I go into my local best buy today and again they have shrunk the CD section to a mere 2 small isles. With the exception of current releases they mostly have "Greatest Hits packages". Are there even any Record / cd stores around anymore? Here in the Wash DC area we used to have TONs of record stores ( kemp mill  , waxie maxies , peaches , sam goodies ) all gone now. Now i've never even been to I tunes but it seems to me that you are paying for a watered down product being mp3. Luckly there are a few second hand record / cd shops around my area.....

it is a sad scene these day for sure.  here in new paltz there are 2 used cd/record stores.  one is called jacks rhythms and the other is rhino records.  both stores are very small....the size of 16x16.  they sell a lot of new and used stuff for a reasonable price.  i make an effort to rifle thru the record selection from time to time.

when you were in best buy did you manage to pick up a copy of ted nugents smash hits?


:wtf1

We still have a great, independent record shop downtown---Plan 9. Used to have 2 stores, but just the one left now. But all the rest are pretty much gone. I get most of my stuff online now. SIGH. I DO miss browsing the bins for that unexpected "treasure". :(

 they are becoming a thing of the past.  i like to support jacks as much as possible, but when shine a light came out on dvd i asked him how much to order me a copy and he said 30 dollars.  i knew i could order it from rollingstones.com for like 5 dollars cheaper.  in the end i got 2 copies for free, i won't say from whom or how, but i think you get my drift.  i did buy the 2 cd deluxe of shine a light from rolling stones.com. i think it was the 1st brand new cd i have bought in 3-4 years.  i bought it because of the booklette and i always buy new stones cd's.  

:will-ya

The Bay Area has lots of places that still selll vinyl even. I think it's great that vinyl is coming back. I never really made the transition from vinyl to CD all that successfully.

Yes, there is a fairly decent vinyl presence still....:) LOVE vinyl.....analog vs. digital. Analog wins every time for me...

Cd? What is this cee dee?

Yes - sales of the CD are on the decline. Personally, I still buy them and listen to them more than any other format.

I have an I-Pod thingy - can't be bothered with it. I hate the disposableness of it all. IMO, there is nothing better than going into a record shop, buying and taking home a CD. You really feel as if you own something. That’s more than be said for a fucking MP3 file.

The only time I listen to MP3's are when on the computer - like now.

In fact, I spin my turntable more frequently these days. Gotta love vinyl

I retired my CD's to the basement last year.  I uploaded everything--some 10,000 'albums' or so--to a hellaciously huge hard drive.  I did most of it in lossless format (FLAC's, WAV's, APE's, etc.).  I did some in MP3 format--poorer sound quality discs to start with (Leadbelly, for instance, there is no difference in FLAC Leadbelly versus MP3 Leadbelly!).  I now have the ability to find and play -- in any order I want -- all of my music.  Much more convenient.

All the love and effort goes out the window with MP3's imo. I still cherish the days when I would make my own cassette compilations. Oh the fun I had!  :D

Please.  With a system like mine, I can make any mix far faster and with no loss of sound quality thanks to ripping in lossless formats.  My 10,000 or so CD's are now all on a 8 inch x 8 inch x 3 inch/two pound hard drive (actually, two hard drives--I backed it all up) that I can take anywhere.  I've gone to hotels with a laptop and 2 small Bose speakers for my hard drive and I have my complete collection just a clickety-clack away).  I only keep the CD's as an emergency backup or for those cars that play them.  Technology marches on.  Join the march or be left behind....

CableDogg2...Dc also recently saw the demise of the CD/Game Exchange...you might want to try Crooked Beat on 18th Street...they have tons of stuff, but their CD sales has slowed down ALOT w/ new vinyl sales going WAY up...Also you have SMASH a bit further up 18th...both in Adams-Morgan.

It's also nice to hear that Rhino records is still around...used to shop in New Paltz for music and comics all the time...and then grab a drink at Baccus and enjoy my new music and comics

By default, it seems as though New England is home to the greatest CD shop left on the planet: Newbury Comics.

While I don't think they are they best shop ever, they actually have a lot of great material and GREAT prices.  It's not the same experience as going into a Tower or Virgin, but this is what we have been left with.

iTunes is a very subpar product, but you are also paying a below normal price for no packaging and a subpar product.  

I have retired from CDs...and converted to vinyl.  And i feel good about it...

SheRat wrote on Feb 5^th, 2009 at 6:33pm:

The Bay Area has lots of places that still selll vinyl even. I think it's great that vinyl is coming back. I never really made the transition from vinyl to CD all that successfully.

good for you - although my cd collection outnumbers my vinyl (10,000 to 4,000), i still listen to vinyl as often or moreso than cds, which were a bad idea from the get-go. convenience? fine. sound?  not so much.

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 11:52am:

SheRat wrote on Feb 5th, 2009 at 6:33pm: The Bay Area has lots of places that still selll vinyl even. I think it's great that vinyl is coming back. I never really made the transition from vinyl to CD all that successfully. good for you - although my cd collection outnumbers my vinyl (10,000 to 4,000), i still listen to vinyl as often or moreso than cds, which were a bad idea from the get-go. convenience? fine. sound?  not so much.

Holy Shiite? you have 10,000 cds and 4,000 records?

:wtf3

mojoman wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 12:08pm:

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 6th, 2009 at 11:52am: SheRat wrote on Feb 5th, 2009 at 6:33pm: The Bay Area has lots of places that still selll vinyl even. I think it's great that vinyl is coming back. I never really made the transition from vinyl to CD all that successfully. good for you - although my cd collection outnumbers my vinyl (10,000 to 4,000), i still listen to vinyl as often or moreso than cds, which were a bad idea from the get-go. convenience? fine. sound?  not so much. Holy Shiite? you have 10,000 cds and 4,000 records? :wtf3

i'm a lightweight, compared to others i know. oh, and i have 60 bottles of single-malt in the cabinet, too.

welcome back SS.

wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 2:31pm:

welcome back SS.

i don't bite, but i will....who is ss?

Honky Tonk Man wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 7:50am:

All the love and effort goes out the window with MP3's imo. I still cherish the days when I would make my own cassette compilations. Oh the fun I had!  :D

i remember borrowing cd's from people and making copies of them onto high bias cassetts because i  didn't own a cd player yet.

:areyoufuckingserious

Paranoid Android wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 9:09am:

It's also nice to hear that Rhino records is still around...used to shop in New Paltz for music and comics all the time...and then grab a drink at Baccus and enjoy my new music and comics

rhinos is now downtown just across the street from baccus...they have downsized big time.  you be happy to know baccus has something like 75 different kinds of beer to choose from.   the comic book store is no more.

Nice to hear that so many people still listen to vinyl. I have a few thousand lp's myself..........so who has the secret to cleaning vinyl on a budget ( sorry can't afford one of those pro cleaning machines). I've always found it frustrating when you find what appears to be a "Clean" album and it turns out to be a big black frisbee..............

cabledogg2 wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 8:55pm:

....so who has the secret to cleaning vinyl on a budget ....

windex and paper towels.

wrote on Feb 6^th, 2009 at 9:01pm:

cabledogg2 wrote on Feb 6th, 2009 at 8:55pm: ....so who has the secret to cleaning vinyl on a budget .... windex and paper towels.

ha. seriously. you don't need no machine. one of those little kits with the soft brushy thingy and a little water or cleaning fluid does the trick just fine.  gonna put on some stan getz on the turntable now.....

There's a certain charm in making a 90-minute tape for someone, most notably a bird you fancy.

I have a pure digital pre-amp and I run a tweaked 30 year old turntable through it.  My amps are pushing 20 years. I have a Sony SACD player.  I love that turntable. That's the centerpeice to the entire show.

Charlie would love it.

Lots of places to buy CD's and vinyl in and around NYC.  I just love flipping through the vinyls looking for something rare when I can afford to treat myself to a new 'toy'.  The CD's and albums are my 'toys', I play with them, sort them, stack them, copy them, display them, haha I enjoy them and I never download 'songs' from the Internet. Albums are made to be listened to from beginning to end, not just one or 2 songs that are the 'hits'. It's not the same thing musically.

That's the thing...Bitch is right. Albums used to be PROJECTS. Things that had to be listened to in their entirity. They were envisioned that way, recorded that way, and listened to and understood that way. Now, "albums" are just a hit or two {or a radio play or two} and lots of garbage-y filler. So, kids download the song they like--the one they are familiar with--and listen to that....then some other song by another artist....and on and on. Maybe it also has something to do with the no-attention-span generation of today. The "instant gratification" audience. Commercials are choppy---TV shows are choppy.....the MTV generation. Mind racing from one thing to the next. It takes EFFORT to sit down and listen to a project like Sticky Fingers or Exile.

...and maybe the old people of each generation rationalize inferior technology to justify their falling behind the times....

[quote author=lotsajizz link=1233792402/25#26 date=1233999897]...and maybe the old people of each generation rationalize inferior technology to justify their falling behind the times....[/quote

It has nothing to do with 'falling behind the times'. Some older generations may prefer vinyl etc for any number of reasons - nostalgia, for example.

I understand the convinience of the MP3, I just don't beleive it is in anyway a superior source and that it should replace the CD.

I know what I like and I'll be sticking with it.

Let's make it clear--I do not advocate mp3's for anything other than music of older or poorer sound quality (i.e., recordings before the 50's, lesser bootlegs, sloppier punk--where high fidelity is not a priority).  But if, as seems to be the case in this thread, the term is used to designate any digitalized audio file, it's clearly the future.  For the record -- as I earlier stated -- I prefer lossless formats.

lotsajizz wrote on Feb 7^th, 2009 at 5:59am:

Let's make it clear--I do not advocate mp3's for anything other than music of older or poorer sound quality (i.e., recordings before the 50's, lesser bootlegs, sloppier punk--where high fidelity is not a priority).  But if, as seems to be the case in this thread, the term is used to designate any digitalized audio file, it's clearly the future.  For the record -- as I earlier stated -- I prefer lossless formats.

by very definition, anything digital is lossy....

cabledogg2 wrote on Feb 4^th, 2009 at 6:06pm:

I go into my local best buy today and again they have shrunk the CD section to a mere 2 small isles. With the exception of current releases they mostly have "Greatest Hits packages". Are there even any Record / cd stores around anymore? Here in the Wash DC area we used to have TONs of record stores ( kemp mill  , waxie maxies , peaches , sam goodies ) all gone now. Now i've never even been to I tunes but it seems to me that you are paying for a watered down product being mp3. Luckly there are a few second hand record / cd shops around my area.....

Living in a Midwestern USA suburban area, I don't have a decent "record store" within 20 miles of me.  Streetside Records had a location about seven miles from my house, but they closed down at least five years ago.  Hardly anything I want is available at Worst Buy, so I usually shop at Amazon.com where you get free shipping if you spend more than $25.

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 7^th, 2009 at 10:09am:

by very definition, anything digital is lossy....

by definition, ANYTHING is lossy

lotsajizz wrote on Feb 7^th, 2009 at 4:32pm:

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 7th, 2009 at 10:09am: by very definition, anything digital is lossy.... by definition, ANYTHING is lossy

fair enough. then what of these lossless formats of which you speak? live performances and personal attendance at studio recording sessions?

I'm increasing my post count!!!  Boss sucks!!!

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 7^th, 2009 at 4:34pm:

fair enough. then what of these lossless formats of which you speak? live performances and personal attendance at studio recording sessions?

No compression.  MP-3's use compression.  WAV's and FLAC's do not.  "Lossless format" means you're ripping exactly what the source is.  With an MP-3, the highs and lows are washed out--again, this is meaningless if the source never had any of the highs and lows to start.  But a true fan would easily be able to tell a FLAC "Dark Side Of the Moon" (for example) from an MP-3 "Dark Side Of The Moon".  By contrast, it doesn't much matter what digital format you use for a 1930's blues recording which never really had those highs and lows anyway.

See what would happen if you tried to trade MP-3 Stones boots on this board rather than FLAC's or WAV's!!

lotsajizz wrote on Feb 8^th, 2009 at 7:25am:

StreetsofLover wrote on Feb 7th, 2009 at 4:34pm: fair enough. then what of these lossless formats of which you speak? live performances and personal attendance at studio recording sessions? No compression.  MP-3's use compression.  WAV's and FLAC's do not.  "Lossless format" means you're ripping exactly what the source is.  With an MP-3, the highs and lows are washed out--again, this is meaningless if the source never had any of the highs and lows to start.  But a true fan would easily be able to tell a FLAC "Dark Side Of the Moon" (for example) from an MP-3 "Dark Side Of The Moon".  By contrast, it doesn't much matter what digital format you use for a 1930's blues recording which never really had those highs and lows anyway. See what would happen if you tried to trade MP-3 Stones boots on this board rather than FLAC's or WAV's!!

thanks. i'm quite familiar with all the technical stuff.  i was trying to play along with your comment on everything being lossy. oh, well.

"No compression.  MP-3's use compression.  WAV's and FLAC's do not.  "Lossless format" means you're ripping exactly what the source is. "

Now i'm far from a expert but flac's are around 900 kbps (undecoded) and a wave file is 1411 kbps. Wouldn't that make a flac file lossy?