Welcome to Hell, here's your 8-Track

I loved the 8-track tapes! I still have all 27 cartridges I bought 1974-1980.

I had a Lear 8-track player from 1976. Still have it too. Recently I played Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Honestly, it sounded every bit as good as I remember it! The Lear player has adjustable head azimuth. Tape pinch and speed is very accurate, unlike cheap 8-track players and cassette players. Then played DSOTM, followed by Elvis Costello. Sound is certainly better than my 1981 Concord cassette deck.

Problem is, WAY too many folks had CHEAP 8-track players and expect that that cheap-ass player represented the top tier technology, now complain about it.

I still love the soft “click-click” of the track change!! 
 

I remember long drives listening to 8-tracks in the ‘74 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight and ‘76 Cadillac and ‘77 Lincoln Continental my folks had. Nirvana!!

I thought 8-Track was OK for what it was at the time.  I had a player in my 69’ Malibu and remember enjoying Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ”Proud Mary”.  I also purchased a boom box which was dubbed “a triple threat” - 8-Track, cassette (before Dolby) and AM/FM radio. Of course, the tape broke often or got wound around the spindle but I wasn’t into Hi-Fi then and didn’t know better. After my first “mid-fi” system in 1972, I went into cassette with a purchase of a Nakamichi 1000 cassette deck with Dolby B, C and chrome. Now it’s CD’s with “perfect sound forever”.

The fact that they would switch tracks in the middle of a tune, made them a big no for me!

I remember installing an under dash slide mount Pioneer 8track in my mom's 73 mercury cougar. Put the huge pioneer speakers on the rear window deck. Cut my teeth with Black Sabbath and LZ. good times ☺️. Greg 

In the 70's I had quadraphonic system; 4 channel Harman Kardon receiver, four Sansui speakers, a BIC turntable, and four channel Akai 8 track player/ recorder. There were a number of four channel prerecorded albums available in 8 track. I had a number of them. One was a Blue Oyster Cult; can't remember which it was. 
Audiophile system and sound quality? Heck, I don't think I ever heard the term audiophile back then, let alone able to define it. But when I cranked up that quad BOC tape after smoking an illegal substance I was immersed in a very enjoyable musical experience.