Do you still buy CDs?

[pr_capone]

I ask because I'm currently shopping for a new head unit for my car and noticed that they all still came with CD players.

Personally, I haven't purchased a music CD in over 5 years. With the advent of SD memory, bluetooth compatibility, and just plain being able to plug in an MP3 player via the aux port... it would seem that the CD is a dead technology.

So... do you still buy CDs or do you now purchase/get your music in a digital format.

Also, as a follow up question, if you do get your music digitally... do you still whip out the old CD book when you are in the car?

[-King-]

Still? I never started.

[Demonpenz]

It's nice to have the original album sometimes. Especially when you can really sit down and listen to album from start to finish without flipping around.

[Bugeater]

It's been at least 10 years since I've purchased one. I do still burn them since the factory stereos in both of our cars don't have inputs for mp3 players.

[Discuss Thrower]

Heyo check it, when you with a gurl you gotta ask her if she like da tapes o' da CDs

[Just Passin' By]

I'm a hard copy kind of person, so books, CDs, DVDs and the like are the way I go.

[notorious]

Yes.

Dynamics and SQ blow away the average MP3.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I switched to a digital media player only in ny car a couple years ago... haven't missed not having a CD player for even a second.

[Frosty]

I buy a lot of used CDs as it's usually cheaper than buying the MP3 version of the album (yes, I'm a stick in the mud and buy my music). I put them on my iPod right away though and almost never listen to a CD in the car.

[Pablo]

Rhapsody via blue tooth. Probably four years since I've purchased a CD.

[Deberg_1990]

I honestly cant remember the last time i bought a music CD? Its obviously been years.

[Rain Man]

Cars always seem to be behind the times on music players. When tapes were big, cars came with 8-tracks. When CDs were big, cars came with tape players. Nowadays, all my rental cars seem to have CD players. It seems like that stuff would be easy to change during the production run, but they don't do it.

I actually put a data CD in my computer yesterday. I've had this computer for probably two years and I don't think I'd ever used the CD/DVD drive.

[Baby Lee]

Heck, I still buy vinyl and SACDs for sound quality, though we're nearing the point where artists don't even bother mastering for SQ any more.

I have an Ipod Touch, but it's used for listening while exercising, podcasts, and audiobooks, where SQ isn't much of a concern.

On the specific question of CDs, I usually only purchase or mention them in connection with gift giving/receiving, as they are appropriately priced and sized gifts for exchange that don't generally tax the gift giver in tracking them down.

Collecting has tapered WAAAY off in recent years, probably had about 1300 or so CDs in the mid-late 90s, and only added about 5-7 at most per year since. Probably added more SACDs than CDs, despite them being much harder to find, in the past 5 years or so.

[NewChief]

I'm extremely into music. I went from a massive collection of tapes to a massive collection of CDs to a massive collection of FLAC files to.... Streaming everything. I know the quality isn't as good but the convenience can't be beat for the amount of music I like to sample.

[Frosty]

Cars always seem to be behind the times on music players. When tapes were big, cars came with 8-tracks. When CDs were big, cars came with tape players. Nowadays, all my rental cars seem to have CD players. It seems like that stuff would be easy to change during the production run, but they don't do it.

I actually put a data CD in my computer yesterday. I've had this computer for probably two years and I don't think I'd ever used the CD/DVD drive.

Almost all head units, both stock and aftermarket have USB and/or AUX inputs now, as well as Bluetooth. Most will still have CD players too, for the old-timers.

[KC Jones]

My wife's 2005 Highlander came with a Cd/Cassette deck... That's right in 2005 they thought people still might want to listen to cassette tapes.

[rico]

I still buy CD's and if I want to listen to anything I download from Itunes in my car, I burn them on to blank CD's. I had an Ipod for a while...I freaking hated it.

[Marcellus]

New head unit in my truck doesn't have a CD player and I haven't missed it.

Bluetooth for all my music and its all on my phone anyway and mostly purchased through iTunes.

[NewChief]

And I know that many artists I love hate it, but I can pay for spotify for the price of one CD a month and have access to almost anything I want to listen to anywhere I go.

[Red Dawg]

No. Music is free on a billion file share sites. It's been over 10 years for me.

[Frosty]

My wife's 2005 Highlander came with a Cd/Cassette deck... That's right in 2005 they thought people still might want to listen to cassette tapes.

Both my 2005 Silverado and my wife's 2006 CR-V had both tape and CD in the stock decks. My 2009 Forester has Aux input in the armrest and a tray to hold an iPod so they were adapting, slowly.

I still buy CD's and if I want to listen to anything I download from Itunes in my car, I burn them on to blank CD's. I had an Ipod for a while...I freaking hated it.

I love my iPod Classic. I'd have to carry hundreds of CDs around to have the same music list.

[Deberg_1990]

Heh, my wife found an old case of cassette tapes of mine from the 90s a few weeks ago. I finally threw them out.

[Bugeater]

My wife's 2005 Highlander came with a Cd/Cassette deck... That's right in 2005 they thought people still might want to listen to cassette tapes.
My wife's 04 Camry has a factory 6-disc CD changer...aaaaaand a cassette deck as well.

Must be a Toyota thing.

[NewChief]

Heh, my wife found an old case of cassette tapes of mine from the 90s a few weeks ago. I finally threw them out.

I had hundreds of grateful dead and other jamband live bootleg tapes I'd painstakingly collected through snail mail swaps over the years in college. I'd probably still have them due to the sentimental value if they wouldn't have been in the back of a car of mine that got stolen and burnt.

[notorious]

Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged CD in my old stereo.

Jizz.

[Bugeater]

I will say this much for cassette decks, using the cassette adapter for an MP3 player is better than those fucking FM transmitters if you don't have the inputs.

[Pablo]

And I know that many artists I love hate it, but I can pay for spotify for the price of one CD a month and have access to almost anything I want to listen to anywhere I go.
Yep. It's too convenient to stream everything. There are certain artists I can't listen to on rhapsody and I'll like to occasionally, but oh well.

[notorious]

God, I can't even listen to music on my satellite radio because it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can.

Streaming is horrific.

I wish I didn't care. Sigh.

[TribalElder]

Yes, I buy cd albums occasionally

[Rain Man]

I had hundreds of grateful dead and other jamband live bootleg tapes I'd painstakingly collected through snail mail swaps over the years in college. I'd probably still have them due to the sentimental value if they wouldn't have been in the back of a car of mine that got stolen and burnt.

Did you kill the thief?

[phisherman]

I had hundreds of grateful dead and other jamband live bootleg tapes I'd painstakingly collected through snail mail swaps over the years in college. I'd probably still have them due to the sentimental value if they wouldn't have been in the back of a car of mine that got stolen and burnt.

You want to relive those days? I've STILL got hundreds of Phish and GD tapes, along with many other bands. Maxell XLIIs all the way!

Come to KC, I'll give you tons.

[NewChief]

You want to relive those days? I've STILL got hundreds of Phish and GD tapes, along with many other bands. Maxell XLIIs all the way!

Come to KC, I'll give you tons.

It cracks me up the lengths that I went to back in the day. Rec.music.gdead and rec.music.phish. It was really a beautiful thing to get a new package in the mail from a trade and play those boots for the first time. Or participating in taper trees. Or seeding for a show you and your buddy recorded. Such an awesomely weird subculture. And now to think I can just stream all those shows with the click of a button. It's sort of sad.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Our '07 Highlander has a CD/Cassette deck, and I use the cassette adapter to stream music from Pandora when the demons in the back seat are getting antsy.

I haven't bought a CD in 15 years.

[phisherman]

Once Archive.org went online with thousands of GD shows, I quit trading quickly.

But yes, it was awesome to get new stuff in the mail, still love the tunes!

[TribalElder]

Who used to fall for this scam

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/lastchance/MOre%20livejournal%20pics/BMG-Music-Club.jpg

[notorious]

LMAO

I just remembered the old CD "clubs" that you could join.

"Buy 6 CD's, get 8 free" or whatever the fuck it was.

[Pablo]

Who used to fall for this scam

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/lastchance/MOre%20livejournal%20pics/BMG-Music-Club.jpgThat was me from ten to fourteen years old.

LMAO at the green jelly album I recognize on that flyer.

[notorious]

Who used to fall for this scam



Literally the same second I posted.

Christ, that's scary.

I joined some clubs, and it worked out pretty well to be honest.

[TribalElder]

Literally the same second I posted.

Christ, that's scary.

I joined some clubs, and it worked out pretty well to be honest.

I tried to post another pic earlier and failed then deleted ROFL

[Pablo]

Literally the same second I posted.

Christ, that's scary.

I joined some clubs, and it worked out pretty well to be honest.I bought a shit load of music, and I know I didn't spend much because it was only my birthday and holiday money I was spending.

[pr_capone]

I always signed up for Columbia House CDs when I was a kid. They would send me 7 CDs and essentially made me promise to buy another. I never did. Free CDs all day long.

[Just Passin' By]

LMAO

I just remembered the old CD "clubs" that you could join.

"Buy 6 CD's, get 8 free" or whatever the **** it was.

Sign up

Get the freebies

Buy the cheapest qualifying items you could

Quit immediately

Swap copied versions among friends


rinse
repeat

[Demonpenz]

Those were kick ass days for me. Get 5 albums in the mail. Fucking listen to Belly's feed the tree while playing Mortal Kombat

[Just Passin' By]

One thing that I miss is the 'legal' illegal sites, like Napster. I bet a lot of independent, or small-time, musicians miss them, too. I spent thousands of dollars on music I found on those sites.

[BigMeatballDave]

When Tool's next CD comes out I'll buy it.

The last CD I bought was Disturbed's Asylum.

[notorious]

One thing that I miss is the 'legal' illegal sites, like Napster. I bet a lot of independent, or small-time, musicians miss them, too. I spent thousands of dollars on music I found on those sites.

I downloaded a TON of acoustic rock that is impossible to find today.

Napster was awesome.

[Simply Red]

honestly I bought a Kruder&Dorfmeister double album last year in a record store in downtown Decatur Ga. I was impressed because this older man who'd owned the shop - EVEN knew of the Electronic genre - truly a cool thing. I only bought it to support the record store, impressive he's still somehow making money.

[Simply Red]

here it is*NSFW (http://vimeo.com/69819715)

[Papi]

I downloaded a TON of acoustic rock that is impossible to find today.
Impossible? That seems highly illogical :spock:

[notorious]

Impossible? That seems highly illogical :spock:

http://images.wikia.com/uncyclopedia/images/archive/b/b5/20120914120348!Exploding-head.gif

[Simply Red]

I miss Tower Records at Tower Place + Bennigans. :(

[DaFace]

Can't even remember the last time I bought a CD from a normal retail store. I bought one from a small band in Ireland that I wasn't sure I'd be able to find online two years ago. Aside from that...yeah...no clue.

[Pablo]

Those were kick ass days for me. Get 5 albums in the mail. Fucking listen to Belly's feed the tree while playing Mortal Kombat
It was Korn while playing road rash and crash bandicoot for me.

[NewChief]

honestly I bought a Kruder&Dorfmeister double album last year in a record store in downtown Decatur Ga. I was impressed because this older man who'd owned the shop - EVEN knew of the Electronic genre - truly a cool thing. I only bought it to support the record store, impressive he's still somehow making money.

K&D sessions? That's a good album.

[Jimmya]

It's weird to see people that still use ipods. .. that's kind of old with new phone technology and cloud services.

[Deberg_1990]

This music thread feels naked without a Dane comment.......

[NewChief]

I remember back in the day I was hanging with Kip Winger at CBGB, and we were talking about the future of music between lines of good Peruvian flake... We both saw this shit coming and all you dumb mother****ing one who sucks the peniss didn't see shit. Dumbass pieces of shit.






(You know I got nothing but love for you, Dane)

[Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan]

Yes.

Maybe I'm just a tad paranoid, but I prefer having the back ups. And yes, I could probably burn my own, but why? My car has a CD player, I have a CD player at work, and a lot of the stuff I listen to isn't easily found on-line anyway (either too old or foreign).

This is not to say I haven't downloaded music before and I do put all of my CDs into my iTunes to listen to while I'm writing, but I don't see me dumping my CDs anytime soon.

[Simply Red]

K&D sessions? That's a good album.

yup.

[Just Passin' By]

This music thread feels naked without a Dane comment.......

You assholes stole so much music that the industry is shot to hell.



/Dane

[Pablo]

I remember back in the day I was hanging with Kip Winger at CBGB, and we were talking about the future of music between lines of good Peruvian flake... We both saw this shit coming and all you dumb motherfucking cocksuckers didn't see shit. Dumbass pieces of shit.

LMAO

[MatriculatingHank]

Two Words: FLAC Torrents

[KS Smitty]

I'm so old school that we still have some 8 track tapes and all our "good" music is on original vinyl or cassettes.
Yes, I buy CDs of the music we want to own. Our daughters (digital age) still prefer to buy the CD and put it on their MP3 players so they have a "hard copy" of the music.

[TinyEvel]

I'm over 40. I haven't bought a CD in at least five years.
I use streaming music services mostly. Recently moved and while going through my belongings, I threw away all my cassettes (original 80s my wave and hip hop) but I kep my LPs.

[Eleazar]

Once in a while I'll buy a used one from Amazon "used and new" because they're only a couple of bucks. But then I just import it on my computer and never use it again.

I feel pretty out of it in terms of what new music is out there today, though. If it weren't for XM radio I'd never hear any new music, and I'm often not listening to a new music station when I'm in the car.

[Reaper16]

I download A LOT of albums each year (though Spotify has let me cut back on that number by a significant degree). I still find the money to buy 5-10 CDs a year. I do so for sound quality yes (though I can just d/l FLAC if that's all I cared about), but mostly I do so because I want to give money to artists.

The CDs I tend to buy are from independent artists, often ones who are self-releasing their work.

[sfuria]

Honestly? I just go to pirate bay and check out what I want and if I like it I buy it. I know its cheating, but I hate paying for stuff I end up hating. With pirate bay I get to kinda... check it out before I buy it. Yeah I know, you all are gonna get on your high horse and hate on me for that, but w/e: I just want to know what I'm getting before I buy it. Too often I'm forced to buy stuff without knowing what it's like.

[cosmo20002]

Do you still buy CDs?

Not since interest rates have been so shitty.

[Mojo Rising]

It cracks me up the lengths that I went to back in the day. Rec.music.gdead and rec.music.phish. It was really a beautiful thing to get a new package in the mail from a trade and play those boots for the first time. Or participating in taper trees. Or seeding for a show you and your buddy recorded. Such an awesomely weird subculture. And now to think I can just stream all those shows with the click of a button. It's sort of sad.

I used to use Prodigy to trade tapes. For some reason we would actually snail mail the lists of what we owned to set-up the trade. Then, order via email and then snail mail the tapes with the custom cassette cases (really cool ones were on color paper.)

When I moved from SF I gave away my 300+ tape collection (mostly GD and Phish) to someone who replied to a Craigslist ad that I posted.

I can't get into streaming because when I fly, or drive out of cell range (which is when I usually listen to longer music sessions) I can not access my music. I prefer to use Sirius and then store the mp3 files on my phone.

Every rental car that I have rented recently has a input in. Tape decks are cool because they sound better than an FM modulator to get your music from your phone.

[tk13]

I've found myself buying CD's more often now that Amazon is doing the "buy a CD, get the MP3 album for free" thing. I do like getting a physical album with artwork, liner notes, etc.

[KCUnited]

Most of the stuff I buy is pressed to vinyl but a download code is included with it so you can own it digitally as well. I still buy 5-10 CDs a year though, mostly major label stuff.

[Chieftain58]

Blu Ray Videos is about it

[BlackHelicopters]

Have over 300 cd's now gathering dust. Wish I knew what to do with them.

[MTG#10]

No, haven't bought one for 12 years and never will again. I have been thinking about buying a turntable and all my favorite albums on vinyl though.

[htismaqe]

I've found myself buying CD's more often now that Amazon is doing the "buy a CD, get the MP3 album for free" thing. I do like getting a physical album with artwork, liner notes, etc.

Same here.

I still BUY CDs. I have a fundamental issue with buying a LICENSE to the music. What happens if the provider I use goes out of business or worse? To me, digital ownership isn't actual ownership. I've had this happen with digitally-delivered games and I don't want it to happen with my music.

That being said, I NEVER listen to CDs. I rip them to iTunes and put them in a safe box, in case I ever have a fire.

I also own a Sony USB turntable. We buy tons of old records (my wife uses most of them for her arts and crafts business) and I also rip those to iTunes and then stash them away.

[htismaqe]

There's also the fact that most legal music sources provide their digital music in inferior formats, and usually only 1 format like AAC for iTunes or MP3 for Amazon. Having the CD provides me the opportunity to use lossless codecs for devices that have ample storage space like my PC/iMac and use any number of codecs depending on my system (I use Apple Lossless for my iMac). I can still use the inferior formats for devices where I need to preserve space like my iPhone or MP3 players.

I don't ever have to worry about messing with the original files for conversion to other formats or anything like that. I can rip from the CD anytime I want, in any format I want.

[Strongside]

I bought 2 just the other day. The only reason is because I have Sprint on my phone and Spotify doesn't always work with their shitty internet availability here in KC (ironic that a Global corporation can have the shittiest service in their own hometown, isn't it?). I usually listen to sports radio in the car, but when I'm traveling it's either a CD or Spotify. I don't like to fill my phone up with music, and I'm not about to leave an ipod in my car at all times living in the River Market.

[MahiMike]

I actually put a data CD in my computer yesterday. I've had this computer for probably two years and I don't think I'd ever used the CD/DVD drive.

In the market for a new computer. It was hard to find a computer with a CD player. I turned those things upside down trying to find it.

[MahiMike]

Music wise, I still have a stash of CD's to play in my car but it's rare when I actually buy one. If I go to a concert, I like to get their CD to help out the band.

[htismaqe]

In the market for a new computer. It was hard to find a computer with a CD player. I turned those things upside down trying to find it.

CD drives are going the way of floppy drives.

With digital downloads and the capability of booting from external fixed disks and USB flash, there's really no reason to own one anymore outside of watching movies/listening to music.

[mike_b_284]

i still get a best buy certificate for christmas sometimes. Last time it was for 25 bucks and I got 5 cds. I was surprised how cheap they are. That and at concerts. 6 disc changer in my car otherwise I don't think i would. Nice to load it up before a road trip for the spans of jesus/country radio options.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

I rarely buy CDs, but I do pay for downloads for artists that I feel really deserve the support.

[Omaha]

Who used to fall for this scam

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/lastchance/MOre%20livejournal%20pics/BMG-Music-Club.jpg

I don't think I'd call it a scam, but I did that a lot when I was a kid.

[Omaha]

I buy a ton of music. I have a massive CD collection from when I was younger. I still buy CDs for my favorite bands because I want to complete my collection, but I usually do the deal on Amazon where they send the CD AND add the mp3s to my cloud.

[Radar Chief]

When the Mrs. and I see a band we like we’ll buy their CD but generally rip it to the computer and end up losing track of the CD.

[Eleazar]

In the market for a new computer. It was hard to find a computer with a CD player. I turned those things upside down trying to find it.

USB externals are pretty cheap, and you could buy one and keep it forever.

[Simply Red]

I haven't bought a CD in 15 years.

Marilyn Manson's maybe?

[gblowfish]

I love CDs and encourage you all to buy as many as possible.

[siberian khatru]

Yes, because I grew up with vinyl albums and I enjoy the physical medium of the packaging -- artwork, photography, lyrics, liner notes. To take one example, Roger Dean's paintings enhance listening to Yes music. As a kid I spent hours lying on my bed or sitting on the sofa with headphones on listening to music and studying the album covers. It became a big part of who I am today. As I grow older, my declining eyesight misses the large format of LP sleeves; I squint to read CD packaging. But I still want it and enjoy it.

Steven Wilson, one of my favorite musicians, is a year younger than me and shares a lot of the same sensibilities about music. Here's a 2009 interview he did discussing download culture (a theme he's discussed numerous times and which crops up often in his music):

Can you encapsulate the statement you’re making against “download culture”, of which the iPod is the ultimate symbol?

I’m not trying to say that the iPod is inherently bad. There are some great things about iPods and download culture. The fact that people are arguably listening to more music than ever now, and probably more wide ranging in terms of what they’re listening to than before. And the convenience aspect is wonderful. But what concerned me is that no one was really raising the problems of iPods. There are some really serious issues for me. I can break it down into three basic categories.

Number one, the quality issue. I really wonder if people realize what shit they are listening to when they listen to an MP3. The best analogy I can come up with is the idea that, if you took someone to see a beautiful painting in an Art Gallery, and you stood them in front of the painting so they could see the texture of the paint, the colors coming off the canvas, the power and the depth, of that masterpiece, and then you took them out of the Art Gallery and you showed them a photocopy of the same painting. Now, the thing is, you can still appreciate, even from the photocopy, that it’s a masterpiece. It’s the same with an MP3, you can still appreciate it’s a great piece of music and you can still enjoy it, but the quality of experience is so much lower. So much lower.

What was depressing was reading this week in the British music press that some professor has done a survey and found that young people prefer the sound of MP3s to high-resolution audio. They’ve become accustomed to this rather hollow, metallic, compromised, compressed sound. I can sympathize with that. I still love scratchy old vinyl. I just don’t think there’s any comparison between that and MP3s.

That’s point number one. Point number two is the whole issue of the compromising of the packaging of music. I realize, in some ways, it’s kind of fetishistic thing to associate the presentation of music with the presentation and packaging. But having said that, if something is a beautiful piece of art in terms of its musical content, why shouldn’t it presented as something beautiful in terms of its visual content?

Growing up in the tail end of the vinyl era, I still remember buying albums in beautiful gatefold sleeves with lyric sheets, and pull outs, and inserts, and textures. I miss that. I suppose kids these days don’t care about that, because they’ve never had it. The idea that music is reduced to a few software files is an ugly concept.

The final issue I have with iPods is what you might call the playlist mentality, the jukebox mentality. In my experience, it seems, a lot of people have their iPod on shuffle or they create their own playlists. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that my albums aren’t meant to be listened to in that way. They are created as musical continuums. I put a lot of thought into the idea that someone will listen to my record from beginning to end and I can take them on a kind of musical journey. So, the idea that somebody might program my music in a play list or they might have their iPod on shuffle and hear a track from Insurgentes after a Coldplay track, and then followed by a Britney Spears track, or whatever it is, again is an ugly idea to me.

http://www.popmatters.com/tools/full/71940/

[Simply Red]

i'm still considering turntables for this condo.

[Easy 6]

Yes, i like to have something tangible, not just bits of data that can be lost in an instant.

[htismaqe]

Great interview. He mentioned one of the same things I did - the fidelity of the music. I can tolerate the lower quality on my iPhone, not only because it saves me a TON of storage space but also because it isn't a high fidelity player anyway. It's convenient and great for taking stuff in the car or listening to Judas Priest while I'm mowing the yard.

But there is absolutely no comparison between that and listening to a CD (or a high quality digital copy) on my iMac, through a quality stereo system. It's truly immersive.

He also brings up an EXCELLENT point about playlists that I never even considered. Even though I listen to digital copies exclusively and have 10's of thousands of songs, I have ZERO playlists. I listen to albums, not songs, even in my digital players. I actually have my digital collection organized exactly the way my vinyl and CDs were organized - alphabetically by artist and then by release year.

[NewChief]

In the market for a new computer. It was hard to find a computer with a CD player. I turned those things upside down trying to find it.

I remember when people blasted the Apple Airbook for not having a CDROM drive. Now that seems to be the standard.

[KCUnited]

Growing up in the tail end of the vinyl era, I still remember buying albums in beautiful gatefold sleeves with lyric sheets, and pull outs, and inserts, and textures. I miss that. I suppose kids these days don’t care about that, because they’ve never had it. The idea that music is reduced to a few software files is an ugly concept.

http://www.popmatters.com/tools/full/71940/

This is 100% false. Album art is very much in full effect today. I agree with most everything else, though.

[NewChief]

Great interview. He mentioned one of the same things I did - the fidelity of the music. I can tolerate the lower quality on my iPhone, not only because it saves me a TON of storage space but also because it isn't a high fidelity player anyway. It's convenient and great for taking stuff in the car or listening to Judas Priest while I'm mowing the yard.

But there is absolutely no comparison between that and listening to a CD (or a high quality digital copy) on my iMac, through a quality stereo system. It's truly immersive.

He also brings up an EXCELLENT point about playlists that I never even considered. Even though I listen to digital copies exclusively and have 10's of thousands of songs, I have ZERO playlists. I listen to albums, not songs, even in my digital players. I actually have my digital collection organized exactly the way my vinyl and CDs were organized - alphabetically by artist and then by release year.

All my spotify lists are just albums. Heh. It's just easy when browsing to make it into a playlist to go back and listen to later.

[htismaqe]

I remember when people blasted the Apple Airbook for not having a CDROM drive. Now that seems to be the standard.

Like I said before, you can boot from pretty much any media now, regardless of your OS/platform of choice. Outside of watching movies or listening to music, there is zero reason to have a CD/DVD drive and even the idea of watching/listening to media is debatable given the availability of digital versions of just about everything.

[NewChief]

Like I said before, you can boot from pretty much any media now, regardless of your OS/platform of choice. Outside of watching movies or listening to music, there is zero reason to have a CD/DVD drive and even the idea of watching/listening to media is debatable given the availability of digital versions of just about everything.

Yup. It's just funny because people acted like they were insane for that, but they actually were anticipating the direction things were going

[siberian khatru]

This is 100% false. Album art is very much in full effect today. I agree with most everything else, though.

How so? If people aren't buying albums or CDs, just downloading tunes, the best you can get is a little thumbnail of the art with the download. I don't think that's the same thing.

[scho63]

No, the rates at the banks are only 1% or less so I only buy stocks and bonds for better returns.

I thought only old people bought CDs? :D

[KCUnited]

How so? If people aren't buying albums or CDs, just downloading tunes, the best you can get is a little thumbnail of the art with the download. I don't think that's the same thing.

There are still segments of music that all about albums and album art, they just may not be popular. I mean, cassette tapes are making a comeback for christsake. These are albums that I've purchased this year. All released in 2013.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9953/znhz.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/znhz.jpg/)

[htismaqe]

There are still segments of music that all about albums and album art, they just may not be popular. I mean, cassette tapes are making a comeback for christsake. These are albums that I've purchased this year. All released in 2013.

Just from the ones I can make out, your taste in music is "eclectic" and those bands aren't in any sense of the word "mainstream".

Saying that album art is alive and WELL based on that is a little overzealous I think.

[siberian khatru]

There are still segments of music that all about albums and album art, they just may not be popular. I mean, cassette tapes are making a comeback for christsake. These are albums that I've purchased this year. All released in 2013.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9953/znhz.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/znhz.jpg/)

Oh, sure, nobody said you can't find it. Hell, even Best Buy carries vinyl LPs. A lot of my favorite artists still produce handsome packaging for CDs.

But that clearly is the minority. For instance, Hamas said he hasn't bought a CD in 15 years. There are lots and lots of people who just want the music and don't care about the packaging.

[KCUnited]

Just from the ones I can make out, your taste in music is "eclectic" and those bands aren't in any sense of the word "mainstream".

Saying that album art is alive and WELL based on that is a little overzealous I think.

That is true regarding my taste in music, but its larger than you think.

[Simply Red]

you can still buy white labels from London on wax.

[htismaqe]

That is true regarding my taste in music, but its larger than you think.

No, it's really not.

We buy A LOT of vinyl. I mean we buy vinyl the way most people buy MP3s. I'm very aware of the resurgence of albums on the market. A lot of mainstream top 40 acts are being released on vinyl.

But we're not talking about albums themselves. We're talking about album ART. Almost NONE of them contain art. They contain photos of the artists. Buy a Katy Perry album, it's basically a Playboy spread.

[KCUnited]

No, it's really not.

We buy A LOT of vinyl. I mean we buy vinyl the way most people buy MP3s. I'm very aware of the resurgence of albums on the market. A lot of mainstream top 40 acts are being released on vinyl.

But we're not talking about albums themselves. We're talking about album ART. Almost NONE of them contain art. They contain photos of the artists. Buy a Katy Perry album, it's basically a Playboy spread.

Lol, ok.

[htismaqe]

Lol, ok.

So you're not willing to acknowledge that the albums in your photo are a decided minority?

[KCUnited]

So you're not willing to acknowledge that the albums in your photo are a decided minority?

The post you quoted from me said "they just may not be popular". I'm saying that album art is more prevalent than you think.

The issue I had with the interview was saying that kids today don't care about album art because they didn't grow up with it, which is absolutely false. Most non-mainstream music is listened to by kids.

[siberian khatru]

The post you quoted from me said "they just may not be popular". I'm saying that album art is more prevalent than you think.

The issue I had with the interview was saying that kids today don't care about album art because they didn't grow up with it, which is absolutely false. Most non-mainstream music is listened to by kids.

Pretty sure he was talking about the mainstream and the majority though, don't you think? I mean, just looking at the Billboard Top 10 this week, I'm betting most of that is bought by people age 12-25. And I may be generalizing, but that stuff doesn't strike me as album art-oriented. A lot of it seems pretty disposable to me.

[htismaqe]

The post you quoted from me said "they just may not be popular". I'm saying that album art is more prevalent than you think.

I have an issue with the word "prevalent" is all. In terms of just availability, yes there's a lot of albums with art out there. But in terms of the percentage of the whole, it isn't prevalent, it's just present.

That's why I carefully said "alive AND well". Album art is alive but it isn't "well". It's a very very small minority in a vinyl market dominated by sleeves that really amount to nothing more than album-sized posters of the artist. I suppose some people call a half-naked woman concealed with whipped cream "art" but I'm really talking about hand-drawn/painted stuff like I see in your photo. THAT is album "art".

The issue I had with the interview was saying that kids today don't care about album art because they didn't grow up with it, which is absolutely false. Most non-mainstream music is listened to by kids.

I agree and disagree. A lot of non-mainstream music is being listened to by people between 18 and 30 (gotta figure out where I read that). I don't think it's being listened to predominantly by kids. In fact, in proportion mainstream music is outselling niche stuff 10:1, so again, in terms of raw numbers, there's a lot of eclectic music available but in terms of proportion, it's a very, very small segment of what is out there.