LW is just a medium with which to d/l files. If the quality is poor it's either bacause the file was poor quality to begin with or something happened during the copying/burning of the files. Check the bitrates of the files before you d/l them. The higher the bitrate the better the quality.
Some programs have a volume leveling(normalizing) feature that can adjust the playback volume of the files. LW doesn't have that feature.
Check out this program called MP3Gain:
http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/
iTunes and iPods have a volume normalizer feature called Sound Check, just go to iTunes Options and enable it, and then go to your iPod's Settings menu and enable it.