Internet radio

Why are so many internet stations broadcasting with high bit rates yet the audio quality is so poor? For example I recently came across WQOK AM 1440 in Greenvile SC that is broadcasting at 256bps mp3 yet the quality of it’s stream did not seem very clean. I recorded a song off the station and quickly discovered that the stream is compressed. The same song recorded of WCSY FM (COSY FM) in South Haven that broadcasts at 96bps mp3 sounded far cleaner. A quick test of the dynamic range of both recordings, South City Mifdnight Lady by the Doobie Brothers, showed a big difference in audio quality. WQOK was 10.5 while WCSY was a 13.5. The same song recorded of the actual album with my Linn Sondek is a 14. My question is why compress a signal then broadcast it at a high bit rate when they could broadcast an uncompressed stream at a far lower bit rate that would sound so much better and maybe save the station a few bucks in the process. Am I missing something?