I hate CDs. The ONLY thing truly good about them is that you can put many of them in a small space.
Since I do a radio show, it happens at least once a show that one of the three cd players refuses to play a certain cd. My cd player at home won't play certain cds. The other day at the station I opened up a cd case and the cover detached, the book fell out, the cd rolled across the floor and the back of the case fell the other direction. What WAS an easy play turned into a 4-piece clusterf*ck.
I walked out of my house the other day and the four cds I was carrying slipped out of my hand onto the porch floor. Busted all of them.
Albums never have any of these problems. Plus, any record player will play any record (unless the record is a speed the record player can't handle). And really, if you take care of your records, they sound better than cds.
Even that a CD allows you to listen to the entire recording all the way through doesn't quite override the disadvantages.
Denis - my viewpoint is based on having grown up with 45s and LPs.
CDs are smaller, more robust, harder to damage, easier to cue up (and no damage from a stylus) and if one falls on the floor, you pick it up. If an LP or 45 falls on the floor it can pick up dust or grit that damages it. I've never had a factory CD generally fail to play - although I think I might have one or two with one bad cut on them.
Unlike computer files - which can easily get deleted or misplaced, and which often are only available in compressed formats - a CD can be used to burn as many copies in as many formats as needed. The AVI format on CDs is high quality and allows all kinds of alternative format copies to be created.
All in all, although I can see why CDs are declining in popularity, I'd much rather have one than a downloaded compressed file with fidelity inferior to the CD.
And I think one reason CDs are declining is that they're overpriced. A CD of anything more than a few years old should be about $5 at the most.
