crazy bitrates?

these are the normal bitrates for cd quality right? 160, 192, 224, 256,320


well what are all these other new ones ? like 238 and 191 awkward rates? are they corrupt or whaT?

Variable bit rate (VBR). Those you listed above are Constant Bit Rate (CBR). Arguably VBR is better because some parts of music don't need the extra bit rate to sound just as good. There is also Average Bit Rate (ABR). Have a look at Difference between CBR, VBR, and ABR? [Archive] - iAudiophile.net Forums and an even better explanation here LAME - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase (see under the Remarks section especially.) Where they argue VBR is best, then ABR, then CBR.

Best bitrate is 320Kbps CBR. Second is V0 (formerly known as AltPreseteXtreme) VBR

Their arguments have to do with size vs. quality, where VBR obviously is better as 320CBR would encode complete silence at 320Kbps.

And CD quality is none of the ones mentioned. 320CBR and V0/APX come close, but the only way to get CD quality is using a lossless codec like FLAC.