First let me say that it is admirable to see you admit to a felony in a public forum; at least your honest. If only murders and drug runners (I do not concider pot a drug) would take lessons from you.
Anyway, to answer your question (I have put a lot of thought into this subject) the only difference I can think of is in the reflective properties of the media used. A cdr 'designed' for music may have better attributes in regards to light refractivity, whereas data cds don't care...they just want to convey this is a 1 or a 0. Same concept as cd mats, or the green pen you can color your cds with which are suppose to help the laser read the pits. The theory (IMO) is valid, but weather or not data cdrs and music cdrs sound different is subjective, and I'm sure would be slight. If you are that worried about sound degredation, buy the cd, as those are stamped and not burned.
Matt
Anyway, to answer your question (I have put a lot of thought into this subject) the only difference I can think of is in the reflective properties of the media used. A cdr 'designed' for music may have better attributes in regards to light refractivity, whereas data cds don't care...they just want to convey this is a 1 or a 0. Same concept as cd mats, or the green pen you can color your cds with which are suppose to help the laser read the pits. The theory (IMO) is valid, but weather or not data cdrs and music cdrs sound different is subjective, and I'm sure would be slight. If you are that worried about sound degredation, buy the cd, as those are stamped and not burned.
Matt