Preferred music collection medium?

[Manic Ferocity]

Man, I just listened to Moonblood's Sob a Lua do Bode on LP that comes remastered along with Blut & Krieg and it sounds worse than ever. Both LPs sounded a bit worn once they arrived in the mail and luckily, I'm a big enough fan of the band to still consider it worth my money. Luckily I got the compilation on CD as well, but I'm still pretty annoyed.

Just reminds me of why I buy mostly CDs. Vinyl is more expensive, fragile, and takes up too much space. Some vinyl purists like to say that it sounds better and more "organic" but let's be honest. What they really like is the nostalgia of hissing and popping. CDs are a literal improvement in audio capabilities and more practical to collect. Sure vinyl is fun and it's interesting to hear 80s metal albums that originally came out on vinyl in their untainted state. Even so, it takes a hell of an album for me to blow more than an average amount on vinyl pressings.

Tapes are nice to have because they're cheap enough to just toss all over my car. For some reason I don't feel the need to organize tapes. They're best used for demos or for having a cheap, last-resort copy of an album I can't currently find for a decent price on CD or vinyl.

What do you collect and/or prefer to collect?

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Yeah, I prefer CDs. I'd say save your vinyls for those special albums that you just have to have on wax, or one that is limited edition die-hard super fucking kvlt version that comes with a buttplug and bible filled with band member's public hair. Also, moving a vinyl collection is a giant pain in the ass. CDs you can shove in 2-3 large boxes and just move em that way.

 

[CiG]

Guess.

 

[Draehl]

Digital + vinyl for favorite albums.

 

[Slayed Necros]

CD for most purchases. Tapes for demos, vinyl for all time favourites, and usually only if I come across a reasonably priced original pressing.

 

[SentinelSlain]

Flac/APE/whatever lossless download or vinyl. CDs take up too much space and will die before the average hard drive does, rendering them pretty worthless as a medium in this era.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'd be pretty happy with a hard drive that lasted just 10 years, let alone 30+.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Guess.

Pick up all the fucking tapes off the floor in my car and I'll think about it.

 

[CiG]

Pick up all the fucking tapes off the floor in my car and I'll think about it.

I'm a tape vacuum.

 

[Krow]

Yeah I don't know what the fuck Jage is doing with his CDs that he's rendering them inoperable.

I buy CDs, vinyl rarely, cassettes even rarer. Rip to MP3 use MP3 player as needed.

 

[The Ozzman]

934 CDs
79 LPs
132 albums procured digitally

 

[Vilden]

I prefer vinyls and it is what I buy most of the times nowdays buy I own probably ten times as many CDs so yeah...

It isn't some illusion of better sound quality that makes me like vinyls though but larger artwork and the fact that it is more of a ritual to listen to a vinyl, it feels more special and I tend to pay attention more. The hissing and popping is nice too.

 

[SentinelSlain]

It looks like I made my judgement based on some shit article that was incorrect. Still, I don't want a CD collection, they take up too much space and I don't really give a shit about them, once I've ripped them, I also don't think I could sell the ones I don't like, so it's shit value.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

I definitely agree that there's a ritualistic appeal in listening to vinyl. It's just frustrating when there doesn't seem to be any good way of taking care of them. Some of my LPs have lasted me several years with no problems, others seem to wear down quickly, and some arrived sounding worn down. If anything, I prefer to buy LPs at record stores.

 

[CiG]

Collecting vinyl is also pretty benign unless you have a decent sound system.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

That too.

 

[Phylactery]

CDs for me as well. I don't have a vinyl player but at some point I do want to own all of my absolute favourites on vinyl, mainly for the larger artwork and the experience of listening to it.

I have a friend that always asks why I still buy CDs because he says they are now outdated and take up too much space. He's the same with video games, though. He'll even pay extra to get the digital download rather than a physical copy.

 

[CiG]

Metal is outdated, stop buying metal?

 

[Manic Ferocity]

CDs for me as well. I don't have a vinyl player but at some point I do want to own all of my absolute favourites on vinyl, mainly for the larger artwork and the experience of listening to it.

I have a friend that always asks why I still buy CDs because he says they are now outdated and take up too much space. He's the same with video games, though. He'll even pay extra to get the digital download rather than a physical copy.

I'll never understand why people would prefer to have digital media. First of all, I don't trust any computer or game system enough to prefer paying for digital downloads and even though I don't illegally download either, I'd still only download legitimately as a last resort. I can only imagine having bought as many albums digitally as I have physically only for my computer to suddenly crash without being properly backed up beforehand.

The real reason for me though, is that the booklet, liner notes, and legitimacy of the pressing is part of the album's art and part of a larger history of my biggest passion in life. I like the thought of owning and continuing to accumulate something of a museum for this music, so I can have a place to not only listen to it, but immerse myself in a subculture that I can identify with and continue to learn of the array of influences that went into its development during formative years I was too young to have witnessed myself. I try not to get too carried away with it though because space is obviously an issue. Sometimes I'll look on some collectors pages to see someone with every pressing of The Number of the Beast since it was released, for example. That's just hoarding to me.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

CD's