I have blogged about this before...the trend towards first music listening occurring on portable devices, which are really not hi-fi devices. The de facto standard for initial distribution of much music is now MP3, a lossy compression standard which is way below the standard and resolution at which music is recorded and mixed.
As a result, as this NPR article explains, released recordings have been steadily getting louder, and recording and mixing engineers are making extensive use (way beyond abuse) of compression.
I can tell the difference by listening to various different CDs in my collection bought over the last 10 years. Some of the more modern ones are insanely loud compared to older CDs, but not in a nice way - they sound abrasive and the dynamics are hopelessly compressed. Since I like dynamic range in music, I am not impressed by this, and it deters me from listening to recordings mangled in this way.