# Do you buy albums? Tracks? CDs? Vinyl? Or just go with a music service? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841 "2015-11-28T16:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/21 "2015-11-29T21:59:35Z")
Some time in the late 1900’s I ripped my impressive CD collection and burned the mp3s to an album full of cds because it wouldn’t fit on my massive 17 gig drive. Recently I dusted off an antique computer from the garage (gotta have an optical drive) and transferred them to a micro sd and plugged it into my phone. Amazon music has filled in the gaps. Lately I stumbled across Ænima by Tool on vinyl and imagined myself buying a turntable and listening to Ænima by Tool on vinyl. I verified I wasn’t wearing Ray Ban planos or skinny jeans and quickly stabbed a butter knife into the nearest outlet to administer an electrical shock and form negative associations with that kind of thinking. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/22 "2015-11-29T23:20:41Z")
iTunes internet radio. Just the world/international section has over 1,100 stations! Been listening to Cubania for over a week. Never have heard the same song twice. And no talking. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/23 "2015-11-30T01:57:58Z")
I always buy albums, and then listen to them as albums. A random-shuffle playlist would drive me crazy. The only time I ever bought an individual track, it was because I was making a slideshow for a friend’s wedding, and it was “their song”. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/24 "2015-11-30T09:34:19Z")
I still buy CDs exclusively. For one thing, I still like the idea of owning something _physical_. For another, I buy only classical music and liner notes are important to me. Sometimes you get them with MP3s but sometimes you don’t. It’s even more important with opera librettos. I get the appeal of digital copies but until CDs or CD players disappear completely, I won’t use them as my main source of music. I do have a lot of MP3s because they’re handy when you travel and because they can be a backup in case something happens to my collection but for the moment that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/25 "2015-11-30T09:45:49Z")
Digital. Often I start with a track or two. If I like the artist, I’ll get the CD. Lately, I order the physical CD. I’ll add the songs I like yo my digital library, after a listen or 2. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/26 "2015-11-30T15:32:06Z")
I do a mixture of CDs and digital. I’ve gotten more digital in the last couple of years. I like having a CD since I do a good amount of listening in the car, but I made CDs of the stuff I buy. Any more I would say it’s my favorite bands I buy the CD for. I don’t, however, just buy single songs, if I’m going to pay a buck or more I might as well just buy the rest of the album for $10 or so as I might find something I like on there as well. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/27 "2015-11-30T15:42:12Z")
Mix of CDs and digital. Most CDs all got ripped to MP3s, although when you have 600+, there’s a lot of dross in the pile. Hard drive is backed up and stored in two off-site locations. Probably should do the cloud thing too, although I’m wary of what Grumpy Bunny called “Apple losing things”. I do occasionally buy singles – a few years back, I bought a $100 iTunes card discounted to $80 and have slowly been draining that (my rate of new music acquisition has slowed down considerably in the past few years). Just refilled the iTunes card, so I’m probably good for another three or four years. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/28 "2015-11-30T16:01:31Z")
Generally use Rhapsody to audition new things. If we like something well enough, we will buy the CD and immediately rip it to two versions - one lossless (FLAC) for listening to on good equipment around the house and a relative low quality mp3 version for portable use. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/29 "2015-11-30T19:07:35Z")
I just downloaded [Narrow Pass - A New World](http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=47453) off of Amazon for $9.49 as opposed buying the CD for $29.99. This is what I normally do because most of the music I listen to and collect is European and not readily available in the US. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/30 "2015-11-30T19:32:27Z")
Mostly CDs, but an occ download. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/31 "2015-11-30T21:34:45Z")
I get entire albums, and they always find up as digital MP3s that I listen to on my computer or in my car. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/32 "2015-12-03T15:53:00Z")
**MP3s vs CDs:** These days MP3s, almost exclusively. I only buy CDs if it’s a friend’s/local musician’s album that can’t be downloaded. But then as soon as I get it home I rip it to iTunes. I used to make a lot of personalized mix CDs…see “In The Car” (below). **Singles vs Albums:** Mostly singles, but that’s because I’m a jazz singer and when I’m learning a new song I download 2-3 versions of it. I also buy the single of any Top 40 hit that I particularly like (especially when it’s a new artist). I do still buy albums, though, once I like enough of a particular artist’s stuff. **Pandora/Amazon/iTunes** : I listen to Pandora at work. I use iTunes to manage my music collection because I still have an iPod, but I buy as much content as I can from Amazon. Tracks automatically get added to Amazon Music, and it’s pretty easy to download/add them to iTunes. **In The Car:** My car stereo has been broken for the past few months: all I can listen to now are my iPod, and six SiriusXM stations. I only get the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s stations, so I listen to my iPod almost exclusively (I already have music from all of those decades; may as well hear stuff I like). Before, though, I listened to mostly XM radio but with some CDs, including MP3 CDs that I made myself (I had/have a 6-disc in-dash changer). > [@dalej42](#): > > [jazzradio.com](http://jazzradio.com) I’d never heard of this before…it looks awesome! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/33 "2015-12-03T16:03:48Z")
Mp3s. I kind of missed the whole CD revolution. I went straight from cassette tapes to mp3s, and I could no sooner do without music than I could without my blankets. It’s a comfort and it’s a big part of my life. I buy singles, though. One of the reasons I never got into CDs was because I always had to buy the whole album and I never, ever, like EVERY song from any artist, not even my favorites. I also put all of my songs into playlists and shuffle them constantly. I like not knowing what to expect. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/34 "2015-12-03T16:54:13Z")
I DL individual tracks from iTunes or Amazon music store. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/35 "2015-12-03T17:48:09Z")
I am rarely not listening to some kind of audio output. Right now I’m listening to an MP3 of Big Star’s _#1 Record_ (prompted by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=776855)) on Windows Media Player. I burned it from the CD I own of the double CD album with _Radio City_. It’s one of two copies of the CD I own, because I thought I lost the first. I also have _#1 Record_ on vinyl LP, as well as several hundred other LPs. My wife and I listened to Fleetwood Mac’s _Rumours_, _The Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2_, a couple of Brasil '66 albums, and a couple of 5th Dimension albums while playing a two-person weekend-long best-of-5 cribbage tournament in our basement over the Thanksgiving weekend (I won). Vinyl is very not dead to us – I just bought a couple more records online yesterday. I’ve burned most of my CDs to MP3 and access them through WMP and online, but I still have a hundred or so discs to listen to in the car or our cabin. We have Sirius XM in both of our vehicles, and I sometimes listen to it online (I’ve really been enjoying Michael Des Barres’ programs on Little Steven’s Underground Garage in the morning). I also have subscriptions to Pandora and to Amazon Prime. I buy maybe a dozen digital albums a year; I used to buy MP3 singles but I usually just purchase the entire album. Amazon Prime has a \*lot \*of good stuff to listen to. In addition to streaming music services, I listen to a couple of different radio stations that stream their content (KUNC from Greeley, CO, and WERS from Boston). If I get a song in my head and have to listen to it RFN, I can usually find it on YouTube. It’s a great time to be alive. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/36 "2015-12-03T18:00:41Z")
I’m an album person, so even if there’s one song I heard on the radio or (more likely) streaming service, I buy the entire album. I don’t purchase music anywhere near as often as I used to, but I buy almost exclusively via iTunes or bandcamp these days. I was extremely opposed to digital downloads when the services first appeared, since I love the art/booklet that comes with CDs, but I’ve long since changed. The last physical product I remember buying was a vinyl LP back in 2004 (despite the fact that I don’t have a record player and, to this day, I haven’t played the record). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/37 "2015-12-03T18:08:53Z")
I buy used CDs from Rasputin, our Bay Area used music store. Mostly classical nowadays. I mostly listen to music in my car during my commute, and while I have lots of stuff downloaded to my phone it would be a real pain to use while driving. I can pop out and pop in a new CD with minimal risk of killing myself. I did used to buy singles - in 1962. Nowadays, not so much. I often prefer the whole album, especially because much of what I listen to has a flow. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/38 "2015-12-03T20:06:02Z")
What little music I listen to, I get off of Sirius/XM (mainly the two Classic Rock Hits channels - i think they’re called Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind). ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/39 "2015-12-03T21:03:58Z")
My local library offers a free download service. I can only get three free per week; they have everything and I do not mind waiting. Prior to that, or if I can not wait, I would compare the mp3 price to CD price on Amazon to itunes and get whichever was least expensive. I always purchase itunes cards at a 20% sale so usually itunes wins. ---
**Author:** ![fc1114](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@fc1114](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fc1114)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/40 "2015-12-03T23:21:22Z")
Most of the time, I’m listening to podcasts. Other than that, I copy cds from the library and load them onto my iphone. I have a few cds/albums purchased off of Itunes and Amazon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841.md?page=3)