Mixing/production: old songs vs new songs

I recently started the mammoth project of going through my mp3 collection (I have everything that I own on CD on my computer as mp3 as well) to get the volumes where they're in the same range. Anyone who's ever made a mix cd using old songs and new songs knows just how annoying it is because of the massive differences in volume from song to song. Anyway, I've noticed something that's disturbing (to me anyway). Old songs' waveforms are all over the place, this is good because it means there's a lot of dynamics and articulation in the mix. Now here's a new song's waveform:

That's without any editing whatsoever, it's ripped straight from the CD. I find that just plain SUCKS, and a lot of the new songs are like that. In my waveform editor it clips like crazy: that's bad for your hearing, it's bad for your speakers, and it shows a complete lack of sonic integrity in terms of the final production value of the song. I've noticed on some older songs I have to amplify until it clips then back it off so that it just barely doesn't clip; in order to get the volume to match. Am I wrong in thinking this is entirely the wrong way to go? The music sounds good, I just don't see why they couldn't master the songs lower and just assume people are smart enough to turn the volume up a little.

It is done intentionally, and is referred to as the "loudness wars". Makes the song standout on the radio and your iPod... Take a listen to Metallica's "Death Magnetic" and you will hear it clip all over the place. I agree it sucks...

yup, iceman is right. in this "loudness wars", everything is compressed in the hopes it stands out volume-wise on the radio. dynamic range has been eliminated.

gone are the times of a (random numbers being used) 50db verse, 60 db chorus (to stand out an push the hook) and 45 db bridge / breakdown.

there is no relief from "10 / full on" which tires out ears very quickly... but many people just blast the songs anyway.. with powerful systems and subs, its all about volume

Yeah, such is the loudness war. It's ridiculous and unnecessary if you ask me. I understand compressing tracks to an extent (natural hearing has a sort of compression to it, and compression can make something sound like it's louder when it isn't), but extreme limiting like what happens today is just crazy. Not only do you lose most dynamics in the process, but I've found that many times sonic clarity is also lost. When the drummer hits the kick drum, everything else loses volume and you can't hear the guitars or vocals very well, and I really hate that.