so lately i’ve been pondering the question of buying CDs vs. purchasing and downloading music off iTunes or something similar…i’ve really been considering stopping purchasing CDs all together, and only downloading music i want from iTunes…i will list my thoughts on the good/bad points of both:

CDs:

• Good
  1. I enjoy the artwork that goes into most CD booklets and on the actual CDs themselves. Sometimes the booklets are better than the actual CDs.
  2. The CDs could possibly become a collector’s item someday, kind of like albums are now.
  3. There is resale potential in CDs, either through eBay or a used record store.
  4. Very easy to listen to in a car, since most cars come standard with CD players now.
  5. Easy to make copies of, either for my backup usage, or to share with friends.
  6. There are currently no usage restrictions on CDs (at least not widespread), I am free to do with them as I please.
  7. I can take them and play them on any CD player, since it is a widespread standard format.
  8. There seems to be more of an opportunity to support local artists, since they are generally selling CDs at shows.
  9. The “physical factor”, i.e. I feel more like I own CDs, since there is something I can hold onto and look at.
• Bad
  1. CDs are pretty easily scratched or damaged, which can render them useless over time.
  2. Studies are coming out that show CDs don’t always last as long as the 100 years they generally boast about, they can start to decay after 5-10 years.
  3. They take up a lot of physical space, especially if you like to keep the cases.
  4. If you lose a CD, you are generally S.O.L.…no store will give you another copy just cause you lost yours.
  5. You get all the songs on the CD, including the crappy ones you really don’t like, just to get that one song you keep hearing on the radio, and you really love.
  6. Sometimes it can be hard to find older, out-of-print stuff on CD.

iTunes:

• Good
  1. Its extremely easy to add newly downloaded songs to my iPod, generally just one click and they are added.
  2. I get to listen to the songs before I buy them, and it helps me discover new music I might not have heard of otherwise.
  3. I can buy only the songs I want from an album, but I can still buy the whole album if I want.
  4. Its generally cheaper to buy a whole album from iTunes than it is to buy at a store.
  5. I get the album cover artwork included with the music file, so I can print that off if need be.
  6. I get immediate gratification when buying music online, no getting dressed and running to the store to get a CD, I can buy it sitting in my underwear.
  7. The files are easy to store and backup, and I can store thousands on a small, relatively-cheap hard drive.
  8. I can burn hundreds of the songs to a CD if I need to.
• Bad
  1. I am severly limited by DRM on what I can do with the songs I buy. To have free control of the the songs, I have to burn them to CD (which I can only do a few times), then rip them to mp3s, thus reducing the sound quality of the purchased song.
  2. Sound quality is generally much worse than the equivalent CD.
  3. I don’t feel like I physically own anything, since it is just a bunch of 1s & 0s.
  4. Due to DRM restrictions, its difficult to listen to the songs on other computers, or share with friends.
  5. I can’t resell the songs, or give them away easily/legally.
  6. Depending on where I download the songs from, I may be locked into one vendor (Apple).

after writing out most of these points, i’ve begun to see a pattern of what is most important to me…i love physically having CDs, i consider each one of them a piece of art, outside of just the music…however, my house has slowly become overwhelmed by CDs and DVDs, and i’ve begun throwing CD cases away, or storing them in boxes which just seems ridiculous…i really like the convenience of online downloading, and the fact that i can just throw them on my iPod, and away i go…so, after a long time thinking about it, i’ve decided i’m only going to buy the CDs i deem most worthy, and try to start downloading everything else…my process of deeming CDs worthy will have to be saved for another article…let me know what you think