15 reasons why I STILL BUY CDs

39 thoughts on “15 reasons why I STILL BUY CDs”

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2. I listen to cds and vinyl every day. I also listen to a music streaming service every day. Recently I’ve been ripping my cd collection to a laptop so I can dj with them more easily. I also dj with vinyl and buy vinyl almost every day. Having fun since I retired 🥰

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3. Hi. Sadly that skip button on streaming is on CD’s and Vinyl too. (Some older record linear tracking players). Also cassette decks I still have. Lol. And that had also been my argument. People listen to either part of a track or their favourite track and not the whole album. A lot of albums tell a kind of story as you listen to side A then B. I’m still buying CD’s and the odd LP. But the streaming world is just too easy, convenient and instant. It would be sad to see the CD to end up like vinyl. Cheers. Dave.

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4. Wow. You never got the damaged CD in mail?

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5. Hmm. In the future, when streaming services makes monthly subscription feel like paying rent, you will have your CDs to fall back on. Subscription is a dangerous game to play for the consumer in the long run.

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6. I stopped buying CDs when their prices skyrocketed in the early 2000s. I restarted buying when prices plummeted. I stopped buying this year, when prices climbed again, ridiculously.

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7. Like vinyls you get good and bad cd production sound. When I first bought Led Zeppelin 1 on cd 20 years ago it sounded awful and muffled compared to other artists on cd. Maybe you could highlight the good and bad cd labels for clarity of sound. Many thanks for your advice. Art

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8. Another great content from you, John. Thank you very much! 👍🏻 I totally agree with all your points, and I want to add one more that for me is really important: with CDs you can sort/organize your library as you like! Streaming services only allow some little and pre-defined ways to sort albums. For example, in Spotify you can't store an album under a folder or organize albums by genre or other tags… That's why I usually create playlists as a mirror of an entire album, so I can name it as I like (adding the release year for example), move it under a folder named as I like… A waste of time only because I'm a maniac of organizing music 😉 Great job, tschüss from Italy 😎

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9. Been a collector of physical media for half a century (yikes); vinyl and CDs and various video formats. But I came to a point in the last few years where the collecting slows down and a sort of equilibrium comes into effect. For me, that's meant relatively little acquisition in a while. In fact, I've been selling off occasionally. I have a couple thousand CDs remaining, which is more than enough to keep me entertained. I will buy when an artist comes along who gobsmacks me (Vikingur Olafsson, for example) or a great deal comes my way. (I favor $1 and $2 CDs at yard sales and such.) I simply love having my carefully curated CDs, and they will see me through until someone comes to haul me off, dead or alive.

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10. Thanks, you, more or less, "supported" my thesis posted on your previous vid on why CDs sound "better" than their streaming counterparts. Thanks. So, contrary to one commentator, it is not a volume issue.

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11. My main reason for continuing to buy CDs is I can’t be bothered to stand up and flip a record to listen to the other side. CDs are easy – just one side and you have the entire album. Sound quality is better too.

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12. I bought a new Rotel CD14 player 2 years ago. It broke down just past the warranty period. Disc tray failure. I am really compelled now to go streaming + vinyl and ditch the CDs. I bought a new player because I thought it would last longer than a vintage one, but with today's planned obsolescence it is not the case. My vintage amps and turntables are still going strong.

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13. I think I've always had the idea that CDs from the '80s are these weak, muddy-sounding things that have always been improved by remasterings over the years. I might have been mistaken, having listening to this. But when I burn a remastered disc onto iTunes and compare it track for track with the '80s master, I admit I love this 'pop' of what sounds like a deeper, clearer recording with what I suppose is the more audible hiss of the original tape or microphone. Hard to reconcile that these things don't really count, and that overall there's a layer of dynamics (?) or something important missing that I'm not picking up on.

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14. Because my record player just won't stay still on my car dashboard

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15. Yes, I bought the reissue of GNR Appetite for Destruction and regretted it. The original sounds so much better. They should have put a label reading:"Remastered by a 14 yr old with a 14 band graphic EQ" 👂🩸😀

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16. Very smart indeed. Bravo !

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17. ps4 and ps5 does not play cds music so if u have lots of cds u cant use it on sony ps4 ps5

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18. I am format agnostic, each one has its advantages and its flaws. Streaming is very convenient, and I use it to discover new music. But every time you have to think what to listen is like peeping into the abyss: what to listen to from millions of choices? At least, physical formats are finite: you can play what you have. And CD id the most "regular" of the physical formats: there are less elements that can affect the sound: on a vynil record there is the cartridge, the phono preamp, the pressing, the mastering, the state of the record, whether it's been played a lot or not… On CDs, there is the master, the transport, the DAC. Period. On top of it, CDs are cheaper, and postage costs also much cheaper than vynil. A clear win.

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19. I loved CDs and still have around 1500 or so of them (all losslessly ripped to a drive and backed up). They were great at their point in time and are nice for stuff you want that isn't available on streaming. However, streaming has larger and deeper catalogs overall and vinyl is a better tactile experience. However, I have some nostalgia when it comes to CDs, so I still enjoyed the video. I am lucky that I built up a CD collection of my favorite artists, so if I had to give up streaming I would still be pretty happy. Not sure what to say to the younger folks that don't own any physical music. I wouldn't expect streaming to go anywhere, but who knows.

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20. So If you have a CD transport and a steamer…. Or not even a streamer, maybe just the Amazon music app on a smart TV with the Fiber output plugged into the same DAC, playing the same 44 Khz/16 bit track, does the CD sound better?

    What about if I take a CD, rip a FLAC or WAV file to a computer, plug the USB out from the computer into the same DAC that the SPDIF from the CD transport is plugged into? Would the same CD from which I ripped the file Sound better?

    I guess what I am asking is if the contention here is that there is Loss in transit while streaming from on-line sources, or does a CD player do a better job of delivering Data to the DAC than what would come from a computer even if it started as the same data.

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21. I still buying CD up to this date. I can careless what the world people rejecting CDS, they probably don't listen with their hearts. I am a audiophile for over 31 years, great CD recording sounds "you are there" feeling , compare to streaming.
    I get to have the ownership of music and renting it.

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22. I totally agree with all of John's reasons–but I'll add one more for me: emotional attachment.I have my parent's vinyl as well as my own plus a ton of CDs. I'm emotionally attached to quite a few of them for many reasons–who gave them to me, where I bought it, what was happening in my life when I bought it, autographed copies, etc. You can't get an artist to autograph your Spotify track.

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23. Streaming you do not own anything-c.d. hardware is always available

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24. My CD collection is 5400+ and have long since outgrown my 10+ Ikea wall units (like yours) thankfully most have been transferred to Jewelsleeve (archival sleeve). Next stop on my wishlist is a Baetis music server (please consider a review). No end of CD purchases in sight thanks to DISCOGS. My player, made by Esoteric, provides nearly vinyl quality sound. Many thanks for comments on streaming vs CD. BTW – I find myself listening to CDs repeatedly – I fall in love with every one. Did you mention the problem with autographs on download files?Cheers and keep the great reviews coming.

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25. I still have my collection of thousands of cds. Lots that are unavailable to streaming due to rights changes. It's a strange feeling when that track that holds a playlist together is gone because one of the owners has a beef with whatever streaming platform's bosses.

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26. Have tons of CDs' and still am buying them 2nd hand and brand new. Not against streaming music but it just didn't work for me. Unsubscribed after just a few weeks trying it out.

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27. Loved this. One of my main reasons for still getting CDs is that I started my music collection with CDs and I’ve slowly moved to vinyl in the last ten years. I have a entire artists’ discographies on CD. If an artist is on album four or five and I have all their albums on CD, I’m getting the new one on CD too.
    I’ll be interested to see if CD growth continues because I think 2021 was maybe an anomaly because of some huge releases at the end of Q4.

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28. Well said Darko. Yet another point to add. If you research a bit further, masters of audio like Paul McGowan from PS Audio will tell you how technology is developing further each year that is actually bringing even more quality out of our humble CDs. I have a system set up now that simply amazes me in that the remasters or even SACD that I own, often don't sound as good as the original 1987-1995 CD releases. And unfortunately, Vinyl prices are simply getting out of hand. Love your work!

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29. myself with streaming i like to explore new groups or new artists and I'm on a budget only getting a part disability pension

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30. I bought my first CD player in 1984 for $550 – funded in part with poker winnings. That TEAC PD-500 had the most features I could find and a remote control. The CD's superiority to vinyl for many of the reasons you mention is why I still love the format today. I sit here – surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of them. They'll outlast me, for sure. Thanks for a great video.

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31. I buy up whole rows of CDs from charity shops at anything from 25p to 50p. I may be a pollock buy I also clean up with buying pre corded cassettes, my Nakamichi player makes them music sound fantastic.

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32. I love CD. You're right at every point of your statement.

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33. Post malone. The weeknd. All cds are dynamic n sound good

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34. A quick question. How do you handle your cds as you take them from the tray of your CD player ?

    Do you hold both edges with your fingers or grab one edge and pop your finger in the hole?
    Just curious 😊

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35. I personally agree with all that you said here.I love the CD Format (and Vinyl too).I also stream,but the CD is still for me my Number One.

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36. I prefer online streaming over CD 💿. You can discover and experiment more.

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37. Cds just sound the best

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38. I still buy CD

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39. “Carrying the CDs into a truck”…I’m surprised John uses “truck” instead of “lorry”. Random irrelevant observation.

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