CD recording quality

Hi all. I would like to hear your comments or experiences with cds that are available locally, wrt sound quality. Is the sound quality of the disc directly related to the price, or are there other factors that influence the price as well. I own a cd bought in Canada, music by a Canadian artist, that has a really bad sound quality. Is it really justifiable that we have to pay almost R200 locally for some cds and then some don't even sound that good? (imports as well) Some discs then again costs twice the amount at some stores. Why is this?