technology Do you prefer downloaded/online music or CDs?

[Radiance64 7,051]

I like CDs, I probably take better care of them then most people.

[OlugnaZitro 24]

When its from my favourites artists CD's

[Cupcake Ice Cream 436]

I love listening to vinyl records. Nothing comes close.

 

hallelujah...

 

if it comes to those two...I chose digital for my ipod so I can run with it

 

but vinyl...smooth and warm

[A Blithering Div 247]

CDs as Amazon doesn't offer FLAC. Vinyl is much better in terms of SQ but finding vinyl of new music is difficult as its rarely done. What would really be nice is if DVD-Audio took off. Then I could have digital music that's as good as vinyl on a media format that doesn't degrade every time you play it.

 

Edit: There is Super Audio CD but its rather proprietary and requires a separate player and as such, isn't widely used.

Edited June 30, 2012 by A Blithering Div

[One 498]

Nothing better than illegaly downloading (its not like i have a source of income)

[InfinityWhale 771]

CDs. You can put music from CDs on the computer, as many times as you like without fear of DRM. Also, it can be used in a ton of devices, while you can't easily swap devices w/ electronic media.

[Haven Celestii 9,385]

Arrrgh! Digital all the way.

 

CDs are for my car, only because its safer than listening to an Ipod while driving.

 

As for paying. I got nothing wrong with buying them, digitally of course, but most of the time I dont. If it is easier to obtain through purchase, though, I usually will not hesitate to buy a song.

[Treeboy 418]

hallelujah...

 

if it comes to those two...I chose digital for my ipod so I can run with it

 

but vinyl...smooth and warm

 

It's a shame how it's dying. I have some more coming in the mail from Converge and Silver Mt. Zion that I have to spin. Records sound GREAT.

[ZirBronium 26]

I much prefer using a computer to listen to/blast my music. CDs are a thing of the past.

 

I do remember my portable CD player though...Thooooose were the days...

[Retro*Derpy 3,079]

Have to go with CDs, as they are already capable with car stereos and my jeep doesn't have a USB port for online music via Ipod. Though online music is much more convenient as it is faster to get.

[YuiNyan 41]

Hmmm.. i think i go for online cuz in the past i bought many cd's from many bands now i lost them -.- so... i   think it's better to listen it online...

[Moog the Kvlt 1,460]

I prefer CDs, it's just something about having a physical copy of my favorite album that I like. I also love collecting them, as for people who are going on about how they lost their CDs just leave the CDs on a rack or shelf, and use iTunes to put the songs from your CDs into your library. Now you can keep your collection without having to worry about losing them.

[Inactive01 5,298]

For classical music, I definitely would rather have the CDs. Their booklets on the CD slips have very useful information about the pieces featured. Plus, I get to save it at a cabinet somewhere if our computers lose the data. For other types of music, I'd rather download it; it's free and easy

[Le Kvlt Dawn 2,364]

I'm a fucking pirate, if I find something good, I want it in my computer immediately. I would buy CDs but there aren't any good record stores around me.

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn 240]

CD's for me too. Not just with music, but with films and games too.
I love having a physical copy of something, plus I usually try to buy the best version (deluxe/limited/collector's edition) of CD's, DVD/Blu-ray's, and games. 

[Freewave 1,145]

I've been a pirate since about 2001. I used to have a $30 a week habit buying mostly used cd's (in which money didn't go to the original artists either with the sale) and i find it far easier and cheaper going purely digital. It does have a habit of lessening how much you enjoy a lot of the music you get but you get a lot more variety and get to try out music you otherwise wouldn't have bought. Since music isn't physically bound a file and a loaded ipod works just fine for me.

[Paianis 488]

CDs are a horrible format, given the less than expected longevity with some discs that were pressed in the 80s. I only get them because they're the only viable consumer physical format around. Given the choice, I will take lossless/FLACs over iTunes MP4s and CDs anyday, but unfortunately they're still not very common in the mainstream.

 

Vinyl records still have the place if you want better masterings of certain music, new or old, but again it is a horrible format to work with. Reel-to-reel beats anything in the analog world.

[-BleachedOne- 233]

There's always a special place in my heart for a physical copy of the music I like. Don't get me wrong; digital music is pretty awesome, especially when you can back it all up to a music library and play it without switching disks. But what about cars that don't have an auxiliary input, and have a CD player? I know pretty well that my stepdad's Torino doesn't have an input for a 3.5mm connector, or a fancy Bluetooth dongle. So yeah, CDs are definitely still awesome, despite our reliance on digital music in the current age.

 

I mean, I didn't buy Enema of the State at a thrift shop for $5 for nothing. ;3

[EndtheRaven 161]

But you forgot the third option, vinyl

Most of the music I own is 320 kbps mp3, I've never liked cd's very much. But I do like to have an album on LP as well if possible. 

[NightOwl 911]

I listen to music on my computer with Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.

 

When I was younger though I remember using actual physical CD's and cosset tapes .

[Hansel 1,511]

My music library is a physical one, everything is on CD. Now that I think about it, I almost never download music.   I don't even own an MP3, I still use a walkman. 

Not that I have an issue with downloads, I think they're great. I just hope they don't entirely replace CD's. I love owning a physical copy.

 

I do listen to music on Youtube a lot, though. I would also like to buy an MP3 at some point, but I'd imagine that I'd still stick with buying CD's unless they're only available as downloads.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Hansel

[cd_solidsnake 122]

A lot of people here prefer CDs apparently, and I also do. BUT, since I live in a country where CDs are practically unexistant (unless you buy online) I go all the way down for digital downloads.

 

The twist here: I BUY LOSSLESS. There are dozens of websites that offer high quality lossless files like Beatport, Bandcamp, Junodownload, etc. So I don't have to rely on iTunes of other mp3 online store. This also means that I have a backup of my files, and I will always have a second or third copy (anyway, I'm paying for the right to have the file on as many HDDs I want).

 

Now, sites like bleep.com offer you to buy the CD and give you a digital download, so it's an EPIC WIN 

[Concord 1,980]

Hello!

 

Considering I have large collections of both, I can only judge by convienence and quality . Personally, nowadays, I listen more to downloaded music, but whenever there's a chance, I put in some CD's aswell

[NomDeSpite 452]

My opinion is that art will die the day that it ceases to be obtainable in a physical medium. The idea of a world with nothing tangible is a bit frightening. As such, I certainly prefer CDs although vinyls I prefer more than both of them. I understand that CDs usually don't make the artist a whole lot of money but that's an indication of problems in the music industry, not with CDs as a format. Sure, I browse Youtube for music. It's convenient and you can cover lots of ground very quickly when searching for new artists. I even deign to have an MP3 player but when an artist really has superb music, I'll get something physical to listen to it on. I'm pleased to see CD get such a large number of supporters (even any at all).

[Scootaloodle 1,621]

I prefer vinyl to all of them, nothing is quite like vinyl. I think it sounds better, it feels more special when playing music on a record than it does playing a CD or MP3.

 

 

Out the choice given I'd say MP3, all the CD's I do buy I ripp into MP3 format then they get banished to a draw where I keep my CDs and don't see daylight again. I will even admit MP3 is the most compatible even compared to my beloved vinyl. You can do anything with an MP3, play it almost anywhere these days since most modern music playing devices have MP3 connectors, sample/remix/re-edit them, download them, upload them, store more than one copy for absaloutley free in another place, so yeah vinyl is the faverite but MP3 is very good for it's compatibility

Edited April 19, 2013 by Asherdangerdash