Physical music collections

[deano]

OK, short version goes like this: had a nice little collection of CDs in high shool, and when the Napster thing happened in college and iTunes came out I sold the CDs, except for a few rarer gems, at the local shop not envisioning a future in which I didn't have access to all my tunes via Ipod or digital somethingrather.

Times have changed and I am not currently active in the Apple music purchasing scheme, don't have an apple device, haven't looked into google play, other things. I have a dumbphone, so investing heavily in data/streaming, etc. is not in the cards. I listen to spotify and stuff around the house, but when a band I like comes out with a new record, I'd like to bloody buy the thing.

Who here has kept close ties to a physical music collection? How's that been? It's cool to have vinyl again. Not sure I want to get that physical, but hey. Actually thinking of purchasing CDs.

[alexstar]

I have kept nearly every CD and record I have ever bought. To me there is no substitute.

All new music gets purchased on CD(sometimes LP...) and ripped to highest-possible-quality mp3. I listen to digital music at work or on the go, when fidelity is not as important. At home, though, for dedicated listening, physical media still rule. atmo.

[Peter Polack]

I never stopped buying physical media. In fact, I don't own ANY music data files or subscriptions.

I think the most important thing for me is to buy the entire album from the artist as the work is intended to be a cohesive collection. You take the good songs with the bad because a diet of merely all music you like makes for a narrow mind.

I also think having the physical item is important because of the liner notes. Lyrics, credits; they all help you get into the mind of the artist but they're non-existent in the streaming world.

My only caveat is all the room the physical media take up.

[davids]

I'm happy.

[Bob Ross]

Who here has kept close ties to a physical music collection? How's that been? It's cool to have vinyl again. Not sure I want to get that physical, but hey. Actually thinking of purchasing CDs.

I still have a ~300 CD collection ...I've never sold any, so it was never larger, and I have no intent of selling any ...but there is a tiny bit of pressure from the missus to get it out of sight. I'm not adverse to the notion of ripping them all (in a bit-accurate hi-rez format) to a music server like the Meridian Sooloos, or BlueSound. Plus that would allow me to finally do something with the ~600+ albums I have in iTunes that I've never listened to in my life because I hate the idea of listening to music on my computer. But I guess it's just a semantics distinction between a dedicated music server and a PC. Ultimately I'd rather just keep using CDs. I like the fetishistic aspect of physical music collections.

I sold all (except a dozen choice rarities) of my vinyl collection off 10 years ago. I have zero interest in ever going down that road again. If someone wants to argue about the "superiority" (sic) of analog sound I'll just wait until first-generation 1/2" 30ips master tapes are available commercially and then dig my old Ampex ATR-102 out of storage.

[sk_tle]

I have kept my physical collection but barely buy any music with the physical media. I buy music online only if available sans DRM so I can backup them, convert them and play them on any device.

I don't play the CDs anymore although I keep them in dry/dark storage. I like to play some vinyls once in a while, especially when I am alone at home because I enjoy the ritual. When I visit my parents I sometimes listen to a tape on the akai player I kept there. Same here, I like the ritual.

[zachateseverything]

It's been a while since I've bought a CD and I've never sprung for a download. Whatever new music I purchase I pick up on vinyl. I don't know that vinyl actually sounds better but it's a much better format for collecting (more room for artwork) and it encourages listening to a full album instead of jumping around from single to single.

[dutchess]

All offense intended, anyone buying a CD nowadays needs to be taken out back and have sense beat into them. Poorer audio quality than the format they replaced, wear out from being played faster than the one before that, and I highly doubt you are talking about something obscure like SACD. Napster/torrents/hacking/devaluing/greed on both sides of the counter turned this marketplace into a war zone that is entirely unfriendly to consumers. If you can find your music on vinyl, great. If not settle on the simplest way to put the music you want in your car that still works at home without falling astray of built in protection.

Public libraries fill in a void for new music you might not want permanently but would like to download to listen to. Pick one of the free music players that will play FLAC or better formats and focus on slowly building up a collection of the highest quality recordings you can find. Pester the artist if need be. Nobody is going to do the legwork on older stuff until there is interest.

[zetroc]

If I like a band, I go to their shows and buy merch, and I have too many t-shirts as it is, and they don't sell mp3s there, and vinyl records don't fit in my pockets.

[Cookietruck]

if i like a band i buy an LP if htey have it. i don't mind carrying one around...

we don't even bother to put our music on cd's and pretty much any band we know doesn't either.
it's either straight digital download or an LP sometiems with a digital download included.
we and many others also put out cassette tapes, they are a cool format and they are cheap to put out...i love that i can put on a weird droney synth tape and just have it repeat over and over while i'm doing stuff around the house...

last CD i bought was only because everything that i'm aware of by the band is out of print so i take what i can find...

[davids]

All offense intended, anyone buying a CD nowadays needs to be taken out back and have sense beat into them. Poorer audio quality than the format they replaced, wear out from being played faster than the one before that, and I highly doubt you are talking about something obscure like SACD. Napster/torrents/hacking/devaluing/greed on both sides of the counter turned this marketplace into a war zone that is entirely unfriendly to consumers. If you can find your music on vinyl, great. If not settle on the simplest way to put the music you want in your car that still works at home without falling astray of built in protection.

Public libraries fill in a void for new music you might not want permanently but would like to download to listen to. Pick one of the free music players that will play FLAC or better formats and focus on slowly building up a collection of the highest quality recordings you can find. Pester the artist if need be. Nobody is going to do the legwork on older stuff until there is interest.

You certainly offended.

[Jaq]

Still have a couple boxes of CDs out in the garage. Every so often I entertain thoughts of ripping them. I'll even manage a couple, then quit because it's a time-consuming PITA. Of course, it really isn't, but my Apple/Amazon overlords have conditioned me to believe that theirs is the Right Way™, and who am I to buck the trend?