All you see are 0's and 1's

I finally picked up the Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs vinyl release this weekend [before this purchase, I had been enjoying this album in ill-gotten mp3 format]. It's a quality pressing with good sound and nice gatefold packaging: I assume the artwork and illustrations are the same as included in the CD release.

As happy as I am with the analog copy, I am even more surprised at the sound quality of the mp3 version. I'm not certain of the source of the mp3's [eMusic/iTunes; file sharing, etc], since I got them from a friend; but it is a very high quality rip--as good as any CD. I'm just shocked that the vinyl copy isn't clearly better. It's just slightly different. My new CD/mp3 player [Rega Apollo] probably makes a big difference in mp3 playback; but my experience with the new CDP vs. turntable usually ends up proving vinyl is better [provided it's a good pressing with no warps, etc.]. But I'll admit that the CD - vinyl gap has closed a bit with the CDP upgrade.

Regardless, Mysterious Production of Eggs is a great album, and you should buy it on whatever format you please. But now it's available on vinyl with bigger artwork. Check it out.