I'm a big fan of the elipse... I gotta say.
So back to Spotify, there are 100's of bands I would never give a listen to if I had to "buy" their albums. For example, Diarrhea Planet, god awful name... generally would immediately write them off immediately. Thanks to the power of Spotify, I listened to the record, enjoyed it and will therefore pay money to see them. If I didn't have Spotify, they wouldn't have ever receive a dime from me.
How should one be exposed to new music if they're not using a streaming service? This isn't 1994 or even 2004. Oink from way back in the day, waffles.fm, what.cd aren't even worth using anymore.
Also, FlAC or 320kbs >>> DAC sounds pretty darn amazing. If you have a piece of shit system, your vinyl and your mp3s are going to sound like crap.