I think this is highly a matter of opinion. (And for the record, I disagree with your statement about quality.) Unless you have some extremely expensive high quality sound system (and a well trained ear!) in the right listening environment (not a car), a .mp3 file with a bit rate of 192 or 256 kbps is
very hard to distinguish from a standard uncompressed wave file. Don't believe me... They have done studies (see below), and in my own personal opinion, at 192 Kbps, I don't notice a signficant difference in
any music I have listened too. Check it out:
http://www.lincomatic.com/mp3/mp3quality.html
http://www.mp3-tech.org/tests/gb/index.html