Anyone recommend a good, safe MP3 web site

[indysmith]

MP3 isn't progress! Just because it is 'something big' does not make it progress!
It is a step backward in the quality stakes. True, the accessibility and ability to distribute MP3s is a massive leap forward, but it's a leap that could have been leapt with any lossless format, thus retaining the quality.

[noodleplugerine]

Agreed - If it had been Ogg Vorbis or some other format it would have been better - But that's not the way it turned out, and as such we should support MP3s so much that developers are helped to improve it, and to work on the next phenomenon.

The fact that you're not advocating Minidisks etc, shows that you're not all about the quality - And that you agree that accessibility practicality is a factor aswell, CD is not the best quality, nor is it the most practical - But MP3 is certainly the most practical, but surely not the greatest quality.

MP3 is not a step in the wrong direction - Its just a step into ANOTHER direction, yes its worse quality, but its so damn practical that personally I don't give a damn. My CD walkman sounds no better than my MP3 player - Nor does my tape recorder sound any better than my phone - But I know that when I get home I can whip out a CD into my big hi fi system and play music at quality where practicality is not an issue.

[indysmith]

Obviously there is a balance between quality and practicality to be achieved (or we'd all be lugging around multi thousand pound turntables and phono preamps and power amps on the bus :P ) MP3s are very small files - much smaller than lossless files, and since they're a string of ones and zeros they can fit in anybody's pocket.
I'm just worried about MP3 becoming the STANDARD, as CD is (was?) for the last 20 years, and Vinyl was for the last god knows how long. Hopefully progress will come, and quality will be resurrected.
If you look at previous trends and timescales, all new 'standards' of music have lasted decades (not months or years - hopefully MP3 will nosedive as lazerdisc, minidisc etc. did). Another thing to consider is that the progress from Vinyl -> CD -> MP3 all represent a push towards greater practicality and less emphasis on quality. I just hope that this does not continue as the the large companies realize the majority of people don't notice the difference between MP3 and good quality audio through their phones speakers or their shitety iBud earphones.
I'm simply worried about how long it will be before we WON'T BE ABLE to get an album in good quality any more. There are already emerging a few CDs that arent available on vinyl, will we next have MP3s not available on CD?...

[indysmith]

http://www.news.com/Rocker-Lou-Reed-takes-aim-at-new-technology/2100-1027_3-6234344.html
I just read this posted on another forum i frequent. Not really saying anything that hasn't already been said but interesting, nonetheless