The other reason, of course, is the Loudness Wars. Older records were not mastered hot to stand out in juke boxes or on the radio, and thus had an actual dynam

The other reason, of course, is the Loudness Wars. Older records were not mastered hot to stand out in juke boxes or on the radio, and thus had an actual dynamic range (instead of everything just being LOUD). Ultimately ended up being higher quality recordings for it, too. Only a few people ask for a high dynamic range nowadays (like Porcupine Tree). Everyone else gets mastered up to 11.