AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)

MPEG-4 Advanced Audio Coding — the successor to MP3 and the format of choice for iTunes / Apple Music’s lossy tier, YouTube’s audio track, and most modern Bluetooth-codec implementations. Delivers measurably better quality than MP3 at equivalent bitrates, particularly below 128 kbps.

256 kbps AAC is the de-facto modern streaming-music-lossy standard. Audibly close to CD-quality on most consumer playback systems; clear differences appear primarily through high-resolution monitors.

Played by every audio device on the planet. Higher-quality alternatives: FLAC and ALAC for lossless.