One of the things I thoroughly enjoy about being a nameless nobody is that, admitting that my recorded music does sound a bit close to my original idea, I get to keep it like that. 
 
Often, I'll put a limiter on the master fader before I export, raise the overall loudness by a few db's and then call it a day. Sometimes I'll experiment a bit and see just how much damage I could do before reverting to something reasonable.
 
Listening to my favorite artists, people who've been in the business since the 60s and 70s and who've actually put out those records lots of us look up to, I can't imagine that they're happy with the stuff they've been releasing in the last 10-15 years.
 
It's pretty sad to hear them speak of the recording process and how they used nothing but the finest analog gear to really capture that sound - and then you listen to the results and it's completely destroyed. Whether their signal chain was worth $250,000 or $99, once the CD is released, it makes little difference.
 
I often wonder what'd happen if the stuff I write for my wife actually worked out. Honestly, it'd break my heart to hear those songs recuperated and remoulded.
 
At the end of the day, I'm starting to think that, with a bit of work, we the little guys now have a much better chance at having our music recorded and mixed as we hear it in our brain than the major league players... 

that's a good point.  a lot of the stuff release sounds like it's been run thru a conveyer factory and spit out the other side, while indy stuff CAN sound so much better as far as mix and production.

From what I read, a lot of artists don't listen back once something is finished so are spared the clipping

Musicians are like engineers, they will never have a finished product without someone else telling them "That's enough!"

craigb
Musicians are like engineers, they will never have a finished product without someone else telling them "That's enough!"

And then they beg for one more take.

I'll have the finished track for you tomorrow! 

Sure are different times that we live in. 

I think the "little guy" has a better chance than ever to make great recordings. I have been to boards where a song writer was praised all over the place and his/her recording wasn't the best production..in that case, it was the music itself that came through. People enjoyed it. 
 
I don't see all new music done under big production budgets coming off crushed...much of it is pretty good IMO..maybe I need new ears though :) I know what you mean though...a lot of it is the same bland compressed mush.

Rain
 
It's pretty sad to hear them speak of the recording process and how they used nothing but the finest analog gear to really capture that sound - and then you listen to the results and it's completely destroyed. Whether their signal chain was worth $250,000 or $99, once the CD is released, it makes little difference.
 

Yes..Dave Grohl and the 'Sound City' record..