Klipsch Image X10i: Ideal earphones for the iPod Classic   What
if iTunes never happened?  Apple introduced iTunes on January 9,
2001, but it wasn't that big a deal; world domination took years
to fully develop. I admired the effort, and Apple figured out a
way to get people to pay for downloaded music. That's a good
thing.  My biggest problem with iTunes is that it doesn't sound
as good as a CD or LP, and Apple hasn't even bothered to offer
high-resolution FLAC downloads for those who care about sound
quality. No, Apple instead spearheaded the race to the bottom
for sound quality. Worse yet, you can sometimes buy the CD for
less than the price of the iTunes album; I paid $7.99 for the
new Spoon CD, "Transference," on Amazon.  Why would anyone pay
more for lower-quality sound? Or why does iTunes regularly
charge the same price; downloads should always be a lot cheaper
than physical product, shouldn't they? I guess not; buyers
happily pay a premium for instant gratification. I don't get it.
So I'm left wonder