Purging Physical Media

So what's wrong with getting rid of physical media? Yesterday, I mentioned trying to stay away from buying physical media these days - electronic files will do fine, thanks. A couple of you said this was basically horrible. I get the joy of collecting music. Or rather, I used to, but I just don't care to have piles of discs sitting around anymore. It's just more stuff accumulating dust since I stream music from an electronic source these days (MP3 player, laptop, etc).

So for those of you still in love with collecting physical albums, what do you do with all those discs? Do you display them? Do you keep them in a tub and sort through when it's time to play a different band? Just wondering. Happy Saturday!

Comments

[Kenny Ozz]

My 1200+ cds are on a shelf, sorted alphabvetically and chronologivally. I hate downloading and using electronic files. Just feels lame. I;d much rather go grab the cd I want to listen to and look at the artwork, etc than just press play on a ipod or whatever. Also, I had a friedn whose computer dies and he lost all 15,000 of his songs. He had sold all of his cds after that and now what? No thanks. I'll keep my pile of disks.

[Dj]

I just feel like owning something is the way to go. Not one for material things, but owning a record or cd makes me appreciate it more. The way I see it is of you download, you really won't care or listen to most of it, like most of this generation...but if you buy the cd, chances are you'll appreciate it, and you would want it because you actually went outta your way to buy it in the first place. I put all my CDs on my phone though, so when I'm away I can listen to music, but all the music on my phone is stuff that I bought and stuff that I buy.

[Snoot]

I keep my cds and vinyl on a book shelf in the living room and play them on the stereo. Got another turntable hooked to a computer via usb so I can rip stuff and put on my iPod. Play cds in the car too of course.

[Ace Steele]

I keep them filed, like a library. Alphabetical & Chronological. I keep all my CD's, cassettes, & Vinyl, going back to the early 70's. Going purely digital is not bright. Someday, you'll wake up to a failed hard drive or a malfunction at some cloud site & everything you've had, will be gone.

[B Lucas]

Funny... I just spent several hours backing up almost 30,000 songs from my lagging PC. It is essential to have an external backup drive. I still have all my physical CDs too, but have not used most of them in a long time. Like you've all said, it is hard to get rid of them. I did, however, throw all my cassettes away. I saved the inserts for display purposes.

[Gary]

Just to plat Devils advocate here,I wish I had all the 8 tracks (yeah,I'm that old),cassettes,albums,and cd's that have been lost,stolen,borrowed/never returned,ruined,etc. Still have a pretty impressive stack of vinyl in a box in my attic,but all my music is now electronic like Ally. I had a friend borrow my tape case filled with at least 100 cassettes one night to take in his car on a date.Long story short,he rolled his car,effectively smashing every last tape (thankfully he and his date were ok,I didn't really give a flying f@ck about my tapes,to be quite honest). Just pointing out how you can also lose physical media,along w/ electronic.....

[Mel]

You can't sell uploaded files. I love to read the liner notes and check out the pics. Goes back to my album days. Even cassettes had a cool vibe to them. Yes I have them in a nice rack in my house. I do download usually because of bonus tracks which only used top be on import cd's. I can go both ways! Rock rules!!

[Rita]

My 400 plus CDs are in boxes in the basement somewhere. I put them away after I loaded everything into my iTunes account. I do have a portable hard drive too for back up purposes.

I would never throw out my CDs ever, but I honestly haven't used them in years. And when I want a new cd, it is just so much easier to go to my PC, and download it from iTunes. And I do pay for all my music, so I do appreciate it even though I don't have a physical cd.

[Jeff]

Electronic is the way to go now. I'm with Ally, don't need extra stuff just laying around. It is also essential to back EVERYTHING up on a external hard drive. I have a 1 TB hard drive just for my music and photos. Also everything goes to the cloud.

[Jack]

I have almost 3,000 CD's (and around 500 cassettes) and no plans to ever get rid of them or stop buying new ones. I have a 40 and 160 gb iPod that I use when going away, but still bring the CD's to work and listen to them in the car.

I have them all in CD shelves in alpha/chrono order and it just seems easier to find what I'm in the mood for by browsing the shelves than scrolling through iTunes. I do have some albums and songs in electronic form only, if I can't get or there is no CD, or if I only want a song or two from the artist, but I actually forget I have stuff like that easier, so don't listen to it as much as my CD's.

I prefer to listen to an entire album from front to back, I only really shuffle on occasion, and it seems more natural to do that with the physical product. I also reread through the booklets fairly often when they are pretty detailed, to check out the art, get info on lyrics or who played what solo, etc.

I think only having a bunch of songs in electronic form would be pretty boring to be honest.

[bkallday]

Like most of you i download music, but i also enjoy having cd's from the bands i like the most. Ive got over 1500 and theyre simply displayed in the living room, on a nice cd shelf. I like being able to put a cd in and let it play all the way through, without having to deal with getting my laptop out, hooking it up, going through my songs, etc. To me, that's just simpler a lot of times. I use my phone for music as well but since my phone has to be hooked up to my computer, i cant use my phone simultaneously, unless i wanna sit right there by my receiver. Sometimes if im not gonna be using my phone, its cool just to hook it up and let it shuffle, but then when ive had a bad day for example, who wants Mazzy Star to come on? Lol. I also enjoy having the track listing, along with the cd sleeve. Plus i think being able to pass them down to my kids someday, would kinda keep it in the family, and give them more of a physical reminder of me when im gone. Not only can they play the same cd's(i very rarley loan em out and keep them in excellent shape) that i enjoyed but they can also have them as a keepsake, even if they end up in a box in the attic somewhere. To me, music is an amazing outlet for all of life's bs, and anyone that walks in my house, can immediately see just how important it is to me. Hell, they can even feel free to check out my collection, if they so choose. I have thousands of electronic songs but you just cant do the same with those, because you never know what will happen with a computer. I guess you could just say im an old school sentimental fruitcake, but a nice nutty fruitcake, nonetheless! \m/

[Billy Weeks]

I have some of my 2000 cds and all of my 300 records in my bedroom. The rest of my cds are in cases in my office. Although I do stream a decent amount and buy some mp3 albums (usually because I don't want to shell out extra dough for import cds) I can't give up buying cds and vinyl. Until an mp3 sounds as good as a cd or vinyl I'll be buying physical as a fist choice. I will say I've gone completely digital for books after my last move in which me and myu wife had 40 boxes of books between us.

[Metalboy!]

Careful what you chuck, Ally!

If you really wanna get rid of the stuff, you should hold an auction on Ebay, so we can all bid on it.

After all, "One person's Alice Cooper 'Trash' CD is another person's treasure."!

FYI --

9,000+ CDs -- Mostly Rock & Roll, all eras since the beginning, approximately 2,500 of which are 80's Hard Rock & Glam Metal (woulda been easier to call 'em "Hair Metal", but I know that gets some people really excitable around here), around another 3,000+ are 60's & 70's Classic Rock, Glam Rock & Punk Rock, New Wave, Alternative, 90's Grunge (MOST of the latter I could part with... UGH! What was I thinking?!), the other 4,000+ are music of every genre, spanning all decades, from Classic Jazz Standards, Essential Modern Jazz Masters, Big Band, Classical Music, Pop Standards, Classic Country plus Electronica / House / Trance & Hip Hop (from the 80's, 90's and early to mid-2,000's), about a 1/4 are imports and all of the CDs are in climate controlled storage at an undisclosed location.

2,000+ CDs -- Stuff not in storage... 1,000 of which are hyper rare collectible Indy released 80's / Early 90's Metal / Glam Metal & Hard Rock (this is the stuff that trades in the hundreds to thousands - see "Rarities" on heavyharmonies.com for a reality - or unreality - check, depending on how you look at it). Ace Steele would have seen a fair amount of several hundred who made their way to The Strip or opened for major acts but, alas, never got the major record deal. Some of these bands are as good or better than those who got signed. The other 1,000 are so are a smattering of the other genres listed in the above paragraph under "9,000+". These CD's are stashed everywhere -- Credenzas, Closets, even some of my kitchen cabinets, hahaha!!! Some people have Tiffany Sterling Silver serving platters, I have little silver platters worth more!

2,000+ LPs / "12 Singles / 45's -- Mostly Rock & Roll, many imports, some Jazz & Classical, all eras, including many of the Genres outlined above.

1,000 Cassettes -- Almost all are 80's / Early 90's Metal, Glam Metal & Hard Rock. In storage.

800+ 8 Tracks -- All Genres. In storage, awaiting restoration of my '76 White Caddy Eldorado Convertible also in storage!, hahaha!!!

All of this is making me wonder if I should just go put it all on Ebay! HA! No way!

Also, I now buy most of my music on iTunes but if I really love it, I will get the vinyl and/or CD and convert it to MP3. I'm life long mix-taper, probably making my first at age 10 off the radio with my trusty little portable Bell & Howell cassette recorder. Now I have iTunes playlists ad infinitum but still do listen to entire albums. Just last night, had a lil' Christmas Eve All Night Party culminating with listening to Led Zeppelin, "Presence" and Cheap Trick, "In Color", back-to-back.

And I own over a 200+ Rock & Roll Official Record Label Posters, my most prized are several extra large official record label Sex Pistols posters, a 6 ft. Japanese only official Geffen Records poster of the banned Guns & Roses "Appetite for Destruction" album cover artwork signed by the artist, Robert O. Williams, matching 4 ft. X 4 ft. official posters of the front and back of The Rolling Stones album, "Tattoo You", and another 4 ft. by 4 ft. official Electra Records (?) poster of The Cars, "Candy-O" album cover by the famed Playboy Magazine pin-up artist, Vargas, among many others.

Hey, in the words of the immortal Tuff Darts, "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll"!

[Allyson]

These comments are awesome. I love how you are all so passionate about your albums! I should note I never illegally download anything - I always pay to play. But at this stage in life, I just prefer less clutter period. Quite frankly, I collect nothing.

[Dj]

Another reason is I just love reading the lyrics, liner notes, and the extra stuff that comes along with it. More connected to it , the artwork and everything. I don't do the cassette tapes just because they get eaten up and CDs are much better.

[Metalboy!]

Haha, Ally! This is just the tip of the iceberg. As you know, there are SO many stories given, Documentaries made, etc. about collecting.

Wait, I've got it... We could produce a show called "Heavy Metal Hoarders" about the nuts who have huge collections of Heavy Metal CDs, Albums and all the other acutraments that go along with the territory, i.e. sleeping in a KISS kasket, etc.

[Jakki Steal]

I've never downloaded any music or anything & never will!
Never owned a ipod or MP3 player & never will!

I listen to CD's every single day, whether in my car or at home.

I love CD's & have around 500 of them all displayed on a big shelf in alphabetical order.
I treat them all as if they are gold.
I never let anybody borrow them, not even my own family members.
I keep them in perfect condition, they all look like I just bought them yesterday.

I love reading the liner notes & looking at all the cool photo's & album covers.
Having the physical product is like capturing a moment in time.
I remember where I was & what store I bought every CD I own.

Pretty much the only things I have in my home (besides furniture) is CD's, DVD's, books & magazines.
None of it is clutter for me.
It's all perfectly/neatly displayed throughout my house.
Like a glam metal museum (sprinkled w/a little bit of several other styles of music).
It only takes me seconds to find any CD (DVD, book, magazine) I'm looking for.

[bryon]

I used to have hundreds of CDs & tapes, but got rid of virtually everything once I "discovered" iTunes around 2001 or so. I've since switched to streaming networks. For me, it's about convenience. I love having an (effectively) unlimited selection of music available to me at all times. Not to mention, Spotify is way cheaper than buying music from iTunes or physical.

Also, like Allyson, I'm just not a collector type at all. I don't have a sentimental attachment to most of my stuff, and for the most part I was just glad to get rid of clutter.

[fletch]

yes