44100hz 16 bit flac would be most efficient, and even here its mostly considered "enough". Its Cd quality so you can find a ton of material in this quality without upscaling. More on reddit.com

Just try it here: http://abx.digitalfeed.net/ More on reddit.com

Watch this instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLFS7T3MmGc TLDW: Analyses the "320kbps" encoded files from the NPR test (which is an ad for Tidal btw) and finds that they are so badly encoded that they're equivalent to 192kbps, which is why it's possible to tell the difference. At 320kbps, nobody call tell the difference in a properly designed blind test, outside of pathological cases where the encoder doesn't work correctly, or deliberately flawed tests like this one. More on reddit.com

For pure listening purposes, that is very probably true, but it does make sense to have the best source material possible before it goes through the wringer of time stretching, eq, summing, effects, limiting, possibly several digital to analog conversions, etc... All this may magnify the imperfections of a lossy file. Also, people may not hear it consciously but they may feel it. In the end, nothing wrong with playing a 320, but if you can get your hand on lossless, I suggest doing so. More on reddit.com