Or maybe I should have titled this thread "Mastering 101".

I found this video on Youtube:

I liked the way that this guy explains things... at around 7:10 into the video, I couldn't help but laugh when he says this:

"Most people think that mastering is really just about making things loud and in your face. That's not mastering. That's "making things loud and in your face...ing" LOL.

Other excerpts:

"Can you do this yourself? Sure. It's like fixing your own teeth. At the beginning it might be a little dangerous, but, after awhile it gets safer. The question is, do you want to do it yourself? ( shrugs)..."
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"Today, everybody wants their music to be louder than every other song out there. It's not a new thing; back in the days when transfer ( mastering) engineers were cutting records, part of their job was to make the record as loud as possible to cover up any inherent noise. The record companies found out that louder records played louder on the radio, which made people buy those records more than the others, and the race was on. Except today, with digital, it's turned into an insane pissing contest, where loudness is the only factor and absolutely no concentration is put into the sound quality whatsoever..."
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"...A mastering engineer listens to a lot of music. If you want to get into styles, a mastering engineer who specializes in a certain style listens to that style all day long. If he specializes in Hip Hop, he knows what Hip Hop records are supposed to sound like, because that's his stuff.
And you also think that you know what hip hop records are supposed to sound like, because you listen to Jay Z all day long, right? But that's not the same thing, because when you listen to your own music, you won't hear the same problems that an M.E. can, because you're too "in it". Having a second opinion as to the tone of your record can be another good reason to hire an M.E., especially one who is familiar with your style..."
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FWIW

d.