Instead of letting the record sit on a shelf, Wilco took a radical step: they streamed the entire album for free on their website in late 2001. This led to a massive grassroots spread of the "archivo de descarga" (download file) across early peer-to-peer networks and fan forums.

Modern storefronts offer the album in lossless formats that preserve the intricate production layers.

Today, searching for a "download archive" of this album usually leads to three things:

By the time the album was officially released by Nonesuch Records in 2002, it was already a cult phenomenon. The "download archive" didn't cannibalize sales; it built a dedicated army of fans. Why the Album Matters

Recent anniversaries have seen the release of massive digital archives featuring dozens of unreleased demos and live recordings.