is the gold standard for digital music archival. Unlike MP3, which compresses audio by discarding data deemed "less audible" to the human ear, FLAC is lossless. It is a bit-perfect copy of the source. When you listen to a FLAC file, you are hearing exactly what was on the CD, with no degradation in quality.

Regardless of the literal meaning, . It implies "Scene quality, non-standard." When you see "Frank Sinatra My Way EAC FLAC OAN," you are looking at a rip that likely includes:

Sinatra recorded the song on December 30, 1968, at Western Recorders in Los Angeles. In true "Chairman of the Board" fashion, he reportedly nailed the legendary vocal in . Despite its success, Sinatra eventually grew to dislike the song, calling it "self-indulgent". Technical Breakdown: EAC FLAC OAN

is not a normal CD ripper. Developed by Andre Wiethoff in the late 90s, EAC is a forensic tool disguised as a music player. While iTunes or Windows Media Player rip CDs in "burst mode" (reading once and hoping for the best), EAC uses a paranoid, insecure mode of operation.