Community weekly poll: In what format do you buy your music most often?

Yup... I like emusic and MP3s too, because....

I think that emusic is a good place to ''discover'' music that you may not normally listen to. No, it isn't a lot of stuff that is played over and over again on the radio, but I have found a TON of stuff that I now really like. There are a lot of independent labels on emusic that have some pretty famous artists like Sara McLaughlin, CCR, Maren Ord, Moby, just to name a few.

The only complaint I have about any music service like emusic, puretracks, or others, is that the preview samples are only 30 seconds long (which doesn't even get you through the intro in most cases)! That REALLY bugs me. I would like to be able to check for content, lyrics, how catchy it is, etc. BEFORE downloading it. I don't like to waste my money on things until I know that I'm going to like them, or at least not be offended by them!

And I agree with the comments about music quality. People that spend all their time griping about sound quality need to stop and enjoy the music! Yes, there are things that are very poor quality, but in my opinion, MP3s are not one of them. They suit me just fine. If someone else wants to be picky, I say... let them.

I have been through and loved 8 tracks, my scratchy old records, my garbled tapes, my shiny CDs (although it really bugs me when these get scratched.... to me, digital should be nearly perfect), MP3s, and anything else that comes out! Its all good!

Help me. I have become lost with all the new music formats.

In reply to: In what format do you buy your music most often? by Marc Bennett 

I posted to one of the threads on this question and now feel like a complete idiot. As stated in my prior post, my first music purchases were vinyl, until 8-tracks hit the market. From there, I progressed to cassettes and then to CDs. I currently download from LimeWire (free service) then burn preferred songs to CDs.
I guess I do not really know what an MP3 is although it appears a special device may be needed to play the music. My children are in their twenties and no longer live at home so I do not have exposure to all the latest lingo.
Now, the more I read and see about various music formats the more confused I have become. In the last hour I have seen quite a collection of acronyms. The list includes MP3, M3U, P2P, PLS, MPEG (movie or streamer, I think), NVI, ASF, DRM, MOV (movie?), SACD, and a few more I did not write down.
Where do I go to find a description of what all these mean. I have always tried to keep myself abreast of new technology but now feel like I am in dark ages. It may just be I have not had the need for a lot of the available devices and formatting BUT... how do I know if I do not even know what all these are?

Lost with the music formats

You sound a bit like me, except I never had 8-track! For me it was 45's, LP's, Cassettes, briefly some reel-to-reel, and then CD's and computers.

MP-3 is an audio format using a high degree of compression. Musical nuances are evaluated and the "least important" is discarded. The degree of compression can range from very little to incredibly high. The net result on the sound is similar - very little compression reasonably good sound. You might see 128kbps as a compression setting in your Limewire listings. That's "OK" - but higher numbers sound better. As you might expect, the higher the number, the larger the filesize.

MPEG is related to MP-3. MPEG is usually used in reference to compressed video files (with audio, of course). MPEG is the scheme DVD uses to produce good pictures within the space afforded by a disc (about 13 gigs on a commercial movie).

MP-3 will play on almost any portable player, and will play on ANY modern computer. Software to play and create the MP-3 files are free from many sites. Apples I-Tunes will make and play MP-3 and other formats. With my NANO, I really like the searchable features of I-Tunes. Many people prefer other programs. Ask a few friends to show you which MP-3 player they use AND how they find their music once it's on their computer.

AAC is Apples I'Tunes "MP4" format, which gives better sound for any given compression ratio.

SACD is a fantastic audio format that hasn't exactly caught on. It uses the higher data capacity of a DVD to produce multi-channel audio. Trouble is, the players have never come down in price and the market for the discs is very limited. I don't think it'll survive, as some of us are still "converting" our LP collection to CD's. Stop by a high-end audio store and ask to hear a demonstration of SACD. With luck, the sales guy will know what you're asking for.

Personally, I "preview" some music on Limewire, but I usually don't like the sound of the MP-3's. You sorta get what you pay for here - and my suggestion is to purchase the music you like on CD and convert it to electronic format with your own settings. This way you can use low compression (high bit rates, larger files) and you'll certainly hear the difference. ** Buying the CD also will help insure the artists you like make money, unlike stealing it with Limewire! **

You listed a lot of acronyms in your post - they're all computer related, but from different areas. Some time on www.en.wikipedia.org exploring those will answer many of your questions.

Kevin

CD & Studio

In reply to: In what format do you buy your music most often? by Marc Bennett 

I buy cds and digital studio versions of songs that I can't buy in cd format. I wouldn't pay for a mp3, wma, or aac because im not getting the full spectrum of the song. Its a wast of money.

(NT) CDS FTW!

In reply to: In what format do you buy your music most often? by Marc Bennett 

Mostly MP3

In reply to: In what format do you buy your music most often? by Marc Bennett 

I buy music mostly in mp3 format.
More often I get it here - http://lnk.in/4jmc since they have very large mp3 archive and low prices (of course, much lower than iTunes have).