Are high sample rates making your music sound worse?

My 2 cents;

I spent a lot of time using Adobe Audition and evaluating what was the best conversion of my 33/LP album collection to MP3s. I've been doing it now for more than a decade and ended up with Audition capturing at 32-bit/44Khz Windows-compatible wave files. I also edit in 32-bit. When the WAV file is complete, I use LAME to convert directly from the WAV file to MP3 at 128/variable. The result is roughly about 1Mb per minute of MP3 music file(s). I have had multiple people say the MP3s are the best they have ever heard. (from LP) Audition can 'Analyze' the WAV and the resulting MP3, and the resulting dynamic range is usually better than CDs, even though the source is from LPs. With that result, I have not changed my conversion process in more than a decade, as I see no reason to change it. Please don't flame me, maybe it can be done better, this just how I did it with modest gear. (I am not Bill Gates)

I submit you may not have experienced the range of features and options available in Adobe Audition. Adobe purchased Cool Edit 2000, and has made a lot of improvements. (I started with Cool Edit 2000)

Audition's 'Analysis' of LPs before click and pop and other noise reduction says LP dynamic range starts in the 40s for bad ones, and I'll agree with your number of 65 for only the very best. (very rare) I can't recall the last time I saw one that good. They are typically in the 50s. (per Audition)