Buying CDs in the modern age

Indeed. People seem to forget that buying used at lots of stores doesn't feed some corporate machine (well as much as buying from FYE or whatever); support the more independent and specialized/local stores. I buy from Newbury Comics a shitload.
 
i download the music first to see if i like it, then if i do i buy it(if i have money) because i like to fill up the cd racks a have and i like to have something that can be held, rather than just a bunch of mp3s on my computer,plus you can take the booklets to shows and get them signed. most of my money goes into buying cds and band merch.
 
I download OOP albums and albums I most likely won't ever spend money on (mostly metalcore stuff because of the often atrocious artwork :p).
 
I couldn't care less about owning a physical copy of something. I have an ipod and bitchen speakers hooked up to my PC. I can just look up any art/info about a band/album on the internet. Basically I have no desire to "collect" or anything. I just want the music. So pretty much all the music I actually listen to, I've downloaded.

I'll only buy a physical album if I think it will support the band, and only if I feel the band actually deserves support. So I would never buy something used because that only supports resellers, not the band. (edit: and never from a major retailer, cuz that's just a fucking ripoff)

I'll only buy either directly from a band at a show or website, or through a fairly independent label that supports the bands on it.

But quite honestly I wish there was a better way I could just give them money to support them, and not have all these worthless records littering my room. At least when I buy shirts I can actually get some use out of them.

edit2: I do feel a bit guilty sometimes anymore though, because I'm not able support bands I appreciate with nearly the frequency that I used to. My job sucks and pays shit. Maybe when I get a job that pays me like I'm an adult I'll be able to engage in more musical philanthropy.
 
I used to buy mad cds for a while, but now I'm starting to download more often, because of my finaicial situation. Most of the money that I make I either have to put away for my car insurance, spend on gas (gas ain't cheap you know, especially if you own a fucking pick up truck!), or spend on my girlfriend, so I really don't have the money to keep buying cd after cd. I'll still buy albums if they are cheap, or if I feel that they are at a reasonable price, but for the most part, I just download now.
 
I don't like computerized artwork and a lot of metalcore has it. Doesn't affect my opinion on the music.
 
Yea, obviously it shouldn't affect your opinion, but Andy is too zealous a fan of the genre and probably doesn't understand why you don't support the bands you like by buying their merchandise.
Ha, but why am I speaking for him? Nevermind.
 
Artwork is nearly as trivial as lyrics. Both can be good and add quality to the album. But if either is bad, it drags down not even an iota of the music.