# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/41 "2015-12-04T05:23:57Z")
Use to buy CDs a lot about a decade ago. Now I just use YouTube and use Shazam app to identify songs I hear on the radio or out in public. It tells you the artists and title and you can listen to the song on the app. ---
**Author:** ![bunyupp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@bunyupp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunyupp)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/42 "2015-12-08T16:56:15Z")
I buy CDs all of the time, mainly hard-to-get, obscure Japanese and European groups. I also buy a lot of $5 classic and classical CDs from B&N, it’s cheaper than buying it on iTunes. I also buy a lot of single songs on iTunes. I haven’t bought any vinyl for 20 years or more, but I have quite a few (and two turntables including a usb one). I’ve never used a streaming service. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/43 "2015-12-08T17:07:50Z")
When I buy nowadays, I buy tracks, and then burn them to CDs. Back when I was still occasionally buying CDs, 10-20 years ago, I was usually disappointed by most of the album, even if 3-4 songs on the album had gotten airplay and I liked them all. So my operating assumption is that unless a CD album costs no more than it would cost me to download 4 tracks (and that doesn’t seem to be happening), why should I buy a CD? I’ll buy just the music I want. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/44 "2015-12-08T17:41:59Z")
I have about 350 CD’s, mostly from the 90s that I rarely listen to anymore. Assuming I paid $10 each, that would pay for 29 years of a subscription service, and I wouldn’t be limited to the crap I bought years ago. Once I realized that, it’s been subscription all the way. I’ll only occasionally buy a CD directly from the artist when they sell them at live shows, but that’s usually a unknown musician who wouldn’t be available on a streaming service anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/45 "2015-12-08T22:10:24Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I have about 350 CD’s, mostly from the 90s that I rarely listen to anymore. Assuming I paid $10 each, that would pay for 29 years of a subscription service, and I wouldn’t be limited to the crap I bought years ago. Once I realized that, it’s been subscription all the way. I’ll only occasionally buy a CD directly from the artist when they sell them at live shows, but that’s usually a unknown musician who wouldn’t be available on a streaming service anyway. Interested in selling? PM me. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/46 "2015-12-09T02:34:46Z")
While I bought new CDs a few years ago and tracks off iTunes and Amazon relatively recently, I’ve basically taken to just listening to Pandora. I get almost just as much control over the music as I would by shuffling a selection of songs I was interested in listening to except that I might hear stuff I don’t own or even better have never heard before. Without Pandora I would have never discovered my love for a few genres of music, and feel that continuing to listen to it and branching off new stations with new interests is basically what I want to do with my music listening. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841/47 "2015-12-09T10:24:32Z")
I buy tracks, or a whole record but still in mp3 format. One of the uses of streaming services that I like is finding stuff I like enough to buy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-albums-tracks-cds-vinyl-or-just-go-with-a-music-service/738841.md?page=2)