Over the last 3-4 years I have probably on bought 1-2 a year. My last purchase was the Rick Wakeman CD single with piano covers of Bowie songs. I bought it as it was a charity single but also because I had heard him play Life on Mars on Radio 2 and wanted the rack.
Otherwise I play old CDs or use Spotify.
I would be interested to know who buys physical formats these days.
Buy them at concerts from the artist, or from the artist the last two have been Twang’s and Colin H’s.
I don’t – unless it is at a gig or festival.
Yup. I do. Mostly second-hand though.
Resident in Brighton still get my pennies for 5-12 cds a month (yes I know!!) With Amazon getting some action as well.
But I don’t drink, smoke or gamble so there could be worse vices.
Yes; mainly second-hand, with the occasional treat (‘McGough and McGear’, the recent rock ‘n’ roll ‘EP Collection’ series) thrown in.
Far and away my format of choice.
Cheap as chips, easy to use, easy to store, neat on the shelf, loads of info in the booklets.
Three or four a week from Amazon marketplace, a couple of newies a month.
I don’t really feel like I own an album unless I have the CD.
bought two last year (both 1D for the kid). None so far, this year.
Vinyl if I reaaalllllly want something badly enough, but still loads of CDs – either new from FOPP (generally £3/£5 titles) or s/h from estocks on the ‘Bay (usually a quid or so)
Far too many to do justice to, but mostly from record fairs and charity shops so I don’t spend a huge amount on them.
Snap!
Stacks of the things, especially at gigs and festivals. In this I am not alone. Apparently, while overall the market for physical product has dropped, the ‘specialist market’ i.e. blues, folk, classical, jazz, remains firm.
Too many, too much vinyl, I need to stop NOW.
Four or five a week at least most weeks, nearly all second hand. Charity shop finds make up the bulk, but also secondhand record shops, eBay and Amazon Marketplace. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a boxful if I hit a fellow traveller’s donation at a charity shop.
Today I picked up I Love Total Destruction by Nectarine No 9, and Folk, Blues and Beyond by Davy Graham for £1 each. They made the afternoon’s chores go with a smile.
I still by vinyl, mostly LPs but few singles, but only a handful a month.
I don’t stream or download, not that I’m making a grand statement about physical media being better somehow (I don’t think my ears are that finely tuned) – it’s just what I’m used to and I have the hardware for.
Haven’t bought CD or vinyl in the last ten years…
There’s something we have in common, Mr Wrongness. But I don’t possess any, either, and I suspect your Ikea shelves are sagging with terrible impulse decisions …
So that’s who was in my living room last night.
Occasionally. I download them immediately then let them collect dust on the shelf. I found a lot of the downloaded purchases I made from Amazon lacked a bit of oomph so I don’t bother any more.
Besides, I like the odd trip to Fopp now and again.
No. Haven’t bought a CD in a decade. I buy vinyl occasionally if it’s an album I love, just for the pleasure of pouring a drink and putting a record on of an evening.
But now I don’t even buy digital: Apple Music integrates so seamlessly with my iTunes that I’ve become a streamer without even noticing.
Cue Supertramp: ? “Stream-er, you’re nothing but a stream-er…” ?
Yes and vinyl too. Generally CD when there’s no vinyl equivalent.
Yes. Second-hand mostly, but I agree it hits the sweet spot between convenience – eg in the car, and audio quality. Recently for example picked up Stage and does it sound good on CD.
Committed to the physical product – CD.
I dallied with PBay and found the sound quality was, generally, awful. Plus I had no ‘physical’ contact with the product, albeit a plastic case and 4″x4″ literature.
Unless I feel an urgent need to have it now, eBay or Amazon generally feeds the addiction.
That was actually typed as 4 followed by ‘”‘. (as in inches). Hurr hu … oops!
I never download except as a last resort. Still buy loads of CDs, mainly classical these days, mostly from Amazon or Amazon marketplace sellers, though I still feel obligated to support my local HMV whenever I can, and their prices are much more competitive these days. I too don’t feel like I own a piece of music unless I have the physical product, and I have never really understood the general dislike of CDs that seems fashionably prevalent these days. I also love CD players as a piece of kit and can’t see myself ever abandoning the format for as long as it remains available. I’ve got thousands of the shiny little buggers.
Yes, a few, but a lot less than I used to. New albums which I have listened to on Spotify and really like, or which are by artists who I really care about. The only two new records I have bought this year are Blackstar and Lucinda Williams new one. and still the occasional old record I doth own, even if they are available to stream. Have just bought Williams’ first two albums, and eight Emmylou Harris records from the eighties at budget price.
But we are a dying breed. As far as the Office of National Statistics ‘basket’ by which they measure inflation is concerned CDs – or at least rewritable ones – have gone the same way as luncheon meat and corned beef.
I doth own? Forsooth. I meant ‘dont’
I am still partial to corned beef and CD’s but stopped eating luncheon meat around the same time that stopped buying cassettes.
This week I am boosting the U.S. economy in Austin and have bought about 10 and no doubt a few more before the week is out.
I still buy CDs but probably no more than 4 or 5 a month. I would really like an effective way of ripping my CD collection and putting them on a NAS but as I have around 10,000 of the buggers the task is much too daunting.
There are people that will do it for you but I found the best solution was just to get on with it. I find part of the secret of making an archiving task like this less daunting (and I’ve employed the tactic with big scanning tasks too) is the make sure you never fall behind. It’s important to rip anything new straight away then anything you rip from the past is clearly making progress. On a practical level, you’re probably more likely to listen to the new stuff (or at least want it on an MP3 Player) anyway. I always make sure I’ve done the artwork, year etc done for the new ones but when I did old ones I found it better to just get the music on the NAS. They always sound the same without the artwork!
Thanks, johnw. I’m sure you’re right about just getting on with it but it’s just so daunting, particularly if you can only rip one CD at a time. I’ve seen multi-CD rippers in the US but they are very expensive.
What I did was get a pile and make sure I feed them in every time I walked past the PC I was ripping them with. It helped that it was one that I remote access so that I just set the rip going next time I sat down at my main PC. Doing the new ones first is the main thing though.
Yep, mostly second hand and usually on a whim. For instance, two minutes ago I thought it was time I bought Entroducing, so I did. For 19p.
Nineteen pee!
Roughly the amount of times I do precisely that every night.
Have you tried sleeping on the loo?
One or two a month. Still my favourite format, and the one I came of age with.
A couple of people said above they don’t feel they own music unless in a physical form. I heartily agree.
The 4 piles of CDs on the table next to me are a sign of how many I’ve bought since Christmas.
It’s a mix of charity shops, ebay (estocks has now rebranded as music magpie) & amazon, with only a few new full price ones (Blackstar, of course).
I listen to them while working & the number listened to are a good gauge of how much to bill clients.
It’s noticeable how there’s a great drop off after 2012 for cheapies, when most casual listeners stopped buying – however, for the more committed, now is the time to fill in all the gaps, while eveything is dirt cheap.
Vinyl and CD box sets or extended releases. But on a break this year with the odd exception.
I have to do something with my record buying addiction. I bought around 30 LPs today in an auction for £14. I only wanted about a dozen of them because they are Disney/Diddymen/Pinky & Perky I collect. They came with a box of CDs, most of which will straight to a charity shop, but included ones for future listening. Finally there was a box of cassettes, most of which went in the bin as charity shops do not take them.
After that I called at a charity shop and bought a job lot of 49 Disney VHS tapes in mint condition. It included the rare Song Of The South film that has never been released on DVD.
Almost forgot. There were 3 x 78rpm discs in the auction lot. Only keeping the Danny Kaye disc.
God yes…in the hundreds every year. Almost all of new music.
My online vendor of choice give me a box of chocolate every new year with a thank you note. They should probably send me a box every month…
I confess. I bought a remastered copy of Trace by Son Volt only today. I am a very naughty boy and should be chastised.
yes plenty vinyl too, new and used.
Very rarely buy via download
Mostly from Ace Records as their compilations and rarities are like catnip to me.
I know people who only buy vinyl, which I think is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. There are some titles which don’t exist on vinyl and probably never will.
For example I started collecting Frank Zappa records in the late 60s and for two decades, all was well. Then around 1986 Frank released the album Does Humor Belong In Music ON CD ONLY! It was the first Zappa CD and (apart from a dodgy bootleg version) there never has been a vinyl version.
What to do? I didn’t even own a CD player in 1986, but I bought the CD anyway, figuring it may be deleted before I made the leap into the digital age.
Since then, we’ve seen maybe 40 or 50 new Zappa releases, all but a handful of them on CD only.
So a situation like that makes a mockery of the elitist vinyl-only policy held dear by some collectors.
Interesting story Johnny so did you eventually get the CD player to play them on?
Before we were so rudely interrupted.
Yes, I did Steve. And, if I may say so, sarcasm doesn’t become you.
Yep still buy CDs and Vinyl and I have my prized eMusic legacy account for filling the mp3 player.
The format choice is an interesting one – I’m getting into Steven Wilson at the moment (late to the party) I think I’ll get those on CD as it seems appropriate for him as he’s all about immaculate sound – I’m also getting into Alex Harvey Band and the 70s originals are quite cheap on Vinyl and maybe it’s because the image and look of the band was such an important part of the music the 12″ format appeals for that one. Other things I’m quite happy just listening to a download from eMusic – don’t need a rotatey disker for everything. The new Wire LP I will probably get on CD as all the others I have on CD!
I’m not anti-streaming or downloads – I just enjoy going out looking for records and CDs, I like owning the item and getting into the sleeve notes the artwork and all that, and I like the randomness of going to a record shop or a charity shop and seeing what turns up and what catches my eye –
This sums it up for me:
I am almost exclusively physical – CD or vinyl, depending on mood or cover. The only time I’ll buy a digital format if it is something I can’t get an actual copy of. As others have said, I don’t feel I have it otherwise. I have a free Spotify account, but I only use it like I used to use MySpace, as a way to check out something I’ve heard about before spending.
“I am almost exclusively physical …”
OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My work here is done
I am almost exclusively physical – CD or vinyl, depending on mood or cover. The only time I’ll buy a digital format if it is something I can’t get an actual copy of. As others have said, I don’t feel I have it otherwise. I have a free Spotify account, but I only use it like I used to use MySpace, as a way to check out something I’ve heard about before spending. I’m trying to cut back this year, so I’m on about half a dozen purchases a month.
You might think this is a duplicate post, but it has a hidden track at the end, look. You don’t get that with streaming.
Not for years. I don’t feel the need to accumulate music, file it, rate it, annotate it. I know! What am I doing here?
Spotify for home, iTunes for out and about. I occasionally go into HMV just to laugh at the people buying vinyl re-issues at £17. I gave the originals away years ago. Record collecting, now you have other ways of accessing the music, is like keeping the bag your takeaway came in.
Yes. The odd download if the only viable option, but I need the physical thing.
Tis the season of the car boot sale – misty mornings and the smell of the burger van – as you root through boxes of rubbish for the odd CD gem. Much better than charity shops I find – there must be a central warehouse somewhere that provides the same CDs to every charity shop in the country – Alanis Morrisette, landfill indie and Russell Watson. Having said that did find a rare Mark Murphy CD the other day.
I bought a very nice record deck last year to try and “reclaim” my vinyl – but I rarely use it – and tend to stick with CDs. Like others have said, I’ve never understood the antipathy towards them – I’m probably not “authentic” enough. Does strike me also that it our local Fopp, for all the vinyl now on the shelves, most people seem to be buying CDs/DVDs.
Yep. Buy very few ‘full price’, unless by someone I really like. Otherwise, I wait until we go to Fopp and Rise in that Bristol, and buy them when they’re much cheaper 12 – 18 months from release. Same goes for DVDs.
I like having the physical product. Apart from anything else, it’s a cheap backup, and you can’t have too many backups for anything on a computer.
Buy CDs? God, yeah, any old how and incessantly, new, old, used, all sorts. I don’t even, can’t even, won’t even listen to my monthly e-musics until they are burnt, they only being about a 1/4 of my purchases in any month. The squeeze is even worse, with a tributary of the bloody tax-dodgers seemingly running right past our door, so frequent are her brown cardboard parcels. Thinking of giving up food to balance the books. (Books, books did you say? Hell, yeah, loads of the buggers etc etc)
We must be related. ?
Only very occasionally, if the music is only available in that form. The only CD player I have is in the car, and I have an external CD drive for ripping the occasional discs into a format I can actually listen to. It’s all about the music for me, couldn’t give a stuff about the “thing”. We have a cupboard full of CDs that might as well go to charity.
I’ve never owned a record player, perhaps unusually for someone who is nearly 50.
I’ve used most of the streaming services, and have settled on Apple Music.
I’ll be Fopping-it in that there London next month and it’ll be my usual £20-£25 worth of purchases, mainly filling in the gaps, and two or three 50s/60s Blue Notes with the tremendous cover art.
Then off for the real quality in Reckless.
Maybe I go in at the wrong time (very early), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone buy an LP in Fopp.
Books, dvds, CDs (overwhelmingly).
Vinyl? Never.
Yes I still do. I like having “stuff” and showing it off. To be honest I then rip them and mainly play them on tablet etc. Mainly listen to cds in the car.
Very occasionally, usually after gigs when I’ve had a few and my wits have gone south. I don’t find record stores as exciting as I used to and try to avoid online shopping.
As with several correspondents above, I still buy CDs as I don’t feel I own the album without them, yet they either go straight on the shelf after being ripped, never to be troubled again, or in some cases never even get opened if they’ve been auto-ripped via the tax dodgers. Most CDs purchased from them, either direct or via Marketplace. I haven’t got the patience to wade through charity shops.
As for vinyl, I flirted with it again with a couple of re-issues of favourite albums (Scott Walker’s first, Dexy’s “Don’t Stand Me Down”) and was disappointed with the sound (despite decent hi-fi set-up), so haven’t gone back. I also remembered why I loved CD in the first place – convenience of course, but most importantly no clicks or scratches. If labels thought through the process and made available CDs with large (say 12” sized) artwork, now that stores have the racks to house them again, I would welcome that as I do miss reading sleeve notes (though not enough to go back to vinyl as a preferred format).
I listen to music either via the iPod (car, with “prepared” playlists, or walking) and via my streamer at home, but streaming my own collection, rarely Spotify. Despite being an early adopter, I find the Spotify process somewhat unsatisfying. Only downloads I get are exclusives such as Max Richter’s 8-hour “Sleep”, or individual songs I want – I will “take” a track off YouTube if the artist/label hasn’t been bothered to release it, but I do make a point of buying it if available through the usual channels.
@KDH Saw “Sleep” in Resident in Brighton today on 8 CDs, £46.
@ip33 – Never knew it had a physical release – at the time I got it for £19.99 on Amazon (courtesy of lots of £1 credits from opting for slow delivery on Prime) it was download only, but makes sense that a long classical work would also get a disc release.
I have a Sonos through which I can listen to either Spotify or CDs ripped to a nas drive but lately, I’ve begun to miss flipping through CDs and finding something that I haven’t heard for ages. I may have to start buying CDs again as long as I can find somewhere to put the ones that are currently in the loft. The only thing that really puts me off is the overall quality of the material on a lot of new releases. Maybe it’s my age but I find the killer/filler ratio skewed in the wrong direction a lot of the time.
I started listening to stuff from a server over ten years ago now and I went through the same but as the Sonos apps have improved, I’ve now over it completely.
I remember being asked in around 1980, when it will be that I have ‘enough’ records (CDs were, of course ‘the future’). I treated the question with the contempt it clearly deserved but I think now, 35 years later, I may have reached that point. I’m not stopping though!
I buy loads of CDs and vinyl- 99 per cent old stuff or re-issues/boxed sets though. I genuinely try to like new stuff but after reading reviews I check bands/artists out on You Tube or whatever and generally go ‘meh’. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that, by now, I’m more of a ‘historian’ rather than a straight forward ‘music fan’. I’ve never knowingly downloaded anything and I’ve never spotified.
Christmas 2015 was the first in what must be close to 20 years that I neither gave or received any. I’ve been dispatching boxes of CDs to charity shops on the basis I have plenty that I don’t care enough about to want a back-up copy should I not be able to stream it. I think I bought less than a dozen CDs all year. I did fall off the wagon when Spin had their new year flash sale and acquired Eagles, America, ZZ Top and UFO box sets.
No interest in going back to vinyl. I still harbour a lingering resentment about how much it cost me to migrate from LP’s with CD’s so I’m buggered if I’m going pay the bonkers prices some places want for new vinyl – £8 for a “collectors special” 7 inch single of S&G’s “Homeward Bound” anyone?
£8.00 is a lot. If we extrapolate the cost of a single from about 1977 when singles were king, it should cost about £4 by now. The main difference now is that we could buy 10 S&G albums on CDs in a box for about £15, why would anyone want that single? Is there anybody that considers the sound quality of a 7in single to be superior to a CD?
Here’s a thought. 12 inch gatefold sleeve, all the artwork, inserts, lyric sheets, impossible floating mountain landscapes and what have you. Heavyweight laminated cardboard. Tucked inside the sleeve, glued in place but accessible easily using Near Field tech is a sliver of micro-SD with the album, in several digital formats plus all of artwork etc.
I’d much rather own that than a polycarbonate case or a digipack.
Anyone fancy a cloud-funding punt?
Far too many – probably close to one per day if I include second hand. My car has a CD player and I spend over an hour in it every day.
My ears are decent shape considering my age, I’ve never smoked, and Crohn’s prevents drinking and eating out. Music keeps me happy. And I’ve got to spend my cash on something.
I went through the cupboard of CDs last weekend in preparation for a party – I have to fill a 90 minute DJ set. I made a 6hr30 playlist and picked out about 500 more CDs to spin.
I should probably stop, but in truth I don’t want to.
The way my brain is wired, I think in sleeves rather than titles, nd I don’t like compressed formats, so I don’t get on with downloads.
I’m picturing you emerging from that CD tray like Hong Kong Phooey from a filing cabinet drawer, except your nauseous from all the spinning and you’re half blind from the laser. Probably best to give it a minute before you drive..
Yes I do, and according to Mrs D, far too many.
She sort of has a point, as I’ve yet again run out of shelf space for them (in truth, I’ve run out of space in the room to put any more shelves).
I am considering alternative storage options, but at the moment quite like the look of the big pile of unhomed CDs on top of the stereo (and dining room table, and other places nearby).
Format of choice for me – occasionally buy second hand vinyl, but I can usually be found hovering around the CD bins in Charity Shops and Car Boot Sales.
Can’t be doing with downloads or digitising my collection – I am basically a luddite and a dinosaur.
Last night I calculated that 1000 CDs takes up about the same volume as a 14 cm thick, single mattress. I’m not sure what the relevance of this is to your comment, but It’s a factoid that may have some use in future storage negotiations.
That is the type of exceedingly useful trivia that appeals to me.
I will try and lever it into as many conversations as possible over the coming weeks.
I there out all my jewel cases a decade ago, all my CDs are now in wallets. Take up no room at all and of course I never play them anyway as they are all ripped. Can’t be bothered trying to read those tiny booklets either
Threw out!
Definitely do still buy CDs, 2nd hand (loads at low prices), and new (e.g. latest Steven Wilson, the excellent Colin H. one) as well as continuing to seek out LPs at reasonable prices. Vinyl is indeed my reproduction of choice but don’t expect any analogue v digital arguments, they’re both effective. Love radio too, especially BBC and WDR (German moulded-on-BBC clone) productions.
Quite like the idea of MP3/streaming but am terrified of downloading and the time burden of all aspects of dealing with computers. Too much faffing about for my taste.
Why though are CDs so fragile? My best machine (an Arcam) refuses to read quite a few and the things often develop ticks and skips for no apparent reason. Oh well, there’s always the toothpaste trick…
Paging @fentonsteve. This last would be a question for you, Steve. Any ideas?
Dodgy laser or laser transport, probably. Arcam can probably replace it for you. Give ’em a call.
Cheers m8.
Me, I still buy them. CDs I buy mainly new with the odd second-hand one thrown in from the Amazon marketplace if I can’t get what I want new (Ian Anderson’s Divinities, for example). I have a package being delivered today containing Miles Davis’ mono recordings and The Pretenders Singles, in fact.
Vinyl, a mixture of new and second-hand.
I can’t be doing with streaming in the main, although I use Spotify occasionally.
There are loads of cd bargains to be had these days. It’s almost like the final days of vinyl. I’m currently building a ‘nice’ jazz collection out of cds I’m rewarding myself for saved bus fares from cycling. I buy new cds by the artists I love. I don’t buy new vinyl. At 20 pounds or more I hear every imperfection and can’t enjoy it. I buy second hand vinyl though, right ropey old stuff. I pay Spotify ten pounds a month but rarely use it. That could be about three more cds a month for my jazz collection if I cancel it I reckon. There’s an idea…
Dead right about the Jazz CDs, picked up a Stanley Clarke box set today. 7 CDs for £13.
My Miles Davis “Original Mono Recordings” box set arrived today. And a couple of days ago a boxful of Bowie CDs and CD box sets (mostly old jazz) arrived. I’m expecting “Dark Side Of the Moog Vol. 5-8” to arrive before the end of the month too.
So yes, I still buy CDs.
Like several other respondents to this enquiry, I do like to own the physical object rather than just a download.
I usually buy CDs at gigs if the performers are selling and I’ve enjoyed their music. Last week a band (of the improvising jazz persuasion) that I happened to see were giving away free copies of one of their albums.
I’m having a CD digitizing catchup blitz at the moment. I discovered I’d forgotten to rip about a quarter of my old box sets. XTC’s “Apple Box”, Madness’ “The Business”, Tim Buckley’s “Morning Glory” anthology and The Fall’s “Rough Trade Singles Box” have all just been losslessly ripped. King Crimson’s “The Great Deceiver” 4-CD live set and Little Feat’s “Hotcakes & Outtakes” are in the queue.
Looking at some stats, I see that UK album sales in 2006 were over 150 million ( presumably mostly on CD). Last year CD sales were about 22m, with just under 14m digital downloads.
5-7 a month. Mostly 2nd hand via Zoverstocks.
Bought the Steve Mason one today in town. It’s great.
Have to have the physical artefact. Even if all I do is rip and file. Don’t see that changing for a long time yet