Do you buy or download your albums?

I download 1-2 mp3s from their official site, if I like it, I buy it. If im still not convinced, I start a thread asking about it on my forum. Thats all.
 
As some of you had said, I download the stuff that I can't get from my store. If it is like available, yeah why not I buy it. But some albums that I eagerly wanted I never touch the download button. Like for example: Nightwish - Once :cry: still didn't arrive in my country and I'm DYING to get it, but I'm not using the internet. And did you know Dio will release a new album? It's called Master Of The Moon. :D
 
Yeah, I download then I'll eventually buy if it's good. Due to the fact that I'm 15 and have a minimum wage job, though, with no good places around here to buy CDs except a Newbury Comics, it sometimes takes a while.
 
I usually download a few tracks and then buy the album if I like it. But in rare cases when I cant find the album anywhere online, I just buy it without even hearing any of it. Sometimes thats a horrible thing and sometimes its surprising. I never heard Saviour Machine before I bought their first album and now they're my favorite band.
 
i generally buy. hell, i've aquired nearly 800 albums since 2000, heh.

anyway, i do d/l when i'm at school. generally jsut OOP albums, expensive imports, or just not easily obtainable. there are those that i have d/l that are in print and fairly easy to get, though. yet, i've bought about 20 of the ones i've d/l.

EDIT: actually, it'll actually be about 25 or 26 by the end of the weekend. forgot i had 5 on hold at a used store :)
 
Imo, hearing the whole album ruins the excitement of gettin the cd. Even when I have to check out some bands, I restrict it to either 2-3 mp3 or ask my friends to burn me a compilation with 2-4 songs of each band. That way you get an idea what the band sounds like without spoiling the fun.

When it comes to genres you arent too much into, maybe then full album downloads are useful.
 
I still live with my parents though I'm going to college and I'm also currently unemployed so I *occasionally* buy CDs. When I had my last job I was buying about 5 CDs a week though.

So I've got a lot of downloaded albums right now that I don't own...
 
crimsonfloyd said:
I download a shitload of CDs then a couple times a year I head up to the Bay Area and stock up on those that are worth buying. I'll order a few online and pick up some at the local record store as well. In the end I download more then I buy, but I still buy a lot. If I had a job I'd buy more...
^
 
KC said:
Imo, hearing the whole album ruins the excitement of gettin the cd. Even when I have to check out some bands, I restrict it to either 2-3 mp3 or ask my friends to burn me a compilation with 2-4 songs of each band. That way you get an idea what the band sounds like without spoiling the fun.
Me too, but with bands I know are good I don't bother listening to, say, an album in between two great ones unless I have reason to suspect it's techno.
 
KC said:
Imo, hearing the whole album ruins the excitement of gettin the cd. Even when I have to check out some bands, I restrict it to either 2-3 mp3 or ask my friends to burn me a compilation with 2-4 songs of each band. That way you get an idea what the band sounds like without spoiling the fun.

When it comes to genres you arent too much into, maybe then full album downloads are useful.

Can't you get just as much enjoyment listening to a CD that you downloaded for the first time as you can for a CD you bought? If not, it seems like the real source of enjoyment is entirely material.
 
polarity said:
Can't you get just as much enjoyment listening to a CD that you downloaded for the first time as you can for a CD you bought? If not, it seems like the real source of enjoyment is entirely material.
There is something to be said for having the artwork/ lyrics etc when you first expierence a CD. Too bad I never get that feeling any more :(
 
Also, sitting in front of the computer and doing stuff while listening to music is VERY MUCH WORSE than just sitting and listening. I know that you can do that with mp3s as well, but not many do, I think. I don't, so I buy and listen properly when I really want to.
 
I buy my albums. I only download a full album if it's out of print and hard to find. The only downloaded albums I have are: Morbid - December Moon, Agressor - Neverending Destiny, Moonblood - Blut und Krieg, and Sacramentum - Far Away From The Sun.
If I ever find these releases, I will definatly buy them.
 
No apologies for bumping an 11 year old thread. But this is something that bugs me, I don't download. I guess I've got an oldschool attitude in that if I can't afford something I don't feel entitled to it.
Even rare albums, I'd rather wait until a copy surfaces and decide to either cough up or pass. How many people here download or stream or whatever? Or do you all actually own physical copies of the albums you're posting? This seems to be a touchy subject for some but see how we go anyway.