RTFM, but you're already learning that...

Isn't it easier to just bring the CD to where ever you want to play it?
I
just don't get the concept

One disc, 12 tracks. Twelve discs, 144 tracks and a CD wallet the thickness
of a phone book. My iPod has 7,200 tracks on it.

Sure, I had to load up the tracks from CDs but that's a one-time deal. I
found using an older program called "Audio Catalyst" was very handy at doing
them one after another. I'm sure there are more recent ones. I generally
dislike the way iTunes handles it.

You may want to consider adding an external or other drive to your desktop
computer and use that to hold all the audio tracks. I've always found the
192k bitrate to be about the best balance between space savings and
fidelity. There aren't many tracks where that rate isn't sufficient. And
since I own the CDs I can always re-rip the rare track or two that needs
something higher.