One of the dangers, maybe the primary one, that comes in downloading music from sites like the iTunes Store or Amazon is that one might purchase a re-recorded version of the song you wanted. At first I was mystified why a) re-recordings existed, and b) the services would have them on offer. The obvious answer came to me before too long: there was money to be made, by the artist themselves if they didn’t control the rights to the original, and/or by the company supplying the “updated” version. I was ever the purist over the years I did the bulk of my downloading (roughly 2005-10), wanting the original takes of the 70s and 80s tunes I knew and loved.
I believe I goofed up in downloading a re-recording only once, on country singer Deborah Allen’s single successful foray onto the pop charts (at #26 here, its peak). At the time I was compiling a playlist for the show preceding this one. Once I started playing the song, I quickly realized my error and then just as quickly corrected it. I didn’t listen to the re-do more than once, but my recollection is that it must have been done so many years later that Allen’s voice was past prime: she could no longer nail the “Baby, baby, BA-BY!” before the final return to the chorus.
The Music of My Life 