The Biggest Album Release of All Time...

Of course Itunes means mp3 quality only.

I sometimes will buy a .mp3 from Amazon if I like a release well enough to want to own. Then I might go for a CD or higher res copy later if needed/desired.

What U2 has done with this release could be the trend of the future. Its not unlike the old days where one first heard new music they might want to buy on FM radio. As a kid, I bought many 45 RPM releases of stuff I heard first on the radio. Now, you can download your own MP3 and live with that for free on your own terms rather than wait for something to be played by others on the radio. For pop stuff, mp3 can often work out OK, probably better than most radio station sound quality of the past, certainly AM at least.

Some pop MP3s do come close to earbleed territory, but I find that is more a result of the production than the limits of the format itself, though that certainly is a factor as well with a lot of music.

"rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail." - Washington Post

I'm in agreement.

Sgt. Pepper was highly anticipated, and lived up to the hype, to say the least.

Not only is it free to download, it was loaded onto my iPhone without my knowledge. I didn't know about it until this morning when a friend at work mentioned it was downloaded (uploaded??) onto his iPhone. I checked mine and, sure enough, it was there.

Golly, do you suppose that was done to generate misleading release stats?

I guess U2 had to get it, Minkwelder.