What is the point of downloading "popular music" in MP3 format from P2P? Some musics are so popular that they won?t ever leave the radio stations in my country. If I ever feel like listening to these, all I must do is to hit any FM station around here. Geez, some stations play just those on, and on, and on, forever. Some play only one genre. I got one here that plays Classic Rock only.
Now, for rare pieces, P2P gets handy. Especially if you can?t find those songs on the shopping center next to you. Or anywhere, at all, as a matter of fact, since the original artist is only known in underground scenarios.
As for real Classics, such as Vivaldi, MP3 is LIBERATING. You can shove all 9 Symphonies (ah, you know who I am talking about, don?t you...) in a single MP3 disc, and listen to it in your car until you feel sick. If the original vinil is badly scratched, I just go out and buy the masterized CD version, actually paying twice the Copyright, rip them to MP3, and play it in the car, where accuracy doesn?t matter, since the roar of everyday traffic and screeching tires at 80 mph are in the way. The originals are kept safe at home (from theft, did I mention another country?), and where all the details can be noted on a quality equipment (replace "Quality Equipment" with "7.1-glass-busting-200-watts-RMS-per-channel-home-theater").
A friend of mine was thinking about a CD changer for his car, some 5 years ago, but he never had the cash for it. As MP3 players got popular, he finally got his jukebox on the road, and saved some extra buck for more CDs.