What a sad world we now live in.......

A paper released last year ( https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3285436 ) determined that the average "free" time most working Americans have is around 2.5 hours per day.  Here are some of the things I like to do (in their general order of preference):
Hang out with my family.
Hang out with my friends.
Play guitar or piano.
Play with my dogs.
Go to concerts.
Read.
Go for a walk.
Ride my bike.
Listen to my stereo.
Watch TV.
If I give each activity equal time (I don't), then that only gives me 1.5 - 2 hours a week to listen to my stereo.  That sounds about right.  Sometimes, on a rainy day I will listen more, some weeks will go by and I don't listen at all.
Tidal has been a boon for me.  I can listen to new music, old music, and music that I never would think of "buying."  For the most part my CD's just sit there.  I have about about 300 records.  I average about 2-3 records a month.  I still enjoy buying them and messing with the turntable (I have a "one-in, one out" policy with new records to keep my collection manageable, but there are some in there that I haven't listened to for over 40 years).
Slowly I am winnowing down my 500 CD collection to just those that are collectible or un-available on Tidal or Idagio.  It makes no sense to keep these;  it would take me ten years to listen to them all (only if I excluded listening to everything else, which I won't do - I enjoy discovering new music too much).
So I could care less about not finding CDs in Walmart.  In fact, I could care less about going to Walmart at all.  If I feel the need, we have three independant record stores in town;  I'll get my record buying fix there.

@kahlenz


Well said!
+1

You are not that old, if you can still happily read CD inserts. Those letters are getting smaller by the year.

Glupson

I think it is more likely our eyes are getting weaker by the year!

@uberwaltz  Don't you live in the UK? All my friends in England still buy and listen to CDs as their primary source of music. 
Of course sales have dropped drastically, but all the stats being quoted on this thread are for US only.

I get your point and maybe selling CDs in UK retail shops 
is no longer profitable. Sales have dropped worldwide, but in Japan there is a huge CD market.

I count myself as being truly blessed at this stage of life as I can find usually 5 to 6 hours A DAY to listen to my music and usually do.

Now honestly I am not that bothered whether WalMart or Best Buy or Target etc stop selling any type of music period!

From a sense of where I normally go to buy my media.

It just so happened I was in WalMart for another reason entirely when this unfolded.

But as a general downward spiral picture of todays culture and buying mentality it still saddens me, call me an old fart, not going to change my mind on that score.

Unfortunately the internet has made some of this shift towards online everything all too easy and commonplace.

Go watch a movie called "The City of Ember".

Yes I know all doom and gloom , misery guts I am.