Why do my albums sound better at the end???

Due to the decreased radius of curvature and the increasing distance from the second point of tangency in a conventionally aligned system the physics of the thing would indicate that the inner grooves would be prone to the greatest distortion and would be the hardest to track. In my practical experience this has always been true. Have you tried one of the many excellent alignment gauges on the market?

The speed of your turntable may be off.

My thoughts tend to run in the same direction that SF and Viridian have already voiced.

Out of curiosity though, are you using a record clamp ? What type of platter mat are you using ? Sean
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If your cartridge is properly aligned, then your anti-skate may be mis-calibrated. Consider getting the HFNRR Test Record. It will walk you through many of these issues with your ears as the arbitror.

Herman, sometimes, if you have a TT that comes without an arm, and an arm was installed on it, the pivot-to-spindle distance is not adjusted correctly. Thus, if you used a single-point cartridge alignment guage, you would not know about this. The result would be cart misalignment in areas other than where the alignment guage was set. The way to do this is to consult the arm manual for the proper spindle-to-pivot distance and check it with a ruler. It doesn't have to be very far off to cause problems. Also, use a 2-point cartridge alignment guage for making the most accurate cartridge alignment. The 2-point guage will also show you if the spindle-to-pivot distance is wrong, because you wouldn't be able to get 2-point alignment if it is off.