Streaming services like Spotify (320 kbps Ogg Vorbis) and Apple Music (256 kbps AAC) are “lossy” – they discard audio data to save bandwidth. A CD-Rip in FLAC or ALAC is to the original disc. For melodeath with layered guitars and rapid double bass, lossless reveals transients, cymbal decay, and guitar harmonics that lossy codecs smear.
