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Here's a test by an audiophile that seems to suggest that encoding AAC at 192kbps in iTunes comes very close to CD quality. I imagine a 256kbps encode from the digital master would put it right there!

http://www.recordstorereview.com/misc/aacmp3.shtml

Most record stores aren't stupid. I happen to own one and I know a lot of other people that do too. In fact, I run a whole web site devoted to finding the good ones.

The reason that record stores are going out of business is two-fold:

1. Product is too expensive and there is very poor availability. It has been like this since CDs came out.
2. People can get everything they want for free.

The result obviously is that no one except true music lovers are willing to buy anything. The blame should be shared equally between the industry for not making a good, affordable product, and the consumer for not appreciating that music is art and costs money. Neither of these has anything to do with record stores being stupid. If anything, the local independent record store has been the only reason that the whole music industry didn't implode in the 70s.

Local stores provide an invaluable "gatekeeper" service which determines what records become classics and what records become popular. All day long, I'm listening to new music and selecting the best stuff for my clients. I'm always learning their taste, and they mine, and I can pull 10 records at any time that I know a particular person will like. It's kind of sad that people don't want this kind of interaction anymore.

Here in San Francisco, Amoeba Records is surviving quite well. With three store locations, they're actually turning a profit while the Best Buy in San Francisco is having problems with their CD sales. In fact, I just came back from shopping the Haight and grabbed a couple of CDs myself at Amoeba. Everytime I walk down the Haight I always stop by Amoeba and grab something new from their used section. (Recently, it's been the Drum & Bass section.)

These reviews pretty much sum up Amoeba records.

Maybe Best Buy can learn some of the tricks that Amoeba does, like maybe lower prices, a good used section, oh! Or maybe unique listening styles rather than top 40 crap!

A hobby of mine:

RecordStoreReview.com

Most have pictures and reviews so you know where to go at a glance.

This is a critical listening test I did for the various formats and bit rates.

Agreed, read my comparison of higher, real world bit rates here: AAC, MP3, OGG, LAME/A

For a real world multi-format test you might check out:

http://www.recordstorereview.com/misc/aacmp3.shtml