dramatic difference in quality from MP3/AAC format and a regular CD that you've bought or a FLAC/WAV file you've downloaded. If all you listen to are ear-buds/headphones then maybe it's not so noticeable, but when I do a direct comparison the compressed versions are lacking in the frequency response in many areas. My whole career in music has been to attain the best reproduction possible within reason and I feel that we are losing some of the quality by offering diluted versions without the option of the full frequency that we should have access to from i-tunes etc.
Oh, and Sarah, when I find an album I Really Like,,,I buy the CD. Last year CD sales represented about 80% of the total music sales, people still like having the product in their hand more than on their HD. I'm not sure what the figures are this year, maybe they have lost more ground, I'll look into it and see what I can find out. Finally, out of every $10.00 from a CD sale, the artist/band only get around $1.70,,,and that is just Wrong! Because of the versatility/convenience of downloading music, I've discovered many new bands and have purchased about 40 CD's over the last 6 months, that I would never have bought without checking them out online first.
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