I feel like I understand and agree with you guys at least on some level, but it kind of annoys me how people making this argument will never cite any examples I'm familiar with.

So in other words, can you give some examples of recent CDs that sound too "compressed"? I'm pretty sure I get the idea, i.e. less dynamic range, every little sound is really loud, but I want someone to name some specific albums/reissues.

I honestly don't know if it's "compression" or just maxing out of all levels, but Rush's Vapor Trails sounds horrible, which really sucks because it's an amazing album otherwise. I know this one was getting torn to pieces (and still is) by pretty much everyone - it wasn't just audiophiles who couldn't stand how the mixing was handled.

I see talk of compression, no-noise artifacts and many other things frequently when people talk about remasters, and I really don't know exactly what they are. I have yet to hear a remaster that didn't sound like an improvement in sound quality, and I'm not talking just "louder," either.