Don't conflate compression in general with the aggressive mastering-phase compression of the loudness wars. Some degree of compression is essential to pretty mu

Don't conflate compression in general with the aggressive mastering-phase compression of the loudness wars. Some degree of compression is essential to pretty much any type of audio engineering. Tasteful use of compression is a real art and is an integral part of some of the best studio albums in any genre (except perhaps classical). Compression is essential for vocals except for people who somehow never move their head ever while talking or singing. Compression also makes drums sound amazing--hard, big boomy, Led Zeppelin-style drums don't just naturally sound that way, thats a compressor working its magic.