Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Does anybody buy CDs anymore?

I love buying albums. I like going to the store without a plan and waiting for something to catch my eye. Something that I've heard snippets about and I'm willing to take a chance on. I also like going to the store with a plan -- for instance, I'm looking forward to picking up Beck's new disc, along with something else, I'm sure.

I like having the CD, with its case and a booklet to read. But maybe that's just part of my personality. I definitely am willing to bet I'm in the minority when it comes to this.

Most people I talk to download albums (whether it be for free or off pay-sites like iTunes) or simply borrow CDs and upload them onto iPods. I'm not going to say I've never done it. I won't refuse if a friend wants to burn me an album. But I still miss having that booklet to flip through while giving it a first listen; or reading who wrote which songs, who played which instruments on each song, etc.

So does anyone else out there actually buy CDs?

5 comments:

  1. I gotta say I don't buy CDs anymore. I will every once in a great while, but its usually as a gift or becasue I cannot find a place to download the album.

    Everything OD said about it being nice having the case and booklet is very true and I would love to buy CDs for those reasons. My only problem is the price. There is something inside of me that really objects to spending more than $10 on a CD. Maybe its the fact that I had about 300 CDS stolen from me in college or maybe its cause I'm poor.

    As far as downloading goes...I hate iTunes. They give you horrible 128kpbs recordings which don't even suffice as ringtones. That is a major issue with me, I need high quality and they don't offer it.

    I feel bad about not paying for music sometimes and not supporting the indie artists that I think should be on Billboards Top 10, but I don't fault myself too much. The Recording Industry needs to change with the times and needs to figure out a new model and that is not my job to do.

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  2. I don't buy as many CDs as I used to, but I do like buying them from time to time, I still digg something about the hard copy.

    Also, I do like Apple products, but iTunes sucks, the fact that you have to download them as m4p and then have to convert to mp3 if you want to play your music(that you bought) anywhere is ridiculous. If you buy them, you should be able to play them anywhere the hell you want. You shouldn't have to look for good converters online. DRM bullcrap...

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  3. If only CDs actually were $10 -- maybe I'd buy them! I'll purchase maybe 1-2 CDs per year, because I don't hear much coming out these days that I actually like.

    DRM crap isn't much better (see jmoc's post), though at least you don't have to buy the full album of nonsense for $19 to get the one or two desirable songs on a modern, cranked-out album.

    That's why I am on this site -- to find music I'd actually want to buy and listen to.

    (N.B.: Sentence ended with a preposition for OD's benefit.)

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  4. Thanks, Blor. I'm really not all that against ending sentences with prepositions in certain cases. Sometimes it just sounds much better.

    For those of you looking for some cheaper CDs, and are in the Chicagoland area, check out Rolling Stones (http://rollingstonesmusic.com) on Irving Park Road, just west of Harlem.

    A majority of their CDs are $9.99 and they have a whole bunch that are only $7.99 (including all the Radiohead albums).

    Their indie selection is not the greatest, but not terrible.

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  5. [sorry to comment on an old post. i've just discovered your blog through a link from captain melody's blog, and i've been going through your older entries...]

    i love buying cd's. especially with so many mp3 blog with full album downloads, i am discovering so much new music. and if it's an album i like, i will buy a physical copy of it. i like having a disc, with a booklet, and its case, and then arranging it neatly with the rest of my collection. also, i don't own an mp3 player, so when i'm at school, i like to bring a couple of cd's with me, and those become the soundtrack to my day.

    there are bands that i love, that i will buy anything they releasee without listening to it first. i take note of the release date, then on the tuesday, i stop by the music shop on my way home from school, and make my purchase as planned.

    also, every once in a while, when i've some extra pocket money, i spend a day hitting the second hand cd shops, where the cd's are cheap, and buy a stack of random stuff. i've had some surprising finds that way.

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