I have to disagree. There is a standard for audio quality that is well known in the music industry. While many labels and engineers don't necessarily adhere to that standard, others do and record labels and distributors will reject any submission if its not up to par. Any engineer who has done work for major labels is well aware of these standards and will meet them. Some labels are very strict about audio quality and I admire those labels because they not only believe in delivering an album that has great musical content but quality audio as well. GRP and ZTT are some of those labels.

As an engineer I have worked on all styles of music and no matter what genre or audio format I work within (analog, digital), I strive to give the client the absolute best audio quality possible. Just because I am recording a RAP record doesn't mean the standard for that recording should be any less than that of a Jazz or Pop record. Any engineer who cares about their work will strive to make any recording they do as good as it can possibly be.

I realize many people today record vanity CD's at home each year and sell them at gigs but that doesn't mean the CD quality is any good. I'm personally disappointed when I purchase a CD where the music may be great but the delivery of the musical recording is sub par at best. A great song may be a great song no matter how it is recorded but I still don't want to pay good money for a recording where the artist didn't care enough to make it of decent audio quality.

One of the reasons CD's today sound so horrid is that many people are commanding the helm of a mixing console and recorder that they aren't qualified to mix on. One wouldn't pick up a scalpel and expect to be a Surgeon so why is it one can buy Pro Tools and call themselves and audio engineer?