Well, i can tell you that they definitely do degrade... at least if you keep them in weathered condition. I've got cheap brand CDRs that are starting to die out on me right now... mainly with skipping of songs. It has nothing to do with scratches, because there arent' scratches on the CDRs. But i've kept them in my car, and through the summer heats and winter frost, they've degraded. About half of my CDRs that are 2+ years old are giving me problems.