CD purchase or iTunes store

[mattjax05]

I always think twice when purchasing music off iTunes because:

1) The songs are compressed

2) They cost 79p/99p per song

3) Could I buy the album in which the song/s is/are contained off HMV etc

I definitely like the tangible aspect of buying a CD and I don't hesitate buying a CD album as opposed to an iTunes album even though it costs more. But what about singles? Convenienve does prevail with singles and I find I am paying iTunes for them.

I would like to know what other people think on this subject.

Matt

 

[Messiah]

For the odd song I will but it from iTunes/Amazon/Play.

For an album I buy the CD so that I can rip it on Apple Lossless and then store it for back up.

 

[Anonymous]

I buy albums on CD but when it comes to singles ill just use Spotify.

 

[daveh75]

I buy albums on CD, and i dont buy singles.

 

[peter8171]

I buy almost all my music as albums on CD so I can rip them in Lossless as I find the music quality isn't as good when I download. Having said that, I do sometimes buy the odd track from iTunes or Amazon, but quite often only as a trial to see if I like it. If I do, I then tend to buy the album on CD.

 

[Dan Turner]

If it's an album then CD for sure, and then rip it to Apple Lossless. For the odd track I download and I use 7 Digital as their downloads are better quality than iTunes and you can re-download them at will.

The main thing going for buying the CD (other than the obvious fact that you can choose the type/quality of any rips you make) is that physical media are covered under your home insurance whereas non-physical media such as the contents of your hard drive are not - if it gets stolen or damaged then you are almost certainly only insured for replacing the cost of the hdd, not the contents.

 

[professorhat]

I buy everything on CD, even if it's only one track I want. Generally you can find an album with the song on for £3 - £4 and there's bound to be tracks on there I haven't heard and will probably like at least a couple of the others. I stopped buying from iTunes due to the DRM and, even though they don't have this any more, I'm too used to having lossless quality now to go back to compressed tracks.

 

[Anonymous]

I always buy albums on cd. I have downloaded the odd individual song. These mainly have been back catalogue tracks or tracks from soundtracks which are deleted or not worth buying the full album for. I don't think you can beat actually owning the physical item.

I do find myself scrolling through the albums on my Touch in the cover flow mode just looking at the covers, in the maner of flicking through vinyl albums....strange. Is this a bit like an ex smoker holding a pen in the manner of a cigarette?

 

[idc]

I lept onto the itunes bandwagon and then lept back off again. At first it was superb getting all those individual downloads of tracks that meant something to me and making compilations.

I did extensive listening and was happy with the sound of compressed files. I lived in a remote area and had no access to cheap CDs. The hifi bug had gone and I was happy with a Bose Sounddock.

When I started to put CDs onto itunes and noticed the improvement between lossless and lossy I stopped buying downloads. I upgraded from the apple buds to some Senns and that made the difference in SQ clearer. Then I moved and got access to cheap CDs again from Glasgows various second hand music shops and Fopp.

I haven't bought a CD, new for over a year. I get the odd one now from car boot sales and Fopp. But that is stuff I know is not on Spotify.

Now I have more music than I will ever get to listen to, for hardly any money at all.

My music came from vinyl for about 8 years, joined by cassettes for about 10 years, CDs for about 10 years, then downloading for about a year and now it will be streaming for probably evermore.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a few cd's that I have bought purely for 1 or 2 tracks .... always prefer to own the cd as it's better through hifi

 

[davejberry]

Always buy the CDs. Have 'borrowed' some downloaded stuff from family to see if it's to my taste.

Have never downloaded music myself as i really hate the sound of most compressed formats.

Rip everything to flac as to me, it sounds better than other lossless codecs.

 

[Andrew17321]

I always buy CDs. Occasionally I buy them over the internet or in a music shop when there is something specific I want. Generally I buy them second-hand in charity shops for £1 to £2. That way I listen to lots of music that I haven't heard before, music I wouldn't risk paying £10 for just in the hope I might like it.

I also record radio music on my Humax Freesat HDR box. I haven't figured out yet how to get it from there on to my NAS to play over my Sonos system. If anyone knows how to do this I would be pleased to learn.

Andrew