Am I the only one here that still buys only CDs??

templeofmax

Member
Aug 13, 2009
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I have been reading some posts here and people are buying albums online at Amazon, iTunes, etc, which is expected! However, just wondering who else here is still a CD addict and who prefers saving some money despite the somehow lower quality of MP3s, no booklet or 'real physicial booklet' plus the fact that listening on good stereo equipment requires either Cd burning or a very high-end MP3 system!!!

I am an addict and I buy CDs in bulk! I buy on Ebay especially, but Amazon has been pretty good with prices for recent releases! I have so many new stuff I haven't been able to listen to, is unbelievable! For me, I either spend $10 on a CD than say $6 on an MP3!! I think, subjectively, I get way more value for my money by having the actual product, having the physical thing in my hand, looking at the lyrics, the artwork and enjoying superior sound on my back-to-basics, but hi-fi JVC stereo system! Yes, I copy a bunch of CDs to play on the iPod while I am driving, exercising, traveling, etc, but if I download something its usually something I cannot get on CD for a decent price (less than $18, which is still too much for me unless is something really rare or something to complete a certain artist's collection).

I usually also listen to the whole CD, no matter what! Sometimes I'll put on a song for special occasions (showing my music to girlfriend, in a particular mood, etc).

Anyone here like me?
 
You're far from the only one who still buys CDs. Me? I've gone all digital for as much media as I can. I've reached the point that I find CD's and even an extensive Blu-Ray collection to be clutter. Hell, I even buy all of my PC games over steam. If It's not on steam, I'm not interested. The less shit I can have in my house the happier I am. Also, I can carry 250 albums on a flash drive. Fuck CD's.
 
I prefer to buy cds though I do have a rhapsody account as I'm unable to buy cds regularly. Since I'll be working in music (recording engineer or live sound) I'd rather have a physical collection to enjoy albums as they are intended to be heard (when I get a decent speaker setup anyway). On the other hand, I've gone digital with books and I'm considering my options for what to do with movies/tv.
 
I do feel you nailz, I have been moving quiet a while while studying and have carried my CD collection back and forth a couple times from US to South America and back!! My Iced Earth digi-book of the Glorious Burden suffered!! 9 boxes of CDs and hoping none would get lost! Then I have a bunch on big CD wallets with the booklets nd back covers organized in zip lock bags!! However, as I was a following alphabetical and genre order a long time ago I want to go back to that, so I started replacing the cases with sleeves, so I could still have my collection in alphabetical order and eliminate clutter! Those jewel cases, talk about clutter! Of course, now with Digi-packs I still need to dedicate a space for them! Yes, very much clutter, but part of my lifestyle I guess!!

I couldn't read a digital book I think!!! I need to actually touch the pages and feel like I am advancing in my reading! Plus, enough watching a screen while recording music, surfing the web, doing school work and even watching TV!!!
 
but part of my lifestyle I guess!!

That's cool. It's not for me. It took me a while to move fully digital. I don't listen to music anywhere near as much as I used to, and I don't buy albums much at all because of it, but when I do, I like having access to it from anywhere on anything.

I couldn't read a digital book I think!!! I need to actually touch the pages and feel like I am advancing in my reading! Plus, enough watching a screen while recording music, surfing the web, doing school work and even watching TV!!!

I read. A LOT. I'm always nose deep into one book or another. Been like that for over 12 years now. I was in the same boat as you, needing the book, wanting to feel it. But I tried reading on a kindle, and you know what? Oh my god it's fantastic. I don't have to lug a 400-800 page book with me everywhere I go, or the worst, if I'm on a plane and only have 100 or so pages to finish, I don't have to carry 2 books with me. I haven't been able to put the kindle down since I got it. It's phenomenal. Also, it should be said I can't read a book on a computer screen, a TV, my phone (srsly wtf people, books on your phones?) or even an iPad. The real kindle really is nothing like these other devices.
 
I am not an avid reader like yourself though! I used to read fiction like Grisham, S.King and Koontz, until about 8 years ago, and now I have a big collection of some books I haven't even read. Then, as I started getting into exercise physiology, I started reading more non-fiction, but when I travel I usually just carry my iPod and a couple of fitness or Rock magazines! Of course, for a reader like yourself I am thinking the Kindle is the best thing since sliced bread! I will have to check one sometime! If I read say about 20 books per year, I would think the Kindle would make complete sense!!!
 
I feel more like a "collector" this way. I will occasionally buy MP3s for something that I can't find at a reasonable price physically. But I like leafing through CDs and reading the liners notes listening. Also I find it more convenient to leave 5-6 CDs in the changer in each of the cars and not have to plug in my iPod all the time. Although I put a new stereo in the wife's daily driver recently when her old one crapped out and the iPod integration on that is really good.

There was a pretty extensive discussion on this topic a couple of months ago, tried searching for it but no luck.
 
Usually, I only buy MP3s if it is very cheap or I can't get it any other way. For example, buying the first four Pagan's Mind albums for insanely cheap off of Amazon's MP3 store was too good to pass up. But, I still need to buy CDs, since I'm in an industry where I can't always bring an MP3 player with me. Also, I'd prefer a lossless format like FLAC so I can play in any format I want.

That being said, I'm running out of room for CDs, along with everything else.
 
I still only buy CDs. Granted, I never spin them after I finish ripping them to FLAC... FLAC is for the PC/AVR, and for the phone/car I have 400-kbit AAC copies of everything.

I still buy a ton of physical books but am ready to move to the next gen of readers once a new series of e-ink displays comes out that will be high-resolution enough to properly scale graphical PDFs I have of old, out of print books and textbooks (non-OCR)... Kindle DX can do it, but it's a dinosaur and still costs almost $380 new :/
 
I prefer to buy CD/DVD's as I have a daily bandwidth limit with my satellite connection. So that makes it a pita to download stuff. I'd also rather have the physical product as I enjoy the artwork, booklet, and other goodies. Plus if I wish to rip it from cd to load onto my mp3 player, I can do it at full fidelity in flac format.
 
I am not an avid reader like yourself though! I used to read fiction like Grisham, S.King and Koontz, until about 8 years ago, and now I have a big collection of some books I haven't even read. Then, as I started getting into exercise physiology, I started reading more non-fiction, but when I travel I usually just carry my iPod and a couple of fitness or Rock magazines! Of course, for a reader like yourself I am thinking the Kindle is the best thing since sliced bread! I will have to check one sometime! If I read say about 20 books per year, I would think the Kindle would make complete sense!!!

I bought the wife a kindle 2 Christmas's ago and she absolutely loves it. She still buys paperback/hard cover books when she can't get something in electronic format. Plus she's always getting free books from various authors and their websites. So it's very beneficial for her in that respect. She's currently sitting with a backlog of around 62 books on the kindle that she has yet to read.
 
I still buy CDs. I'm not sure why.

I usually try before I buy.
Then I buy.
Then I keep listening to the already ripped audio files.
I find the CD 3 months later, still in the shrink wrap.
I am close to breaking the CD habit, since I've maxed out my storage rack and the CDs are appearing in different spots around the house.

It's a mental block I have to break.

Steve in Philly
 
My post-1998 CD collection (when I 'discovered' this style of music - first CD - Blind Guardian, Nightfall on Middle Earth) just broke 1,000 CDs. To me, I have not really listened to an album until I play it in my truck (my best sound system). I do listen to the album on my computer, mp3 player, phone beforehand but until it rotates into my truck - I do not really absorb/enjoy it.

I can still hear the sound quality difference between mp3 versus original CD. May just be my equipment - but until that changes or CD versus legal download price gap gets a lot larger, I will be a CD buyer.
 
As I have stated on these forums before....I think anyone who appreciates good audio still buys CDs (I include myself in this category). mp3s sound poor to me...over a tiny pair of headphones mp3s are ok, but in a car or on any quality stereo a CD is the way to go!
 
I still buy CDs. I like the full package ie physical product, better sound quality and cover artwork etc.