Why Do ~You~ Still Play CDs?


I'm curious why you still play CDs in the age of streaming. I recently got back into CD listening and I'm curious if your reasons align with mine, which are:

  • Enjoying the physical medium—the tactile nature of the case, the disc, the booklet, etc.
  • Forcing myself to actually listen to an album, versus being easily distracted by an algorithm, or "what's next" in my playlist.
  • Actually owning the music I purchase, versus being stuck with yet another monthly subscription.

Others? 

itanibro

It’s very simple.  CDs are digital music without compression or expansion.  Any music from a streaming system or download is always compressed.  

Have 5000 and enjoy their sound thru my 3 CD players and attached systems. I listen to streaming in my office where there is no space fir a cdp. It's OK to ne but not great. It's  best for music discovery and background music. I have a Marantz nd8006 streamed in another system but it's unwieldy and I don't think it sounds great. I am still looking a a replacement for it and will try something soon. So CD s seem to deliver for me. I also still buy cds new and used when I find something where I like the music and it is well recorded. Lots of my favorite music is nit found online too as it's very regional in derivation or in niche categories. 

For many of the same reasons others have listed:

  • Pleasure of seeing and manipulating physical objects (and I hate touch screens!)
  • Previous investment in hardware and software - I moved off vinyl when going to university in the mid-80s and a) it was much easier to move CDs around and b) CD was cool, back then.
  • Ease of planning listening vs. streaming for classical. Admittedly, my only limited experience of streaming was a 3-months free sub to Spotify that came with a car. Finding anything classical on Spotify is a PITA.
  • More money in the artist's pocket

I'm 'returning' to audio (vs. music - which I have never left) as my system from 30 years ago has broken down in a couple of places, and while the priority is to get back to where I was (able to listen to a CD without hum or crackles) streaming is interesting as a way to access new music.