Do you guys actually buy music?

It seems like everyone listens to music these days, but I suppose the real question is how much people are actually willing to set aside every month to own original pieces of art.
Does anyone here on Reddit actually buy music on physical media—whether that’s vinyl, CDs, DVDs, or even cassettes—or do you mostly just stick to streaming services?

Or is most music just consumed via Justin Bieber or maybe downloaded through shady sites...
Vinyl isn't exactly cheap lately (usually running at least $25 or $30), so I totally get why a high schooler might struggle to shell out that kind of cash every single month just to pick up two albums or CDs.
(It feels like younger listeners today tend to focus on individual tracks rather than sitting down with a full album.)

Say someone really wants to own an album by, say, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (since their discography is a bit more niche), but do fans of artists like Lady Gaga, U2, or Queen here in the States actually buy "physical formats"—which is such a cold, corporate way to put it!—or do they just quickly stream everything on Justin Bieber and suddenly consider themselves huge music experts?

Also, does anyone here listen to, or perhaps even support, those various interesting indie or underground acts over on Bandcamp? Have you ever donated to help keep a small band afloat? If so, who would you recommend?

Anyway,
do you find yourselves buying music on a regular basis, or do you mostly just listen through various free sources because you aren't quite ready to start spending real money on it?☕

I collect CDs. I don't actually listen to them much because I hate the idea of wearing them out, but there’s just something about owning them. 😁

granitecyclist said:Does anyone else here listen to—or actively support—those various "indie" acts on Bandcamp? Not just the obscure stuff, but the genuinely interesting ones outside the mainstream. Have you ever donated to or supported an artist directly through there? Any recommendations for us?

Jonathan, absolutely.

I'd say I average about 20 vinyl records and 20 CDs a month.

If I'm traveling or stumble upon a killer deal, that number doubles.

If I happen to be traveling and hit a massive sale at the same time, it triples...

Rebecca Harris said:I collect CDs. I don't actually play them because I don't want to wear them out, I just love having them on my shelf. 😁

Jonathan, for sure...

Wait, how do you even ruin a CD? First off, I've got some releases from Castle back from '91 and they don't have a single scratch on them, though over all these years I did have to swap out the jewel cases since they get worn down over decades even if I'm super careful not to touch them with sweaty or greasy hands... I just replaced the cases and now they look like I bought them yesterday...

The thing is, those old cases used to be decent, but then they started getting flimsy and poorly made, just total junk... Even the blank CD spindles used to be okay, but even those haven't been great for quite a while now... So I ended up buying cheap generic discs just so I could scavenge the cases... But yeah...

Vinyl definitely gets trashed because the needle wears it down bit by bit as you listen, but I honestly have no clue how you can actually damage a CD if you handle them as carefully as I do...

ruggedharbor17 said:... I actually have some copies that Castle released back in 1991...

Right,
but do you still pick up music nowadays, or was it mostly just back in 1991?🤔

granitecyclist said:Yeah,
but are you still actually buying music (like, nowadays, not just back in '91?)🤔

Oh yeah, for sure, I never really stopped buying stuff... I've got everything I need on CD, and since most of my old players don't even work anymore, I pretty much finished my collection and called it a day. It’s not like I’ll never pick one up again, but for right now, there isn't really a reason to keep hunting for them...

I'm still picking up vinyl, though. I even have a few cassettes tucked away for those specific tracks you just can't find on LP or CD. That's basically it. I love both CDs and vinyl for different reasons, and I use them both all the time, but as far as CDs go, I'm taking a break from buying them for a while...

ruggedharbor17 said:How do you even destroy a CD? First off, that's a ridiculous question.

There shouldn't be any scratches on it. 😳 It just sits there on my shelf as a little tribute to someone's hard work.

I honestly didn't realize CDs were still a thing.

Rebecca Harris said:It’s gotta be without the hyphen. 😳 It just sits on my shelf as a little reminder that I actually respect what someone put together...

I mean, honestly, mine don't have the hyphen either but I still spin them all the time, plus when you get them under a good light, you can barely even see any markings anyway... They've been going strong for almost 30 years and they're still killing it today. So you just collect CDs? Are they all pretty underground or what...😉

Anthony Carter5 said:I honestly had no clue CDs were still a thing...

I mean, if vinyl is still holding strong, how could CDs just vanish? They were everywhere for decades, you know? It’s not like they’re some niche MiniDisc format that just faded away into nothingness...

ruggedharbor17 said:If vinyl exists, how could CDs just vanish? They were a massive format. It’s not like a MiniDisc where things just disappear into thin air.

Honestly, vinyl only survives because of hipsters buying them up, even though most audio nerds agree the sound quality isn't actually better—if anything, it's worse. I've heard people claim tapes actually sound the best.

ruggedharbor17 said:Look, mine don't have any scratches, so I still listen to them. If you put them under a bright light, you won't see a single mark.

The thing is, some of mine are pretty beat up from actual use, which is exactly why I stopped playing them. Are you really going to try and tell me again that yours look brand new?😁

Anthony Carter5 said:Vinyl only exists because of hipsters buying them, even though most audiophiles agree the sound isn't any better—if anything, it's worse. Apparently, tapes actually have the best sound quality.

I’ve actually got a pretty solid Technics deck from the mid-90s, and when you get a really well-recorded chrome cassette, man, the sound is just so warm and beautiful... it honestly made me forget how incredible a good tape can actually sound.

As for the vinyl thing, you probably know as well as I do that most modern reissues are basically just MP3s pressed onto wax, or at best, a CD rip on vinyl. But I'm talking about those classic old-school pressings; when you run them through a high-end amp and some real quality speakers, the sound is absolutely top-tier... and there shouldn't be any popping or crackling either.

I don't really know what people mean by this whole "hipster" label nowadays, and honestly, I can't be bothered to Google it just to see the definition. Besides, how am I supposed to be one of those hipsters if I've been spinning records since the 80s and never stopped? For me, it’s just been one continuous passion...

Rebecca Harris said:A few of mine have some scratches from all the wear and tear, so I don't really touch them anymore. You gonna try telling me yours are perfect again? 😁

Nah, I won't 😁

But if you aren't using them, you're probably just not doing it right... maybe switch over to talking about color instead.

granitecyclist said:Does anyone here still pick up physical music—you know, vinyl, CDs, DVDs, even cassettes—or are you strictly a streaming person?

Or is everyone just listening via YouTube or downloading things illegally...
Records aren't exactly cheap these days (usually running over $25), so I totally get why a high schooler might struggle to drop that kind of cash every single month just to grab two albums.
(Besides, kids nowadays seem to prefer picking through individual tracks rather than sitting down with a full album).

Lately, I’ve been buying used records—about 99% of my collection comes from second-hand finds—and I tend to buy in bulk from specific sellers I trust. The prices for what I hunt for are actually pretty reasonable, usually averaging around $1 to $1.50 per disc. I'm mostly talking about 12" singles and LPs.

Brand new releases are rare unless they happen to be part of some special sale or clearance event.

As for the other stuff—streaming services and all that—I have to admit I don't really grasp how it works, nor do I particularly care to learn. I've heard the buzz, but that's about it. I guess I'm just from an older generation.

There was definitely a massive wave of torrenting, blogs, and P2P sharing over the last few years, but for me, that’s mostly just for information gathering. It can be incredibly handy when you're hunting for those absolute rarities that are nearly impossible to find in a physical store.

Personally, I think YouTube is a total godsend. A few years back, I never would have dreamed I'd find such a treasure trove of rare audio and video content there. Back before the internet era, having something like that available with a single click from your favorite armchair was pure science fiction.

ruggedharbor17 said:When you're talking about vinyl, you probably already realize that most modern pressings are basically just MP3s slapped onto wax, or at best, a CD ripped to vinyl. I’m talking about those classic old-school pressings. When you run them through a solid vintage amp and some high-end speakers, the sound quality is top-tier. And there shouldn't be any surface noise or crackling.

I actually know of several verified cases where vinyl—and what’s even worse, MP3 files—were used as the primary sources for various budget compilation albums.
Labels like Demon are under particular scrutiny for this...

https://www.discogs.com/Various-100-...elease/1728560

...check out the last two comments here...

.....While using CD sources for certain vinyl releases (mostly reissues) is a known issue lately, the idea of them combining it with MP3s is a first for me....

analogbear40 said:I’ve actually heard of—and these are verified cases—instances where vinyls, and what’s even worse, low-quality MP3s were used as the source material for all those cheap budget compilations you see everywhere.
Labels like Demon are especially under the microscope for this kind of stuff......

https://www.discogs.com/Various-100-...elease/1728560

....check out those last two comments......

.....While using CDs as sources for certain vinyl reissues is a known thing lately, this whole business of mixing in MP3s is news to me...

Oh yeah, there's definitely some shady business going on with modern vinyl pressings regarding the source audio, and they hide it like a snake in the grass because nobody would buy them if they knew.

Sure, a CD can sound absolutely incredible, and if you're pulling from a high-end CD master, the quality isn't the issue, but then what's the point of owning the record? I mean, wouldn't I just grab the CD instead, right?

A record only really makes sense if it isn't just a digital file in disguise, because why bother playing a digital source on vinyl when I could just listen to the CD? Vinyl has real value if it's an analog source pulled straight from tape, provided it wasn't processed through a computer, because once you digitize everything, you lose that magic, and honestly, that happens way more often than people admit. They claim it's coming from analog tapes, but then it goes through a PC to be digitized and then back to analog again, which totally defeats the purpose. You can find videos on YouTube showing exactly how that process works.

If you're using the master tapes, it needs to go direct. But that hasn't really been the standard since the 80s. So basically, everything has been somewhat digital in one way or another from the mid-80s onward. Back then, we started seeing digital recordings like Dorian Gray's "Shine in the Dark," The Orgasm's "Distortion," Discipline Spine's "All Zamn," and I think even the early stuff from bands like The Alleyway... etcetera.

The first digital recording I know of that was pressed to vinyl was Hawkwind's "Levitation" back in 1980. Around here, that trend really picked up around '83.

Back then, digital was considered the gold standard, and since CDs hadn't gone mainstream yet, the only way to get that sound out was to record digitally and press it to vinyl.

With anything recorded digitally nowadays, you don't really have a choice; whether it's a record or a CD, you're just buying it for the format you prefer rather than a difference in sound. If you want that true analog soul, you've gotta stick to the original analog vinyl pressings from before the mid-80s.

analogbear40 said:I’ve actually gone back to buying used vinyl—like, 99% pre-loved stuff—over the last couple of years, and I usually just buy in bulk from a few specific sellers I really trust... The prices for the stuff I’m hunting for are honestly pretty killer too, averaging out to maybe like $1 to $1.50 a disc if I'm lucky... It's mostly just 12" singles and LPs that I pick up...

The new stuff is super rare to find on sale or part of any special promos...

As for that other thing—you know, the whole streaming and music service deal—I have to be honest and admit I don't really have a clue what it actually entails, nor do I particularly care to find out... I've heard bits and pieces floating around here and there, but that’s about as far as I go. I guess I'm just from that older generation, you know...

Man, we've seen so much stuff get pulled down through torrents, random blogs, and all those P2P services over the last few years, but honestly, most of it is just about preserving information... It can actually be incredibly useful when you're hunting for those super rare gems that are basically impossible to track down in a physical store or on a shelf anywhere in the States...

Honestly, YouTube is such a massive blessing in my book... I really didn't think back when I was younger that I’d be able to stumble upon so many incredibly rare audio and video gems just by scrolling through my feed. It’s wild to think about how, back before the internet really took over everything, finding stuff like this would have been totally impossible, let alone being able to access it all with just one click without ever having to leave my couch...

If I could snag all the music I actually listen to for like, maybe a buck or two a track, man, life would be absolutely incredible...

I honestly doubt you’ve got anything super rare tucked away in there, or maybe you did, but they were probably beat to hell so you snagged them for pennies... You probably just have those big mainstream releases that everyone was buying back in the day too, so I'm guessing if you ever decided to part with that collection, there wouldn't be much in there that actually catches my eye...

ruggedharbor17 said:I suspect you’ve got way too many interesting pressings lying around, or maybe they're all in rough shape and you snagged them for pennies. You probably have those big-name hits that were printed in massive quantities, too... I doubt there'd be anything in collections like that that would actually catch my eye if you were looking to sell.

My collection—roughly 5,000 to 6,000 records—isn't for sale, obviously. I haven't spent the last few years hunting down everything I missed out on when I was a kid with zero cash just to flip it to someone else for a bargain... whether you or anyone else would be interested is a completely different conversation.

And honestly, every single part of those first two sentences starting with "I suspect..." is pretty much negative...😛

Besides, anyone buying this kind of stuff lately—hunting through Discogs for 80s 12" singles and scoring free shipping on larger orders like I do—can tell you that most releases in VG+/NM condition hover right around that average price point. Of course, that excludes things like Demon, New Order, or various high-end rarities, but those belong in a totally different league.

For every Demon or New Order 12" I've picked up for $5-$10 (never more than that), I've grabbed about a hundred other 12"s for $1-$1.50 each. When you crunch the numbers, the average stays exactly the same.

I don't mean they're bad, I just don't think they're particularly exciting... It’s more like you can find those super cheap 80s pop-rock singles everywhere, whether they were massive hits from big bands or just some random obscure stuff that never really took off, so the prices stay low. There probably aren't any true hidden gems or anything really high-end in there. I spend enough time digging through Discogs and hitting up local record shops to have a pretty good idea of what’s out there, and since I know what actual rare pressings from legendary bands usually go for, it's pretty obvious this collection isn't going to have those heavy hitters... So, yeah, in that sense, it just doesn't grab me much.