CDs

[Winnipeger]

Does anybody else have a collection of 1000 pounds of plastic that's been made mostly obsolete by modern streaming services?

A recent post in the WAYS thread by @AppalachianPiper92 had a picture of a pipe sitting on top of a CD copy of Miles Smiles. It reminded me of the problem my collection represents. I spent about a decade tracking down the entire Miles Davis catalogue. I needed to own everything he ever released and all the live performances available. I think I have 70+ Miles Davis CDs. They're sitting on a shelf I built in the back of a spare bedroom closet to get them out of the way along with the rest of my massive collection. Maybe 10 percent of my total collection is rare or obscure, but the rest of it is available, either for free on youtube, or for a nominal monthly fee. I carried all this plastic from one apartment to another, across the continent and back again, then from house, to house...to house. In 2004 I bought a 40 gig iPod and uploaded about 2/3 of my collection at that time, so I could take it with me when I went to work on ships.

I've looked into getting rid of the collection, because it takes up so much space. What is not available from streaming services is the great packaging, historical essays and liner notes, especially in all the jazz and classical packages. Does anyone else have the same problem of a bunch of useless plastic taking up valuable space? I'm afraid it's all going to end up in a landfill eventually, one way or another. CDs are not recyclable, and their resale value may not be worth the effort to sell them.

 

[Zack Miller]

Keep in mind vinyl is making a comeback.

 

[Winnipeger]

Tha

Keep in mind vinyl is making a comeback.

That only means CDs are even less desirable. The popularity of Vinyl is a backlash against digital IMO.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have almost 800 vinyl albums, maybe four hundred CDs, and boxes and boxes of tapes in storage. I also pay to use Apple music unlimited. But, really, I still enjoy my vinyl the most. It better allows me to enjoy whole albums instead of just songs. And, even if I can download whatever I want to my phone, I don’t feel like I own it, till I have the vinyl… so, I am still buying albums.

 

[Deano]

Does anybody else have a collection of 1000 pounds of plastic that's been made mostly obsolete by modern streaming services?

A recent post in the WAYS thread by @AppalachianPiper92 had a picture of a pipe sitting on top of a CD copy of Miles Smiles. It reminded me of the problem my collection represents. I spent about a decade tracking down the entire Miles Davis catalogue. I needed to own everything he ever released and all the live performances available. I think I have 70+ Miles Davis CDs. They're sitting on a shelf I built in the back of a spare bedroom closet to get them out of the way along with the rest of my massive collection. Maybe 10 percent of my total collection is rare or obscure, but the rest of it is available, either for free on youtube, or for a nominal monthly fee. I carried all this plastic from one apartment to another, across the continent and back again, then from house, to house...to house. In 2004 I bought a 40 gig iPod and uploaded about 2/3 of my collection at that time, so I could take it with me when I went to work on ships.

I've looked into getting rid of the collection, because it takes up so much space. What is not available from streaming services is the great packaging, historical essays and liner notes, especially in all the jazz and classical packages. Does anyone else have the same problem of a bunch of useless plastic taking up valuable space? I'm afraid it's all going to end up in a landfill eventually, one way or another. CDs are not recyclable, and their resale value may not be worth the effort to sell them.

Same problem with DVD's. My late wife and l amassed a huge collection that just gathers dust now. As for CD's my car didnt come with a player but again its the new normal lol.

 

[Winnipeger]

Same problem with DVD's. My late wife and l amassed a huge collection that just gathers dust now. As for CD's my car didnt come with a player but again its the new normal lol.

My wife and I have a lot of DVD's too. Boxes and boxes. The problem with DVDs is the cases take up even more space than CDs. I guess I need to start by disposing of all the cases.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I have lots of CDs and DVDs and I play them regularly. Streaming is great for certain things, but if it's something I want to watch, listen to, or read again down the road, I still go for the hard copy.

 

[BarrelProof]

CD’s and cassettes are coming back, too. Hold onto them, you’ll be glad you did within 5 years. Mark my word. I have a buddy who’s tuned into this subculture and he just spent a grand on a CD player to tie into his home audio system.

I don’t get it, either. I used to hate when they’d get scratched and skip, I hated winding tapes back up that the player tried to eat, etc. I think hipsters are driving this sudden resurgence at an attempt to further entrench themselves in counterculture, but it could be lucrative for you.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Had 400+ albums last time I counted which was probably 30 years ago and probably that many CDs. Vinyl my favorite by far. Have one really good single CD player and every few years when my carousel gives out, I get another! The only music steaming I do is in my Jeep now that the new ones don’t come with a CD player. Wife’s car still has one though!

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

And …. vs. Sirius XM, the audio quality via my Apple service is excellent. Haven’t had a crap system in a car since I was 17.

 

[Winnipeger]

I have lots of CDs and DVDs and I play them regularly. Streaming is great for certain things, but if it's something I want to watch, listen to, or read again down the road, I still go for the hard copy.

I can't tell the difference between watching a DVD of The Godfather, or streaming it on Netflix, or wherever it happens to be available. The only reason I can see for holding on to hard copies is, maybe one day it'll become unavailable anywhere. Kind of the same reason I have so many pounds of Dark Birdseye in my basement. But in the case of digital media, it's 100% fungible.

 

[BarrelProof]

Had 400+ albums last time I counted which was probably 30 years ago and probably that many CDs. Vinyl my favorite by far. Have one really good single CD player and every few years when my carousel gives out, I get another! The only music steaming I do is in my Jeep now that the new ones don’t come with a CD player. Wife’s car still has one though!

My rig has a tape player and none of this fancy new CD technology.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've seen too much loss and corruption doing data management for different jobs. Physical copies are what I keep for all of my movies, music, and games.

 

[bullet08]

Got rid of few hundred vinyls when getting married. Worst mistake I've ever made. Not that they sounded great with scratches and all. Not getting rid of my CDs. I don't trust anything digital. Easy come, easy go. Last time Amazon changed their music player format/design or whatever, I lost all my play list and can't find half the tunes I saved. Good thing I have all of them on my CDs. And all the CDs are in perfect condition. Rip 'em and all the tunes are on my MP3 player.

 

[Briar Tuck]

CD’s and cassettes are coming back, too. Hold onto them, you’ll be glad you did within 5 years. Mark my word. I have a buddy who’s tuned into this subculture and he just spent a grand on a CD player to tie into his home audio system.

I don’t get it, either. I used to hate when they’d get scratched and skip, I hated winding tapes back up that the player tried to eat, etc. I think hipsters are driving this sudden resurgence at an attempt to further entrench themselves in counterculture, but it could be lucrative for you.

A friend of mine found a bunch of brand new blank cassette tapes in storage a while back and he was able to sell them for a ridiculous amount of money on eBay.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

I'm a hoarder of all things. Antiques, pipes and tobacco, music (CDs, LPs, cassettes, R2R Tapes, etc).
I still enjoy CDs, I think they're a great format. They're especially great for those hard to track down LPs I can't seem to find, or for albums that weren't released on vinyl. I also don't trust my music solely on a computer. I'm a hard copy kinda guy.
I do fear they'll end up in a landfill one day, but that day will be after I'm dead. For now, my family and I just enjoy our music. I did take a few boxes to goodwill, stuff I just don't listen to anymore.

It gets alot of hate, but the CD is a quality format - especially paired with a quality player and setup. I especially like SACD when I can find em.
Don't forget- CD quality (per bitrate) is better than streaming which is how I can justify a nice player, just like my turntable.

 

[BarrelProof]

A friend of mine found a bunch of brand new blank cassette tapes in storage a while back and he was able to sell them for a ridiculous amount of money on eBay.

It’s a thing and it’s happening. I have a few different independent record labels I follow that press newer stuff on vinyl. I’ve been pissed more times than not over the last year to see new releases on cassette tapes vs. vinyl. Now they release things on cassettes and CD’s. I’ll take this opportunity to reiterate my disdain for hipsters.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I can't tell the difference between watching a DVD of The Godfather, or streaming it on Netflix, or wherever it happens to be available. The only reason I can see for holding on to hard copies is, maybe one day it'll become unavailable anywhere. Kind of the same reason I have so many pounds of Dark Birdseye in my basement. But in the case of digital media, it's 100% fungible.

I agree that streaming quality is great with high enough bandwidth and you aren't likely to notice any difference in quality, but you might not always have high bandwidth or even internet access at all.

 

[Winnipeger]

you might not always have high bandwidth or even internet access at all.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Got rid of few hundred vinyls when getting married. Worst mistake I've ever made. Not that they sounded great with scratches and all. Not getting rid of my CDs. I don't trust anything digital. Easy come, easy go. Last time Amazon changed their music player format/design or whatever, I lost all my play list and can't find half the tunes I saved. Good thing I have all of them on my CDs. And all the CDs are in perfect condition. Rip 'em and all the tunes are on my MP3 player.

I got rid of a dozen or so vinyl records many years ago and I'd love to have them back now, some are now worth an incredible amount of money. Fortunately I did keep another dozen or so records. I never imagined vinyl making a comeback or the value being so high.