OP asks if the disappearing happens uniformly -- with all recordings.
For me, definitely not. Only with a few LPs and a with a few CDs. In my experience, most recordings and subsequent transfers to media suck; probably because of weak technology, or possibly because the responsible engineers "had other ideas" about how things should sound.
But don't get me wrong -- I still enjoy this hobby, and I still love music. Most often, the disappearing I experience comes in a brief moment as a shocking surprise, and it transfixes me. In those moments I connect with the music, and -- forgive the metaphor -- I become one with the music.