its getting better, i think. Death Magnetic, and the criticism it drew over its mastering, was kind of the peak of the whole loudness wars.
i've been pleased with the sound on a lot of new records. the new pains of being pure at heart is loud but not brick walled loud. the new mmj sounds great, but all their stuff does. a lot of new indie stuff dig on the analog sound, so it might be kind of lo fi, but too me lo fi sounds a hell of a lot better then brick walled.
in terms of remasters that are truly "better", I'd offer up Wilson's 40th anniversary KC remixes/remasters. To my ears they are all absolutely superb. I'd go so far as to call ITCOTKC a revelation. the deluxe edition of the ITCOTKC remaster sets the bar for all rereleases IMO.