*I've not read every response. So, forgive me if I duplicated someone. Nor am I trying to pick a fight with anyone's post.
If there are any Eddie and the Cruisers fans - Bed sheets vs Fine Linens.
or Fine Dining vs Fast Food.
You would use 96 if you were making a timeless masterpiece. Most of us make b-sides for a one hit wonder's 3rd single, and 48 is fine.
Even if you mixdown the 96 to make your radio edit, you still are better off having started with the better source code.
The argument for or against one or the other is basically the same as vinyl vs cd (or now vs mp3). If you truly feel that vinyl is king and it sounds "so much better", you need 96 - more is better.
But if you are listening to music on your iPod at 128kbps with $10 earbuds... I spent too much time typing a response.