A DAC to help overcome compressed music?

Sounds like you’re using a Bluesound player on its own. Adding a DAC will probably make a huge difference as the DAC in the Bluesound is mediocre and maybe lifeless as ones system is more revealing., Lots of options out there and most manufacturers or vendors offer a return policy, so you can try at home and return if you don’t like.

I added a RME ADI 2 fs DAC which is  a very flexible with multiple filters to pick from, EQ and loudness settings so can be fine tuned to one’s preference. I run my RME dead flat with everything set to fix with the sharp filter and in my system find it incredibly revealing, open but with no harshness or fatigue. Some time ago I did add a Teddy Pardo linear power supply which improved the player but even without the LPS it sounded great.

I think you’re really hearing the limitations of the DAC in the Bluesound. Also try a different power cord on the Bluesound as I found it helps a little as well.

There have been more than a few forum threads of folks adding upgraded external DACs to a BlueSound Node2I with success.  

There have been more than a few forum threads of folks adding upgraded external DACs to a BlueSound Node2I with success.

this ^^^^^

op -- search is your friend

I was not specifically looking for a DAC. I was overall looking to improve sound of some favorite music that, as another poster mentioned, was purposely recorded a certain way to sound “good”for lower quality sound systems. Which ends up sounding pretty bad on a better system. That being my quest, if a better DAC would do it, so be it. However, perhaps I should keep another system for that, one of those 80’s receivers, Bose 901 or Cerwin Vega speakers or some such (jk). 

Agree with the other posters here.  If the recording is damaged at the source—badly compressed recording—there isn’t a fix.  The irony, as the OP is discovering, is that as the rest of the system improves, the defects in the recording become more obvious.  I recommend listening to the badly compressed stuff with a $50 Bluetooth speaker because it hides more of the warts and you may enjoy it more