Anyone listen to entire albums?


I assume the answer is yes since many of you run vinyl rigs, but just wondering how many around here listen to entire albums at a sitting?  In the age of instant gratification and playlists I seem to be, recently, gravitating to listening through entire albums.  I don’t have vinyl and only stream or play from a network drive so it’s easy for me to bounce around from song to song, artist to artist.  Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing but I enjoy hearing a record in it’s entirely the way the artist recorded it.  I’ve flirted with the idea of vinyl for the very reason that it seems to be a format that lends itself to listening through an entire album in one sitting.  I seem to be less inclined to make that move though now that I’ve been doing the album thing via streaming. 

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Generally, I prefer to listen to a disc in its entirety.  Not always, but usually.  I listened to a Mapleshade CD all the way through (I cannot remember the artist or title, it was one I got nearly 30 rears ago and I have more fingers on one hand than the times I have listened to it), then Janis Ian/Breaking Silence, then Rebecca Pidgeon/The Raven.  Then I listened to two tracks from Mia Doi Todd because I wanted to hear My Baby Lives In Paris and then I listened to three tracks off of Ray Lamontagne/God Willin' And The Creek Don't Rise, but generally I prefer to listen to complete CDs.

I listen to at least 50% of the album 100% of the time when I’m playing a 7”.

Unless I’m interrupted.

LPs get a full listen, and generally CDs also, especially since I'm using a single CD transport these days (my ancient "built like a tank" Marantz  5 disc CD changer still works and sounds great but can't compete with the convenience of streaming). Streaming and the Schiit Urd go through a Bifrost 2/64 (superb DAC), the changer uses a DacMagic with its bespoke (mostly) Pangea power supply...also sounding great. Remixed, remastered, repackaged, restored, re-released...pretty much all good in my book, and I listen mostly to jazz. Often I put on some vinyl and step away to do something...oops...I should get one of those "Q up" gizmos.

a few thoughts

1. those albums (vinyl or cd) where the order of the songs is different than the printed order? who made those decisions?

2. cd's. I sometimes use scramble, and found I became focused on songs that I was not fully aware of, strange: I figured out, those were most often the ones that followed the great songs which I was still thinking about.

3. we retired have more time to listen to both sides, or all sides, however I do, like others, play a favorite side: only, or 1st. Playing out of order, not your favorite side first can make you more aware of other tracks like #2 above.