It is a relatively new concept, that an album can be available before it is officially released. It is because of changes in technology that this has occurred. In the past before we listened to digital music, you couldn't make an exact copy. It used to be a big deal when a band's live performance was broadcast on the radio, and people would sit there with their radio/cassette players and record the show. Sometimes these tapes would be dubbed/duplicated, with a loss of quality, and traded to friends, so they could also hear the King Biscuit Flour Hour.
Anyway...
The point is that things have changed. The experience of listening to music or watching movies has changed a lot with digital technology. It has given the consumer a lot more freedom, but some people think it has cheapened the whole experience. However, as record stores continue to fail and people buy music from Amazon and iTunes, younger people are not going to know what it was like to await the day a record was released.
If you are clinging to this, that's fine, but you're living in the past, really. The way you are doing things is going to become obsolete and unknown.
At the same time...
The ability to hear the new record for free before it is released may ALSO be a temporary thing. The only reason this is possible is because of the way the record is distributed. It is possible that the record companies will move away from the model they use now.
One way they could do this is to manufacture CD's that are encrypted and release the key on the release date. They might also release the record digitally in advance of the physical release. This would be the easiest thing to do right now, I think.
The point I"m trying to make is that there will be an adjustment made to offset this advance in technology that has worked in the consumer's favor. iTunes is starting to get the message that we don't need to buy digital files, and that we are just trying to be courteous, and they are working to change the way they sell music, to make it more attractive and worthwhile for the consumer.
Things are a little lopsided right now, but someone will figure out a way to fix it.
As far as some of the other arguments above saying that listening in advance is stealing, that just isn't true. It is only stealing if you don't pay. If you buy the CD when it is released, the fact that you had a copy beforehand doesn't seem to me like stealing.
(this thread has great tags)