I think MP3's have their place, being extremely portable, I listen to my ipod in the car all the time, however I agree that it has lowered the standards of this generation as far as the way music is reproduced.
That is really one reason I am dissapointed about sacd and dvd-audio, or should I say, the lack of studio support. These mediums sound fantastic and if it wasn't for their paranoia and infighting it could have shown a generation how good music could sound when done right, instead it is a niche market. Oh well.