Don't Miss Out! 10 Reasons to Buy CDs Now Before it's Too Late

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Recommended Streamer

Recommended Speaker List

Around $100 (These prices will fluctuate between $75 - $150)
Pioneer AJ First Gen - Laid Back

Around $200

Around $400

Around $500

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Polk Reserve R100 - Neutral

Recommended Amp List

Under $100

Around $130

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Recommended DACs

Subs

[shreddherring]

Number 11. You will actually Own your music, instead of just renting it. I still buy blurays instead of streaming too. Not only is the quality better, and far more consistent and reliable, but I dont have to worry about a particular thing suddenly not being available online anymore. Plus, deluxe edition cd's, and often cd single, will give you extra tracks that you wont find anywhere else. Just make sure if you're using EAC to rip to WAV, I honestly dont understand why anyone would seek out a cd because it is better quality, to then turn around and rip it to a compressed file type, defeats the object

[totallyfrozen]

#3 Is absolutely true. In 25 years, I’ve never heard an mp3 or stream that sounds as good as a CD.
5:44
Beyond fun, I’ve decided that physical media is the only thing I really trust anymore. I can’t tell you how much money and how many singles and albums I’ve bought in iTunes only to have the music delete from my device. Then I return to the iTunes Store to restore the purchase and learn that the music is no longer for sale. So when iTunes stops selling it, they steal it back from everyone they had sold it to previously. No warning, no refund. The music is just GONE and unavailable. With CDs and cassettes I’ll always have my music.

[ThePittsburghToddy]

I worked at Sam Goody for 10 years until ‘95. Until Best Buy and Circuit City came around, full price CDs were $18 and sale prices were typically $14.99. So, current CD pricing is an absolute steal!

[msh]

Bought my first CD in 1987 and still buying them today. Yes, a better sounding medium to my ears.

[j.t.cooper]

I've bought about 300 CD's over the last couple of years and I've been buying them for 40 years now. I have 40 year old CD's that still sound as good as the day I bought them. You can't say that about any other medium. 💿

[cnhhnc]

I grew up in the age of vinyl, but unlike many vinyl jockeys of my generation, I was deleriously happy when the CD appeared. Before that I was mainly a cassette man because I was NOT able to afford much in my youth during the age of vinyl. The CD was to many of us, a savior. No more pops, clicks, rumble, scratches-endless cleaning and fretting over the medium, and less dynamic range. You think vinyl is NOT compressed? Think again!

I bought my first CDP in 1990. A mid-fi Sony that died in 1998. And began collecting CDs. Transitioning from the cassette. I had an AIWA cassette deck, a lower powered Pioneer integrated, and a set of Canadian DB Plus speakers in the late '80s as my first real system. To this I added the Sony CD deck.
Later, when I had more money, I bought a set of JBL L80ts and a higher model Kenwood Dolby Receiver (130 watts x 2 @ 8 ohms). And I was off to the races!

To this day, the CD remains my primary medium. I don't really do DACs. My two best players are a Harman Kardon HD 990-which can also function as a DAC-has an optical in. And a Jolida Music Van MKIV tube output/input CDP (four tubes, two transformers)-which really warms up that digital sound. Tubes and digital are a wonderful marriage. I prefer to own my music, I do stream, but when I stream I'm less concerned with lossless because it is either to experience some new music, or as background.

A good CD can sound great if you have the right equipment. I don't care what the vinyl boys say. I also spin vinyl and my system is more mid-fi there but I don't hear anything fantastic when I'm playing LPs. They sound good enough, but NOT amazing. And, the noise is still usually around.And some records are not that dynamic in range. They don't match the expansiveness of the CD from soft to loud. A GOOD CD that is. The problem? There are a lot of poorly mastered and recorded CDs like there are lps and cassettes.

[lizk]

Love this! My 14 year old daughter recently bought a decent bookshelf stereo system with CD player, and she has been blown away by the quality. When she fully understood that the cool thing about CDs is that they are HERS, and no streaming service can decide whether or not to carry artists she likes, she was hooked. (I know this is obvious to older Millennials and up, but man. Once more Gen Z kids catch on, I bet CDs will start going up in price.)

[mechanik]

Roughly a year before the pandemic, Best Buy physical stores were blowing out their CD stock at $3/$4/$5 each, brand new. I scored a ton of Sabbath and other stuff.

[gypsypath]

#3. YES! CDs just sound _richer_ and _deeper_ than streamed music.

[winnie]

My adult son listened to a lot of CDs in his high school years and of course, when he moved out, his stuff didn’t. He had CD wallets with the discs to save space & to be able to transport all of the discs with him on overnight trips. I spent a couple of hours last wk reuniting discs with their liner notes & cases. He probably won’t want these back, but at least they’re organized now.

[joshdieckmann]

I've been collecting CDs for a little over 30 years now, and will continue to do so. Same with vinyl, which I've collected for over 25. I like physical media: the experience of opening it up and looking at the packaging, putting the disc on the platter (or in the tray), reading liner notes and lyrics, and looking at the artwork. It helps solidify the experience, so it's not so ephemeral, like you might get with merely streaming. These days, I stream a lot of my music, but mostly because I buy the CD or vinyl copy, and then either use the download card or rip it to my own home media server, and then I can stream it on my PC at work to listen to there. When I'm at home, as much as possible, I like to actually use the media. Other good reason to own media is this: if you like music that is more niche, or like supporting local/regional artists, often times you can buy their CD at a show or online, and who knows if a year from now they'll still be around. I have a fair number of CDs I bought from bands during the MySpace era, and a scant few of those bands ever escaped the mid-late 2000's. Some of that music is not available in any kind of streaming platform, and not even been uploaded illegally to YouTube. I used to go to a good number of smaller shows, and would try to buy demos and independent releases from bands when I would go, to help support them on the road. Most of that stuff is no longer available online in any format. But since I have the CD, I can still listen to it, or make my own backup copy on my media server.

[gqforu]

Randy, thank you for this!!! I ripped my entire cd collection 5 years ago. My friends make fun of me because they feel the music they stream is just as good. Glad to know I was right all along and wasn't wasting my time ripping cd's!

One of my friends had a whiskey tasting party at his home and his internet kept cutting out, so we used the ripped music on my phone....yet another advantage!

[TheKnobCalledTone.]

CD prices are already beginning to creep up. 5 years ago, I used to be able to good used CDs where I live for $1 each or less. Now they're more like $2-$3 each. Still a great value, but they're only going to get more expensive as more people realise how much bang-for-buck you get and millennials get hit with the same nostalgia bug for CDs that Gen X has for vinyl.

[jimgardner]

Recently joined Discogs and I've been snapping up rarities from sellers all over the world. I'm amazed at the quality of product that was pressed 30 years ago, and more! Some folks have taken great care of their CDs over time.

CD singles from the 80s and 90s rarely made their way to my little part of the world but now I can scoop the up.

The only downside: you can pay more for the shipping than the disc.

[alessandroneri]

CD' rules. The BEST sound quality. Amazing Format. Long live beloved CD!!

[michaelkeefer]

I have an old Pioneer CD player from the late 80s that still works perfectly and sounds really good. Another good point about buying CDs is to help support the artists that you enjoy that are currently making music.

[redstang]

I am a dinosaur that still buys CDs as my #1 option for acquiring new music. Purchasing used CDs on ebay for around 5 bucks a piece is a great way to grow your collection. As certain albums are sometimes hard to acquire on CD, now that FLAC files are available for purchase on a few sites (like bandcamp) I have become accustomed to buying those since there's not a sound quality sacrifice over getting the CD, and I always rip my CDs to FLAC anyway. Last option is to buy mp3s because I want my own copy regardless. I have no paid streaming plans - my library of almost 10, 000 songs is effectively my own streaming service.

[dkeener]

#11 - it supports the artist, a lot more than the fractions of a penny they get when you stream their music, especially if you buy new.
#12 - it supports the efforts to remaster, reissue, and to otherwise bring old recordings new life. you get audiophile reissues without paying $100+ per LP, and without needing a $1000+ vinyl rig to hear the difference.

[The_Lunatic_Savant]

Great video. I’ll never understand loving a band and not wanting to own the physical copy. I think streaming has devalued music for most people.

[JoeJ-]

#9: I've had and used the exact same CD player in my main system since the 90s when I bought it used for $100. (It was almost a $1000 retail list when new)

That CD player is still working perfectly today with no issues whatsoever. I had opened it up a few years ago to thoroughly clean it, but other than that it's one of the most reliable components I have. Speakers are the most reliable, (as long as you don't blow them!), and VCRs and cassette decks usually require the most maintenance.

Anyway, I've also found and bought a few other really decent and fully working CD players used in my local thrift stores for about the same price as a new CD, ($10-$20), just so I have a couple of good quality backup players just in case my main one ever dies or needs to be fixed.

IMO, buying used good quality vintage equipment from reputable brands that is still in good shape and working condition is a MUCH better value overall than buying any of the (usually either majorly overpriced if good quality, OR super cheap quality, if inexpensive), brand new gear!

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, CDs will always be the overall best music format, and I will always buy as much of my music collection as possible on them throughout my life, especially since I've been collecting music on CD since I was in high-school and I'm now in my 50s with over 40K CDs in my music collection, in just about every genre, and from all over the world, and from all eras, from the 50s up until today's latest releases, and I will continue keeping up with the latest music throughout my life, as music exploration and enjoyment is one thing that helps keep you young, due to you always keeping an open mind to new experiences!