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

I get most of my new music from Emusic. For $20/month you get 90 downloads all without DRM!!! You won't find many of the big greedy pop "musicians" on this site but it has a great selection across the board. Do not buy music that has been crippled by DRM! Support only companies that refuse to be anti consumer and possibly the others will relent in their despicable business practices.
On another note- Who are these people with such superior hearing ability and ultra high end audio equipment that they find mp3's so inferior in quality? An mp3 encoded at a rate of 192 kbs or better sounds wonderful. I cannot believe you can tell the difference between it and an uncompressed wave file on most consumer audio equipment. Also quite curious to me are those that insist a vinyl recording is superior to a CD. Every vinyl record I have ever listened to has noise particularly in the quiet passages. There is no way a vinyl recording is superior to a properly made digital one.

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!

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?

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

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.

I've heard this business about vinyl sounding ''better''.

I have good equipment - KEF monitor speakers, Carver amplifier, Yamaha Direct Drive turntable, B&O Cartridge. Wonderful stuff.

I also have a Panasonic CD player.

Here's my take on things:

In the studio, they often create a mix in the digital realm. Yes, 24 track analog recorders exist, but let's get real: The vast majority of recording is digital, 16/24 bit, 48/96k samples, my laptop can manipulate the files.

Since the mix is established digitally, the CD I purchase should be a pretty dawggone close example of the sound coming from the monitor speakers. Why wouldn't I want THAT sound? I understand that vinyl ''colors'' the sound. Some prefer it.

I am SO GLAD to have that ''bacon sizzle'' GONE! Can I yell it again: Bacon Sizzle GONE! I feel I'm closer to the mix that came from the mixing room. I certainly have a lower noise floor, and more dynamics. Don't get me wrong: My cartridge and that vinyl can take the edge off a crappy mix. But so too can turning on the ''SONIC HOLOGRAM'', or playing with an equalizer.

Here's my 2 on the thought of high-end sound: Speakers and Amplifiers are where the differences are. And it's mostly speakers and their placement. Skip the ''monster cable'' - I'm in the industry and I can tell you, Belden 8451 rules, at about 10 per foot.

Enjoy vinyl if you must, but really - isn't the CD a faithful reproduction of the control room mix, the sound the band approved?

(waiting to be shot down in flames!)
Kevin

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).

I usually purchase music from iTunes and convert songs to MP3 format.
If not buying from iTunes; I buy CD's from area stores.