As vinyl is an uncompressed format by nature, you'll have what you seek. And plus, you'll win texture. However, you can easily hear the difference between a mp3 and a CD, but it becomes pretty difficult when it comes to digital dematerialized formats, and the reason is translation. Because if you're not pro, you can't burn it right (real music CD are pressed, not burned, burning is full of errors), your computer, even with great sound cards, is not designed for playback, only for making and monitoring (except maybe some really rare cases, but the main reason is the presence of a complex OS in the process, it ca't be good for neutrality). And Digital to Analog Converters are for now difficult things to find, and a dark market. That's why I'm CD only for music (but I use iTunes for songs ^^).
So yeah, a lossless would be a good idea, even if right now it's not really exploitable. Still, mp3 is not a very good quality format... and if your computer have a decent audio output, and you have $100+ headphones, you'll hear a difference. Or at least, be able to. Many people can hear things but don't pay attention to.
As for the vinyl, if I wasn't on the go for a huge trip, I would buy it. Warmth of this media is soooo good. I hope you'll use an incredible art for the cover, full of rust. Like in the old days
