by Carrie Brownstein

Today, as NPR Music began our exploration of the past 10 years in music, there were more posts on Monitor Mix than ever before. We rolled out a timeline, a slideshow of MP3 players, put up the latest All Songs Considered show, played some 'N Sync (oh, yes, we did!), shared survey results, and got things started with my essay about how we might go about making sense of the past 10 years.

Most of the comments from readers came from our question of the day: Have The Past Decade's Changes In Technology Made The Music Better?

While many agreed that the increased accessibility and availability of music has been a boon for listeners and fans, there was less enthusiasm for what the MP3 has done for sound.

Chris Seigl wrote:

"You can argue for or against the idea that technology has made music more abundant or accessible, but there can be no argument that the MP3 has absolutely made the music SOUND much worse, and could possibly mark the death of hi-fi stereo. You can not cram 2,000 hours of music onto a device the size of a deck of cards and not expect that a few "details" are going to disappear: things like a crisp high-hat cymbal, a sustained bass note, or a whispered vocal. The MP3 cares not for these details, and the EXPERIENCE of listening to music, really listening, is that much poorer for it."

Jack Worthing added:

"I think improvements in technology have definitely made music better, primarily in the way it has enabled the creation and mass distribution of music for many artists that would previously have gone mostly unheard.

"From a listener's perspective, access to music is much easier and more convenient. I find that I'm exposed to a lot of different kinds of music that I'd probably not have otherwise heard.

"The quality of the sound, however, has taken a big hit."

Others commented on how more is not necessarily better.

Nikki Karam:

"I don't know about making the music itself better, but I would have to concede that making the switch from Discman-user to iPod-user in 2002 or so really changed my listening experience for the worse.

"When I traveled or worked all day with my Discman, I had to pre-select all of my music for the day, and that took some thought and consideration. And listening to the same CD or two all day allowed me to absorb what I was hearing to a much higher degree than I did after getting my iPod.

"At first, being an iPod-user turned me into an overloaded, impatient, attention-depleting monster. The freedom of carrying my entire music collection with me wasn't as liberating as I thought it would be. I became obsessed with shuffling: Even when I was enjoying one song, I would often not even wait until it was over before moving to the next song, just to see what would come up next! The quantity of music ended up totally overwhelming the quality of the experience."

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts with us today. We'll have a lot more to talk about tomorrow, so please check back. And don't forget to send in photos of what your music collection currently looks like.