One of the unsung great things about a bargain CD purchase is you're basically getting a lossless digital version for next to nothing in cost. It's the ultimate in flexibility — you can rip it to any format you prefer. MP3s at anything less than 256 kbps sound terrible to me, and I've got the blind listening test…

I was also one of those kids who discovered The Monkees thanks to MTV, and I'm still a fan to this day. One thing that really blew my mind, though, was learning about a previously unreleased version of the song "Mommy and Daddy". The album version was already probably stepping on a few toes, telling kids to ask what…