Anybody still buy their music on CD?Music

[hogger129]

For some reason, digital downloads feel thin and lacking to me. CD sounds better to me. Plus they're cheap - I just picked up three the other day for $10.

Anyone else prefer CD to digital?

FWIW, I'm sure some of you probably also prefer vinyl to CD...

 

[Bigbazz]

CD is digital, it is uncompressed/raw digital audio (WAV/FLAC for example). MP3 is compressed digital audio, compress it down enough and you start to really hear the loss of quality, especially below 192kbs. I do prefer Vinyl to CD though, I don't know why but it seems to fill the room in a different way, only ever listened to old records on Vinyl tho, nothing newer than the 80s.


I haven't bought any music for quite a while, I bought a "Mr Fastfinger" CD last year, but other than that nothing, my problem is that I don't really like any new music, I've become grumpy in my late 20s I think.

 

[Northstar]

I always buy in CD format, the only time I go the download route is if it's not available on CD, is a single, or if a band decides to be a 🤬 and puts a new song on a greatest hits album.

 

[GTMail]

I'm starting to buy older albums on CD. I like them but they're just too big to carry like 15 in your car. So I keep only a couple around unfortunately.

 

[Pupik]

I prefer CD copies. You get to keep it.

That said, I've only downloaded two albums from an online store (there was no CD pressing in either case). I won't count the handful of albums I've downloaded which were released under a Creative Commons licence (no charge).

 

[F1GTR]

Yep, I still buy music on CD, especially considering the fact that they're around the same price as a download from Amazon or whatever. Artists that I really like get bought on vinyl.

 

[edawg456]

Still do to this day. Not as much as I use to but still do.

 

[Slash]

I prefer vinyl for everything, an believe it or not cassette over cd. Mp3s are nice for the portability factor but only if they are higher quality.

 

[Pagey279]

I do buy CD's, mainly because my car only has a CD player and no iPod connectivity. Plus I don't think the CD re-writer on my laptop is working anymore.

I find it more satisfying to see all my CD's on a shelf or bookcase rather than a list of songs on iTunes.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I still buy CD's but these days I spend more money on vinyl or digital downloads. When I do download, I do try download straight from the record label, if possible as it tends to be cheaper and the money goes straight to the label and the bands. Some record labels offer great download services, Quote Unquote Records, for example are the worlds first donation based record label. All of their records are available for a "choose your own price" download. So incentives like make the digital download format worthwhile for me but with that said I do prefer to have physical copies.

 

[Anathema]

Still buy CD's, as the car doesn't have an iPod jack and because I'd rather have the physical product in case something goes wrong (case in point; hard drive #3 for the main computer upstairs - not the laptop, which I use.)

My extensive CD library is getting to be a problem, and I'm soon going to need a 3rd CD stand (one is full of Rush/Dream Theater/U2/Coheed and Cambria, other one is the Queensryche/Judas Priest/Iron Maiden/Metallica/Alan Parsons Project/Steve Vai, and there's a bottom section of the stereo cabinet with my single albums from numerous bands.)

Certain stuff I have was downloaded under the same Creative Commons license mentioned earlier in the thread (Big Gigantic's stuff was all free on their website, and I got stuff from Marillion's website as well.)

 

[braunracing88]

If I want a whole album, I'll buy it on CD. If I want just one song, I'll buy that song off of iTunes.

 

[BobK]

I generally buy whichever's cheaper, the CD or the MP3 album. My tin ear can't distinguish the difference between music from a CD or from a 256Kbps mp3 anyway. Another factor is how bad I want the cover art/booklet. But if the mp3 album is 6.99 and the CD is 15.99, you can be sure which way I'll go.

I find it humorous, though, that Amazon will often have an album that's cheaper in CD form than mp3. In a few cases, if you buy the CD (for the lower price) you also get to download the mp3 version. The logic of that somehow escapes me.

 

[Camaroyenko]

CD's ftw.

I'd have vinyl on everything if they were easier to find and weren't so expensive.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I'd have vinyl on everything if they were easier to find and weren't so expensive.

I wouldn't say vinyl is hard to find. Most cities have a few independent record stores which have huge collections and you can pick up vinyl from many online stores or directly from band/record label online stores. Prices tend to vary quite a bit but I find that buying online can be very cheap. Most record labels sell them from around $12-$20US which I think is pretty reasonable, buying in-store does tend to be a quite a bit more expensive though.

 

[JohneyPixel]

albums are definitely CD only for me, i only caved in once, because i really didn't want to buy second hand CDs

 

[Pupik]

albums are definitely CD only for me, i only caved in once, because i really didn't want to buy second hand CDs

Used CD stores aren't very common in America anymore; in fact, many "independent" music stores have disappeared recently. Usually college towns are the last bastion of these kinds of places; the used-CD stores sprouted up around 1990 or so, grew for about 10 years, and declined since then. More than a few local ones (to me, at least) dealt with stolen goods (when you pay $5 for a disk, this happens) or they just decided to be head shops.

The major record labels didn't like the used-CD market, since they couldn't profit from an additional sale; ironically, easy CD-copying killed off the used disk market. They were admittedly good way to recoup some of your investment on a really-so-so album, and usually an opportunity to "try before you buy".

 

[Skython]

I always buy CD's. You get to have a real copy, there's the excitement (not much of that, but more than when the dog crapped inside) when your CD arrives in the mail, and you get to actually hold it in your hands, and read through the booklet as you listen to the album. For some bands, if you buy a CD, you don't just get the music, you get a booklet with artwork as well, and it's a nice thing to go with the music. I only buy digitally if the album doesn't come in CD format.

 

[disinfected]

At my second job, they just bought two well-equipped new Chevy Sonics for courier service. I was surprised to find out that they don't even put CD players in them anymore.

 

[a6m5]

If I want a whole album, I'll buy it on CD. If I want just one song, I'll buy that song off of iTunes.

Same here. I still buy used CDs, too. Great place to buy used CDs is half.com, I believe still owned by eBay. Great prices & uniformed low shipping.

While I still buy CDs, I buy more & more singles on iTunes. Only exception to this rule's probably Amazon. Once in awhile, they have albums on sale for $2 or something, I usually buy a few.