iTunes Vs CDs

Prince Of Dorkness

So When I lived in Canada I had thousands of CDs. This was my pre-iPod days and I always loved music so it was necessary. When I got my job here in LA I had to move quickly and just sold them all (including all 50 of my official bootleg Pearl Jam CDs. THAT hurt).

Since then it's just been iTunes. It's a bit more convenient and easy. A bit cheaper and most of all, I don't have to have thousands of CDs taking up a whole wall in my house.

Then I finally bought a 4-wheeled vehicle and discovered listening to music while driving. I'm in the process of buying my favorite albums on CD again, but then I just watched the short video that comes with the last PJ record on iTunes and now I feel guilty for not just buying all the songs on iTunes and playing them off my iPod for the sake of the environment.

ERg.. and then my vinyl that I was just starting to buy again.

Anyone wanna weigh in on the whole thing?

mca47

I only buy CDs if it truly is a quality disc, or from a band that I really like and/or support.

Most album releases anymore only have a couple of decent songs on them as bands aren't so much concerned with the flow of a disc/vinyl but having a hit that is constantly played on the radio.

Digital dloads and CDs both have a place in my opinion.

so-much-clearer

Digital purchases are a sham IMO because although it may be cheaper for a single song, with iTunes' ridiculous protection, you can only use the song on three computers and after that, you can't play it again if you've replaced or reformatted those computers. It's never yours like a ripped CD would be. But maybe I'm misinformed because I don't usually buy music like that. I just know myself and friends have basically lost purchased iTunes tracks because we reached that limit.

Thoughts_Arrive

Long live CD's and Vinyl.
Nothing beats that good feeling you get going to your record store and buying something tangible and then getting home and opening it!
The digital format, although convenient, is killing the joy of buying music.

pretext

I'm moving farther back in time as the "digital revolution" rolls on. I continue to buy cds, mostly used, and pick up everything else in vinyl now that i have a turntable again. There's something about having the physical object. Just seeing my full shelves makes me happy.
There's a connection there that I miss with iTunes downloads. For example, I had asked for Into the Wild a couple years ago for xmas. My xmas list has always been populated mostly by cds, and my folks know this and buy me a pile. But that year, my dad, the Starbucks freak, found ITW as a download while he was buying coffee. Theoretically, it was what I wanted. However, even when I downloaded it, initially, I didn't listen as much as I would have a cd I just bought. I also didn't like having this stupid card sticking out the middle of my cd shelves. And I didn't have the artwork because, even if a downloaded it, I had nowhere to store it.

Additionally, iTunes cuts record stores out of the equation. I love going to independent stores and digging through the bins. There's a certain culture there, an unspoken kinship amongst your fellow shoppers and the dedicated clerks/owners. I want those people to have a place in society. And maybe I'm romanticizing some of this, but I certainly like how I feel driving home with a stack of new music.

Prince Of Dorkness

So Much Clearer wrote:

Digital purchases are a sham IMO because although it may be cheaper for a single song, with iTunes' ridiculous protection, you can only use the song on three computers and after that, you can't play it again if you've replaced or reformatted those computers. It's never yours like a ripped CD would be. But maybe I'm misinformed because I don't usually buy music like that. I just know myself and friends have basically lost purchased iTunes tracks because we reached that limit.

not so anymore. They did away with DRM and now you can play them on as many computers as you want.

Prince Of Dorkness

Sadly... I do agree about digital downloads.

I still remember the excitement I felt when I was a teenager.. money in hand and going to the record store to buy a new album. I didn't know what I would buy until I got there. Sometimes discovering a new band like Killing Joke or Missing Persons right there in the store and taking the album home to hear it.

I remember seeing my Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Björk collections grow to fill a full shelf on my CD racks. Albums, Singles, Imports, Bootleg live CDs. My 80s vinyl collection was magic.

but when I moved to America there was just no way to afford taking it here. I had to sell it all or just give it away. I've recently bought all the Pearl Jam albums again on CD for my car and I feel like I've rediscovered them. I've had them all on iTunes for a while but now that I have the covers with the booklets and a hard copy... it's more like I really own it.

But environmentally... I think I'm going to keep digital downloads for most of my music.