WHat did Audiophiles hear during Tape deck era?

I actually recorded fm stations. I split my cable signal and ran a line into my tuner and got additional state side fm stations. So I would tape Seattle rock and then with my other tape deck I would record the tape I recorded editing out commercials and station announcements or pause tape, record LP song, pause, back to previous recorded tape, hit record. I would make my own various artist tapes to play in my truck, Walkman, and home stereo. A tedious and lengthy process, so was drinking alot of beer on a Saturday. 

To add, I always taped my records when I brought new ones home and had the big brown slotted suitcase full when I travelled, casette was King for awhile in the 70's.