Digital music forum: Poll: What do you miss most about the pre-MP3-download era?

1. Easily damaged -- No matter how hard I try to protect my CD's from scratches, eventually my CD's get to the point where you can't listen to them anymore because of the skipping.

2. Capacity -- I've been rocking mp3 capable stereos in my vehicle for years now. Nothing beats being able to cram 200 mp3's onto a CD-R vs. the 20 (+/-) songs available through CDDA format.

3. Custom recordings -- I can pick and choose, mix and match the music I want to listen to without having to fumble around for CD's.

Word!

I don't miss the album artwork as it added to the cost of the product but did not add to the quality of the music.

I do miss the liner notes, esp the xtra info like guest musicians etc...

I don't miss the social aspects as records stores were an addiction. you went in for one product & came out with 10..... twas hard on the budget....

I don't miss the clutter of owning the media & then getting rid of it once it became obsolete.....

I stopped buying CDs long ago when the prices went up & the quality went down..... artists/record companies began mass-producing crappy albums with 1 or 2 decent numbers on them & the rest crap..... Now I can listen to stuff I like w/o fast forwarding....

I have discovered a large number of new artists online, much more than I would have done at a record store. If I could "cut' an album by an artist with only the numbers I like on it, I would then be willing to "buy" a real product again ...

What about the albums (and yes, they do still get made) that are actually meant to be conceptual works of art that cohesively flow from song to song? Are you saying that you aren't a proponent of The Beatles "Abbey Road", or numerous Pink Floyd albums, or a newer band like Neutral Milk Hotel that put together these brilliant albums that aren't meant ot be listened to as "SONGS", but as a WHOLE?

Thanks for the link to the Rolling Stone article. I totally agree. MP3 files are convenient but they are low fidelity. We have gone backwards in trying to bring the performer(s) into our listening environment. I guess if you cannot tell the difference you save on equipment..no need for high quality speakers.

If one has the opportunity to listen to live music performances it becomes quite obvious that MP3 files don't come close.

As a beginning guitarist I taught myself to hear chord changes and play them on my guitar by picking up the needle and going back a few measures, or rewinding the cassette just a bit. I put a lot of effort into finding an audio system in which I can mark spots on the CD to "rewind," but it's more hassle than it's worth and simply doesn't match the ease of learning of vinyl and tape.
It's great seeing so many people nostalgic for the superior underlying sound - bass, warmth - of vinyl, as most people either give me a blank look or look at me like I'm crazy when I say so.
LINER NOTES. It was nice to be able to sit on the couch, listen to an album, and educate myself about the musicians and their music. I spend enough time on my computer working, shopping, reading news, looking up contacts etc. I'd rather not be tethered to the computer to learn about the music I'm listening to, too. These days I do see more CDs with useful information tucked in, but too many times they don't even list the song author or musicians per song.
The good news is if enough innovators listen to us, these are issues that might well have future solutions.

The fact that people are either not missing anything or missing something like album cover art, etc. really shows the "old lady" aspect of music listeners these days. I say "old lady" because that is how an old lady listens to music. "It sounds the same on my little radio." What is missing is the actual sound and music!! My wife has that same tin ear, "Sounds the same to me." Mp3, especially at 128 kps, is very bad fidelity. 320 kps is better, but neither can be played on a good sound system without noticing the drop off in quality.

But, I think it points out a great deal about listeners these days that rather than going in the direction of higher fidelity, like SACD, the public and industry went in the direction of lower fidelity. Why would a recording engineer even spend any time getting a good sound?

I don't know what SACD is, but I consider myself an audiophile. I prefer LPs to any flat media that I have ever heard and I do hear the great difference between CDs, DVDs, & mp3s when compared against LPs. There are sounds in the grooves of LPs that cannot even be picked up without a good direct drive and stylus. So, I say, before considering yourself to be an audiophile, please do compare LPs with any other media. If you can hear the difference with your ear, then you can join the club.

The only reason you heard snap crackle and pop, was because the records weren't well taken care of. I have hundreds, maybe 1000 LPs that sound the same as they did when I bought them. I aways cleaned them with a proper cloth made especially for LPs. I always also stored them standing up straight on end & never put more than 1 on a turntable, even if the turntable was advertised as one that could handle 6 at a time. There is no way that you can capture all the different sounds deep in the grooves of an LP on flat media.

The one poll entry that grabbed my attention was 'actually owning something'.

What did we actually own? The plastic? You didn't own the music. Heck you didn't even own the label or the artwork or the lyrics or anything. You owned the plastic.

The only good thing about it was going to the store and meeting some people. But that was it. The prices were way too high and you had (and still have) no legal rights to anything.

So, there is nothing to miss except the human social element I think. But the ease of transportability and other useful features of digital music is great.

The foldouts were fantastic too. I have cutouts of the Beatle and many large posters. My 37 year old son is asking me to leave him all of my LPs.

I don't miss anything because I am 14 and I didn't even know what an mp3 player was because I was only 4. I have grown up in the digital age. I have only had 4 CD players. 2 portable (one broke the other I gave to my mom). As for the other 2, they were boom boxes (first one broke the other one collects dust). I am on my first digital music player which is a PSP.

Trying to get fluff out of the stereo needle without dropping it? Nope, don't miss that either...Being all awkward not wanting to lend out a beloved disc for fear it will get damaged or lost...nope, don't miss it...Not being able to locate an old song heard on the radio without paging through catalogs in six point type, then hoping to find the (of course out-of-print) record at the local library...only to find it was reserve only, listen on the library's poor quality player...nope don't miss that either!

Today I can find all kinds of old, obscure, or new and really cool music online - and find communities of people who are likewise fans of "weird" styles, without getting dissed by music store clerks or music room librarians, too. I can find commentary of much greater breadth and depth than I could ever get off the liner notes, and links to still more tunes by the same composers. I can find performances too, of songs that I've only read about in books, or as yellowing sheet music, brought to life again by new fans to spread the joy.

I don't think we've lost anything, I think we've gained lots more than we even realize with the acceptance of digital music.

I don't miss much because I still buy music on CD. Most of what I buy I have to buy online because the stores never stocked it. There was a brief period when the stores had classical and jazz but not pop, but that passed quickly. During that period I replaced my vinyl classical collection with CDs. Beyond that core repertoir I lean toward Dixieland jazz and music for wind band. Turtle's never carried it, and neither does Best Buy or Barnes Ignoble. Tower was a relatively good source, but the nearest store was a long way off so getting there was a rare treat.

Do not get me wrong. I truly appreciate the portability of the MP3 and the age of downloadable music. I appreciate the advancement of technology. However, that appreciation comes with knowing where I use to be and those experiences of once upon a time.

To me Boston is an AOR band. Kiss is an AOR band. Kansass, aud infinitum. None of those greats will ever sound the same on my iPod as they did when I had to struggle to get the cello wrapper off without bending or scratching the cherished art work. That in itself was a rite of passage.

The act of balancing the record between the palms so that the fingers never touched the surface from bed to stereo is now forever lost. The way shopping bags and plastic littered the path across my bedroom creating obstacles that threatened that balancing act. It was the way the jacket and liner notes were reverently placed, just so. The ritual of that first cherry popping play after a week of mowing lawns was repeated nearly a thousand times before college.

Then CDs came along and were being introduced commercially. I was with the rest of the staff at a small Midwestern radio station when the salesman from Phillips gave us his presentation and a glimpse into my future.

I caught myself the other day, opening up a box that had long since been packed and stored pulling back the acid free tissue that seperates each memory. I gently pressed the opposite sides together to create a gap just large enough to reach in With a quick glance to see who might have been watching I drew in a quick wiff of Pink Floyd.

All of those memories are on my iPod. I love each and every one of them. I rejoice each time one of them gets caught up into the shuffle. However, the pops and the crackles have been digitally erased. Their sound as true to studio as it could ever possibly be made. Yet Roger Waters just doesnt sound the same without that gentle arm pressing down upon him via the vinyl disc.

Eventuaully, the war wounds will be spoken of fondly that were earned using inappropriate tools to open the retail display packaging. One day I will speak proudly as a veteran explaining why the ruined jewel case liner notes of a certain Crowded House compact disc just so happens to resemble a bloody finger print.

Carpal tunnel may one day be remembered with equal reverence by another generation, not mine. Yet, stories of how bad that cramp was will never hold up comparatively to the story my son could tell. Nothing would ever compare to the sound the old stereo made when it was fired up and he heard those awesome guitar chords for the first time as they were meant to be heard with the original pops and crackles. He'll remember his first choking reflex inhaling the dust from a lesser protected release.

Sure, he may mention the problems he had when that driver mysteriously disappeared from his hard drive. But he will hold with greater reverence the thoughts of the police being called to quell the loud music coming from that storage locker when Dad got caught huffing Dark Side of the Moon.

Album artwork. Yes, Albums have art.. mp3 does not!
Liner notes. (There is no discuss of the person, band, or music process.. concert.
The social aspect of it. Who is making the music again?
Tangible aspect of actually owning something. No album cover to read.
Going to music stores. The social connection has been removed.
The new album "smell." .. not sure about this.
Potential resale value. Used record store is only record store now.
What are you talking about? Buying music online is all I know. (Do you even own a music CD?) Sounds like person does not want to leave
home.
I dont miss any of it. (Really? Why not?) Same.. as above.
Other (What is it?) Talking about music in a music store with
a friend. Go to used music store or BestBuy.