Yes, "20 bit" is one of many ways recording companies used to (they don't bother much anymore) claim superiority so they could add apparent value and charge more, or encourage you to replace what you already have with something "better".
Most in the trade think that higher sampling rate is more important than longer word length if sound is the issue. Long word lengths are handy when recording because you don't have to watch your levels so carefully.
These days almost all recordings are done at higher resolutions - 24/96 is common and even 24/192 is fairly common. High resolution is maintained through the whole mixing process to the last step where the data is converted (using dithering) to 16 bits and 44.1 kHz for the CD master. All CDs are 16/44.
The only significant quality alternative within the 16/44 format is the relatively rare HDCD. Rare because the encoders are rare and expensive and come from only one source, as far as I know - Pacific Microsonics.
http://www.stereophile.com/news/10674/Short answer: all CD players output 16/44.
