Ok, let's see...
Lesson #1:
MP3 = shite. An MP3 is a compressed LOSSY data format, one which only retains approximately 10-15% of the original audio source. Some people might say "Oh, I can't tell the difference." To that I say, get your ears checked. If you do an audio spectral analysis of an MP3 track vs. a WAV file, you'll see that an MP3 drops off the spectrum at about 14,000 khz. The human ear can hear up to 22,000 khz. That's a ton of audio loss.
One way this has been corrected through audio technology is through LOSSLESS formats. The most well-known is WAV, though the files are huge. Over the past couple years, a few new compressed LOSSLESS formats showed up on the scene, namely SHN (Shorten), FLAC and APE. They're still much, much larger than MP3s, but there is no loss of audio quality. No one should trade or purchase anything with an MP3 source; what's the point? It's not good quality and thus, you are getting ripped off. Period.
The only way to burn audio-to-audio CDs is through a program called Exact Audio Copy (EAC) from (where else) Germany. If anyone's actually interested in checking it out and possibly downloading it (free), it can be found at
www.exactaudiocopy.de. A great tutorial and how-to can be found at
http://www.ping.be/satcp/tutorials.htm, aka The Coaster Factory.
There's a lot more to be said in this arena, but this is only lesson #1 and I'm going outside into the 2 degree weather to smoke.
