Beyond listening pleasure, FLAC serves as an archival tool. The Cars’ master tapes from the late 1970s and 1980s are aging physical artifacts. High-resolution FLAC files (24-bit/96kHz or higher) represent a digital clone of those analog moments. For audiophiles and music historians, this is crucial. The 2016 reissue of The Cars (Deluxe Edition) in FLAC format reveals bass lines from Benjamin Orr that were previously buried in the vinyl groove’s noise floor.