What do music collections look like today now that CDs are outdated? (great songs, bands)

[twoincomes]

My parents had piles of vinyl records all sorted and organized in neat piles on the floor.

My older brothers had stacks of cassette tapes, and a few vinyl records.

I had CDs.

All of these have gone out of style, and music has morphed to the iPod. But, what do the youth today consider "their collection"? Is it icons on the iPod / Smartphone? Do they still by the CDs, or just download them?

Or, has the concept of collections of music gone away and this not a big deal of youth today?

[mkpunk]

I still buy CDs for bands I really like. It was amazing when I actually got the last Bon Jovi album not in CD form.

I've recently started going to the library to get albums to upload on my computer. You'd be surprised how many different albums you can find there to be quite honest.

[soupson1]

I'm by no means youth of today, unless we've been transported back to 1960 However
If I was starting again now, this is what I'd do:

1. I would have fewer records by more people. There are a couple of dozen rock acts who have made more than two great LPs. In most cases two is plenty.
2. Buy more singles and fewer LPs. Anybody worth their salt can condense their talent into a hit single. As a genre rock albums get far too much reverence and pop singles don't get nearly enough.
3. Don't worry about formats. They're all provisional. They go in and out of favour. Look at all the people who "let their vinyl go" and have kicked themselves ever since.
4. Don't bother "keeping up" with music. In general the best music is the oldest. As you get older you appreciate music that once seemed merely quaint. Louis Armstrong's been dead since 1971 but he'll never be as dead as [insert name of overrated contemporary artist here].
5. Don't say "I like all kinds of things". Everybody thinks they've got broad taste. The more music you listen to the more you're aware of how much you've yet to hear.

You just accumulate records over the years. If you were born in a certain era you never shake off the feeling that records are precious even when they're clearly not.
In my case Vinyl=Albums Singles=MP3 and a collection of 45's

[scottinpdx]

I don't think a physical music format will ever die due to its digital counterpart. I love the sound of vinyl records, and the popularity of vinyl keep growing every year. Most new music today is also being released on vinyl. CD's are becoming very affordable now and most big box store now have a section of $5 Cd's. When it comes down to it not all music released on vinyl or cd has been released digitally. I buy music off itunes, mostly singles or eps. I also rip all of my CD's to itunes. My collection of music will continue to grow for years to come

[passionatearts]

I don't know any young people who still buy CD's, and fewer and fewer of them are downloading music (even via file sharing services where they can get it for free). Instead, most of them are getting their music from streaming/on-demand services like You Tube, Spotify, and Pandora.

With the switch to streaming/subscription-based services, I predict that in the next 10 years, the concept of "owning" a music collection is going to disappear among the general public and will only be found among a niche market of audiophiles (who like to buy vinyl) and a small group of (mostly older) listeners who still prefer physical media.

[Neuling]

Basically my collection is one huge Windows folder

Anyway, just recently I noticed again that the digital world has all but taken away the possibility of recording from the radio. I remember when I still had a boom box in the 80s, I just pressed record when there was a good song on the radio (which still happened back then ). Now with those modern stereos there often is no record button anymore. I used to have many great songs on cassette, by artists I didn't even know. All I had was those songs. And after a while I always knew exactly the order in which I recorded them on those cassettes.

[mkpunk]

I don't like streaming, mainly because unless you aren't home or connected to WiFi you can't do it unless you don't care about paying for your G usage. I rather listen to my music when I can. The only plus for streaming versus SD cards is the huge chunk my music takes upon it.

[deargen]

if i am correct, only cd provides loss less encoded music. some people prefer flac format. there is little but difference in quality compared to mp3. i keep mine in latter format.

[timberline742]

a very large expedit with LPs, and another shelf for the 7"s, they take up a wall
ditched the CDs I had left years ago

[bs13690]

I don't even have a collection of music anymore. When I am out and about, I listen to most everything throught XBbox Music Pass. I'm thinking about moving to Spotify Premium, though.