I think some of you have missed the point. My point was that lo-fi recordings can & will hold an artist back. There are outlets, whether it be a radio station, a podcast or even a Garage Punk Hideout compilation, where a recording will be rejected because the quality is too low. Genre is irrelevant. There are plenty of hi-fidelity Garage Punk records. The Music Machine & Love are perfect examples. They both still have attitude & plenty of soul and I can hear all of the instruments.
Another missed point. I don't necessarly consider home recordings made on a computer as Hi Fidelity either. I record in real studios. I understand not everyone can afford that, but even recordings done in a garage can have a good "room' sound if the microphone's are placed properly. Garage band, & basic versions of pro-tools are good for songwriting purposes and making demo's. But when I'm recording with a full band, I prefer using a good sounding room, not a virtual room.