Windows Media Player is the... I mean THE absolute garbage choice for 'creating/burning' .mp3s to CD...

You are totally limited by granny MS's rules about quality and numerous other important configurations.
The default 128kbps output file is practically a universal indicator to those who know about p2p that the file was done by someone who had no idea about anything other than what WMP told/forced them to do.
Nobody who cares about what they download selects those files unless there is absolutely no alternative and it is a VERY rare file.

Conversely, the resultant burned CD's - from .mp3s - are terrible- Really bad qualty. Both results are due to deliberate policies within Microsoft.
This is fact. You are SUPPOSED to be severely limited in terms of quality.

I am sorry if my above words are taken to be offensive to some of you, but there must be a time when you start learning that there is a far higher quality life 'outside' of the Microsoft Enforcement Camps.

So there !