Lossy vs lossless
WAV and FLAC are lossless — every sample is preserved. WAV is uncompressed (large files); FLAC compresses losslessly (about half the size). MP3, OGG, AAC, and OPUS are lossy — they discard inaudible detail to produce much smaller files. For listening, MP3 at 192 kbps or OPUS at 128 kbps is transparent for almost everyone. For archiving or further editing, keep FLAC.