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I decided to re-rip all of my CDs and I was weighing out the differences between AAC and MP3.  When you rip songs from a CD in iTunes, you can choose what file format you would like the songs to be saved in, and different file formats do have different strengths and weaknesses.  Generally speaking trading off file size for sound quality.

The two (2) most common file types in iTunes are MP3 and AAC, although iTunes also offers Apple Lossless Encoding, AIFF, and WAV.  For the sake of this post I will be focusing on AAC and MP3. AAC was created as an improved performance codec over MP3, and the advanced audio coding (AAC) was promoted as successor to MP3.  These encoded files are higher in quality, but the same could also be said of Microsoft’s Windows Media format, and OGG files, but none are supported as well as good old MP3.  AAC is the native file format for iTunes, however one may not want to use due to this format now being as widely supported.  Just about every OS (including favors of Linux) will play an MP3 file out of the box, however playing AAC files generally requires the end user to download a 3rd party piece of software (Apple’s Mac OS X excluded).

AAC’s file format does have some improvements over MP3, and I have outlined a few of them.

* More frequencies (from 8 to 96 kHz) than MP3 (16 to 48 kHz)
* Up to 48 channels
(MP3 supports up to two channels in MPEG-1 mode and up to 5.1 channels in MPEG-2 mode)
* Higher efficiency and simpler filterbank
* Higher coding efficiency for stationary signals
(AAC uses a blocksize of 1024 or 960 samples, allowing more efficient coding than MP3’s 576 sample blocks)
* Higher coding accuracy for transient signals
(AAC uses a blocksize of 128 or 120 samples, allowing more accurate coding than MP3’s 192 sample blocks)

With all of this being said, why do many people still prefer to use MP3 file formats?  I would have to answer that mainly with the how easy it is create and also from the popularity it had gained from peer-2-peer applications.  The first large peer-2-peer application was Napster which came online in 1999 – 2000.  This gave thousands (if not  millions at the time)  of music fans access to download (illegally) all of their favorite songs and albums from just about every artist.

My Recommendation:

If you have a PC or a Mac, and also have a iPhone or iPod, I would recommend using the AAC file format.  As an end user you can convert the AAC file to a MP3 file if desired, or if you wish to play a particular track on a device that does not support AAC.  In the long run you will be able to store more music, while still obtaining a high quality sound.  Please take a moment to vote on which file type you prefer.

Each week I plan on recommending something that I really like. It could be music, and movie, electronics…something.

These posts will start with SR: to make them easy to differentiate.

So the first post in this section goes to Bob Marley, more specifically the 2 CD set “Gold”

I recommend this set to any Marley fan. It has so many great songs on it.

Here is my favorite song off of the CD. It is the best version of “Concrete Jungle” i have ever heard. Enjoy…

Even after losing Bret their former lead singer, and Kevin their former drummer, this album actually sounds like Fuel…well, sort of.

Like I just said, it sounds like Fuel. But my only complaint is even though Toryn (new vocalist) sounds somewhat like to Bret, I can’t help but listen to these songs and imagine Bret singing them. Perhaps if I get past that I will like the album even more, but the hard part is that Toryn seems to be trying to sound like Bret.

Overall this album is pretty good. It deviates from what I am used to hearing from Fuel, for obvious reasons, but it is still good. It doesn’t feel as over produced as Natural Selection felt, but I don’t think they will ever release an album with songs as good as Shimmer, or Bittersweet, which were off their Sunburn album.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Original Release Date: August 7, 2007

Tracklist:

1. Gone
2. I Should Have Told You
3. Forever
4. Wasted Time
5. Leave the Memories Alone
6. Mess
7. Not This Time
8. Scars in the Making
9. Hanging Round
10. Again
11. Halos of the Son
12. Angels Take a Soul

I’ll get straight to the point with this one…I like it.

I have listened to this album a few times through now and the first thing that came to mind when I got it was they sounded a lot like Chevelle.

Overall this album has some great sounding melodies, and good lyrics. Almost every song has a catchy chorus, which is a good thing because it’s easy to remember the songs that way.

I’m not too sure this is the type of album I will listen to straight through all the time, but it is definately a good modern rock album.

My favorite songs on the album are In a Red Dress And Alone and The Pursuit.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Original Release Date: July 24, 2007

Tracklist:

1. In a Red Dress And Alone
2. Shine Your Cadillac
3. Q (The Best One Of Our Lives)
4. Kiss the Flag
5. My Damsel: A Confession To an Adversary
6. Pin-Up
7. Caught a Lite Sneeze
8. Fear
9. Dear Lucid, Our Time Is Right Now
10. Painted
11. The Pursuit

What do you get when you mix Metallica, Skynard, and 3 Doors Down together? A good album titled Temptation Come My Way…

Up until recently I never even heard of The Showdown. Thanks to Sirius Sattelite Radio I heard one of their singles and decided to give the whole album a listen. And I have to say, it’s pretty good.

This is a very classic rock sounding album. The guitars, the riffs, and the occasional cowbell make this a overall good listen.

Just about every song has a really good guitar solo, plus the fact they did a cover of Carry on Wayward Son made me like them just a little more.

This has turned out to be a really short review, but if you happen to give this album a listen just expect a classic southern rock album that is above average in overall quality.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Original Release Date: February 20, 2007

Tracklist:

1. Fanatics And Whores
2. Head Down
3. Six Feet Under
4. We Die Young
5. Breath Of The Swamp
6. It Drinks From Me
7. Temptation Come My Way
8. Forget My Name
9. Spitting In The Wind
10. I, Victim (Here’s To The Year)
11. Carry On Wayward Son
12. Death Finds Us Breathing

12 Stones – Lie To Me

Hmm, I wonder what section of the store this album is in…Adult Contemporary or Easy listening? Chris, buddy, what have you done?

I listened closely to this album because I was really interested in doing a review. And all I can say is, Wow…I can’t believe I didn’t fall asleep.

Chris Cornell is one of the best vocalists ever, but this album is lacking in so many ways to me. His voice seems higher pitched than normal and very flat sounding compared to anything else I have heard him sing. From a production standpoint this entire album sounds like garbage. At some points it doesn’t even sound like they are using a real drum, and the guitar is also lacking any sort of character.

The first 3 songs started off the album by having a chorus of the track title, repeated about 3 times. Safe and Sound is so soft and slow that it is almost gospel sounding, except for the warbled sounding guitar at the beginning. Another thing I noticed during this song, and continued to notice in later songs, is that he not only sings the lead vocals but it sounds like he is the back up vocals also. She’ll Never Be Your Man started the trend again of the chorus having the song title repeated over and over again. The song Killing Birds is probably the worst vocals I have ever heard from Chris Cornell. He tries to sing too high at some points and sounds like he is almost shrieking. After that comes the cover of Billie Jean. I never could have imagined a cover this slow of the song, but it actually seems to fit the song somewhat. I don’t really have anything to say about the next few songs so I’ll say a bit about Disappearing Act…Am I the only person who has no idea what he is even saying at some points in the song?

I really tried to enjoy this album, but I don’t think I will ever listen to the whole thing again. One or 2 tracks I may listen to on occasion if they come on in shuffle or something, but I’m just not feeling this album at all.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Tracklist:

1. No Such Thing
2. Poison Eye
3. Arms Around Your Love
4. Safe And Sound
5. She’ll Never Be Your Man
6. Ghosts
7. Killing Birds
8. Billie Jean
9. Scar On The Sky
10. Your Soul Today
11. Finally Forever
12. Silence The Voices
13. Disappearing Act
14. You Know My Name

Sophomore slump? No chance…Thank you Scott Weiland for staying sober and releasing one hell of a good album. Of course I can’t forget the band also…

I don’t know where to even start with this review. Libertad is a great Hard Rock album. Their first album Contraband was an huge success in the US selling over 2 million copies and comparing this to their debut I don’t see reaching those numbers again being a problem.

Overall, this album sounds much better from a production standpoint and also lyrically compared their first album. The song She Builds Quick Machines definitely has a classic STP sound to it which I really enjoy still. It has some great guitar solos also. One that sticks out is in their cover of Can’t Get It Out Of My Head. The songs The Last Fight and Gravedancer, although much softer than the rest of the album, seem to fit in perfect giving the entire album a nice flow.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tracklist:

1. Let It Roll
2. She Mine
3. Get Out The Door
4. She Builds Quick Machines
5. The Last Fight
6. Pills, Demons & Etc.
7. American Man
8. Mary Mary
9. Just Sixteen
10. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head
11. For A Brother
12. Spay
13. Gravedancer

In keeping with their normal trend, this album is nothing like any other Silverchair CD you have ever heard. But, I have to admit…I am liking it…

At certain times while listening to this album it wouldn’t be hard to forget that this is even Silverchair except for the fact that Daniel Johns’ voice sounds as good as ever. This album really shows off his vocal ability. Some of the old fans of Silverchair might not like this new album because of the extreme change in overall sound, but I think it is pretty good. Just keep in mind, gone are the days of Frogstomp and the Grunge sound they used to have. This album sounds very experimental, not only in the vocals, but in the instrumental portions also.

This album is very soft. So soft that it’s actually hard for me to put it in the Rock category. But still, it is enjoyable to listen to. I’m not sure if this is the type of album you will listen to over an over again but it is worth of an occasional listen.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Tracklist:

1. Young Modern Station
2. Straight Lines
3. If You Keep Losing Sleep
4. Reflections of a Sound
5. Those Thieving Birds, Pt. 1/Strange Behavior/Those Thieving Birds, Pt. 2
6. Man That Knew Too Much
7. Waiting All Day
8. Mind Reader
9. Low
10. Insomnia
11. All Across the World