Ripping Music

[krazeyeyez]

I was wondering if someone more familiar with the tech behind the music could explain in simple terms, what effect Bitrates, sample rates, etc... play on the final outcome of music.

I know there are both non-compressed and lossless modes to rip with, but when size is an issue and the speakers (in my car) well ... suck an Mp3 cuts it, but their are so many options to effect, that i was curious as to what bitrates, sample rates, etc... actually do, so when i feel the need to go the Mp3 route i am getting the most out of it, and just to expand my knowledge in the area.

Google returned stuff that lost me after sentence one, way to tech for me to understand.