the future of music

[MTK]

I don't think it will be long before we see the extinction of CD's. The big chain stores are already cutting way back on their inventories and I know that I've personally seen the closing of several music stores in my area.

A few years ago I sold off the majority of my CD collection and went digital. I can't even recall the last time I bought an actual CD, it's gotta be at least 2 years now.

How do you guys buy music now? Do you still buy CD's? Or do you just download? Or are you still doing a mix of the two?

[mredskins]

Funny you bring this up! I have an 07 4runner that I bought last year, I have never even touched the CD player in it!!!

I think movies and music are all going to be digital in the near future.

[onlydarksets]

I have a Zune and I signed up for Zune's subscription music - it's awesome. I can listen to anything I want for $15/month.

It's perfect for me, because I tend to listen to one album until I'm sick of it. In order to find that one album, though, I'll download 5-6. The others turn out to be anywhere from worthless to "OK". I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I get an iPhone. I'll probably keep the Zune pass to find music that I like, and then maybe buy it from Amazon.

[MTK]

My new car came with a 6 CD changer and I haven't put anything into it yet.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I don't think it will be long before we see the extinction of CD's. The big chain stores are already cutting way back on their inventories and I know that I've personally seen the closing of several music stores in my area.

A few years ago I sold off the majority of my CD collection and went digital. I can't even recall the last time I bought an actual CD, it's gotta be at least 2 years now.

How do you guys buy music now? Do you still buy CD's? Or do you just download? Or are you still doing a mix of the two?

I initially did iTunes when it came out...after buyin about 10 songs I realized I'll forever be stuck with them so I tried Sony Connect which was more consumer friendly (you can always re-download all the songs you purchased) but ultimately thier software was too bugy and their collection was thin. After toying with buying digitial I went back to buying music the old fashion way, I go to the store (Fry's or Target), buy what I like and then rip it into ogg format.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

I still buy CDs, and I'm so behind the times that I haven't downloaded any music since about my sophomore year of college, when Napster went away.
My jeep has a 10 disc changer in the trunk and an in-dash CD player, so I mainly buy them for the car. I also put them on my mp3 player so I can listen to them at home.

Although, I am starting to feel that downloading music would make a lot more sense for me.

[BDBohnzie]

I definitely download for the most part, as I don't care whether it's store-bought CD, or something I burned myself. I still do buy CDs here and there, but ever since Napster way back when, I really toned down my CD-purchasing.

The Record Labels really need to wake up in terms of how to drive their industry. Just about everyone I know downloads their music rather than going to the store.

[MTK]

Amazon recently started selling MP3's. They have a good selection and their prices are similar to itunes, but they offer higher quality MP3's at 256 kbps.

[SmootSmack]

I've kept many of my most cherished CDs. But I never listen to them, they're all on my iPod now. I was all set to get rid of all my CDs a couple of years ago but then my iTunes completely crashed on me (actually the whole computer did) and I lost every song I had. So I had to re-upload everything.

Since then, I've kept my CDs as a "just in case."

I miss the days of flipping through the vinyls at Kemp Mill Records though.

My parents actually have an 8-track stereo system wired into their master bedroom/bathroom. The builder thought it was the next big thing (house was built in the mid-1970s) so that's kind of interesting.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

I miss the days of flipping through the vinyls at Kemp Mill Records though.

I remember going to Kemp Mill Records with my mom so that she could pick up the latest Jimmy Buffet or Bryan Adams album back in the day. Then if I was good we'd head over to The Toy Wizard so I could get a new GI Joe or Transformer.
Those were the days.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

I've kept many of my most cherished CDs. But I never listen to them, they're all on my iPod now. I was all set to get rid of all my CDs a couple of years ago but then my iTunes completely crashed on me (actually the whole computer did) and I lost every song I had. So I had to re-upload everything.

Since then, I've kept my CDs as a "just in case."

I miss the days of flipping through the vinyls at Kemp Mill Records though.

My parents actually have an 8-track stereo system wired into their master bedroom/bathroom. The builder thought it was the next big thing (house was built in the mid-1970s) so that's kind of interesting.

What you can do is buy an external hard drive and back up your music there. There's even programs where you can pull the music back off your ipod if you lost the source files.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

What you can do is buy an external hard drive and back up your music there. There's even programs where you can pull the music back off your ipod if you lost the source files.

Yeah my fiancee has an external hard drive so I'm thinking of doing that. Some of my CDs though I just want to keep as mementos for posterity's sake.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Yeah my fiancee has an external hard drive so I'm thinking of doing that. Some of my CDs though I just want to keep as mementos for posterity's sake.

I hear ya, I had a hard time parting with some of my CD's. It's strange but there are a lot of good memories tied to the simple process of buying an album. I can remember where I bought it and what was going on in my life at that time. And it was just an exciting experience to buy a CD from one of your favorite bands the day that it came out, run home to listen to it and flip through the insert. With downloading you just don't get that same experience.

[Daseal]

The only time I use CDs is in the car from burned music.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Yeah my fiancee has an external hard drive so I'm thinking of doing that. Some of my CDs though I just want to keep as mementos for posterity's sake.

Invest in a Carbonite subscription. Unlimited, automatic backups for $50/year. If your house burns down, you won't lose your music files!