For the "Blogspot scene," VBR was the hallmark of quality. It offered file sizes significantly smaller than lossless formats (like FLAC) but with audio quality indistinguishable from the CD source to most ears. A blog offering a "VBR MP3 collection" was signaling to its audience: We care about audio fidelity, not just dumping files.
If you are looking for free, legally hosted audio collections and live recordings, platforms like the Internet Archive Audio Library host millions of recordings, including live concerts from bands like Wilco and Nirvana , often available in various formats including MP3 and VBR.
The labor of bloggers. Thousands of anonymous bloggers spent hours ripping their personal CD collections, scanning album art, correcting ID3 tags, and uploading files. They did this for free—not for sale. They argued they provided "promotional work" for obscure bands.
Yes, but with nuances. The term in this context usually refers to: