Does wood go bad?

I�m wondering how much the age and quality of wood matters when smoking. I ask because I had a bag of hickory that had a very rich, almost whisky (J.D.) type of smell to it. Very nice. This last bag I bought at wally world really doesn�t have much of a smell raw, but seams to smoke ok.

Does age of wood matter? I know it needs to be seasoned and dry, but is 3-year-old wood better than 10-year-old stuff?

How about quality? Wal-Mart probably doesn�t sell top of the line stuff, but how much does it matter?

Thanks for any input,
Len