I always found MP3s didn’t sound great, even at the higher bitrates. I would always buy a CD over downloading a MP3. I still have a lot of CDs but have them all converted to FLAC now.

Cassettes can sound great with a good tape and good deck to play them. I’ve recently inherited a Nakamichi 480 that was my uncle’s and have given it a good clean and replaced the belts etc. Even though it’s not one of the top model Nakamichi’s it still sounds surprisingly good.