The loudness war has pissed me off for a for years, I put a lot of money into audio equipment, and generally avoid CDs accused of being brick walled. Here is examples of big time albums suffering:
Death Magnetic - Metallica
(Note how the CD version is almost a complete rectangle, instead of a jagged and saw like.)
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Both are good albums, and recorded really well, but the mastering destroyed them.