Bands which, in this age of streaming, are still automatic physical buys for you

[Dave_Manchester]

There's a vaguely off-topic strand of posts threatening to develop in the Sons of Apollo thread (where else?) so I figured I'd give it its own home. The question is simple: in this day and age of easy access to music streaming, for which bands do you still shell out for their physical media (CD, vinyl, Blu Rays, whatever), even if you haven't heard a note of their new work? Mine are:

Dream Theater
Mark Knopfler
Godspeed You Black Emperor
Cradle of Filth
Children of Bodom
William Basinski

Yours?

[KevShmev]

Physical media?

Steven Wilson
Devin Townsend
Neal Morse
Dream Theater

[bosk1]

If I find an artist worth listening to, I will ALWAYS buy the physical media.  Technology keeps changing.  Although it is easy to stream now, that may not always be the case, and music I may want to listen to might not be available for whatever reason.  So, that being said, the list for me is virtually unlimited.  If I like the artist, I buy the disk.

[ProfessorPeart]

I'm very old school. The answer is all.

I only buy digital if the artist does not release a physical copy or the cost to import one from Europe/Japan is too much. I will first seek out uncompressed digital via Bandcamp, their own site, or HD Tracks. If all else fails, I use my Google Opinion Rewards to buy the digital from the Play store.

I drive my wife nuts with the multiple UPS/USPS deliveries of my music. I have actually run out of space to store them. I have stacks of discs with nowhere to put them. That drives her nuts too. I probably have close to 2000 CD's in my living room alone.

EDIT: Not to mention that, lately, physical has a tendency to be cheaper than the digital which makes it sweeter for me.

[portnoy311]

I kinda posted a summary of my list in that thread, as one of the people who helped get it off track. But I still buy CDs pretty often. I rip them to FLAC and store them to my external HD that I stream around my place. I also have a Google Play subscription (recently switched from Spotify), so it might seem somewhat redundant for some, but I enjoy my way of doing things. Anyway off the top of my head:

Mastodon
Pearl Jam
Alice in Chains
Brad Mehldau
Joshua Redman
Fly (jazz trio)
Between the Buried and Me (although another Coma Ecliptic might relegate them to a band I love, but no longer buy physical copies of)
Soundgarden ( ... )
Insomnium
Tool (lol)
David Gilmour
311
Faith No More
Dave Matthews Band
ef
RHCP
John Butler Trio
Metallica (I look forward to buying their next album in 2029)


This doesn't include bands that are defunct that would be insta buys if they ever released anything. I realize Soundgarden isn't exactly gonna push on without Cornell, but I'd be surprised if they don't have some sort of anthology they'll be releasing at some point. For those bands that are defunct:

Pink Floyd (obviously)
Nick Drake (I think it's safe to say he's not putting a new album, but you never know, maybe he faked his death 45 years ago)
The Mars Volta (although I found their last album to be one of the most forgettable albums I own, they might've fallen off this list, especially since I haven't bought anything they've released together under the different band names)


And I'm sure I'm missing a ton

[Anguyen92]

Alter Bridge
Tremonti
Myles Kennedy (when he finally gets that solo album out)
Dream Theater
Iron Maiden

Maybes, depending on the singles or songs released before the album is out
Black Stone Cherry
Breaking Benjamin

I do enjoy that feeling of heading to a store like Best Buy, look under "New Releases," to see if an album I know I'm going to love from one of my favorite band is there and then buy it on day one of the release.  It's like a sense of euphoria that I cannot describe.

[Lethean]

I have made a shift to digital because I just don't use CDs. However, I like owning my music and tagging it the way I want, etc, so I buy mp3s vs streaming.

That being said, there are still bands that fit Dave's criteria for me, where I want to have the cd and will buy it without hearing it:

Dream Theater
Katatonia
Leprous
Rush (should they ever release a new album)
Riverside
Arcturus

[The Walrus]

I dislike buying digital media in any form so even though I use Spotify a LOT (my main method of checking out new artists and new releases), I still buy a crapload of CDs. Pretty much any CD I find on Spotify that I really like, I end up buying, so I have a backlog of lots of artists both familiar and not that I need to catch up on, if only funds permitted. But, there are several bands I'll buy music from without needing to hear a single note:

Stratovarius
Toto
Sonata Arctica
Rhapsody (of Fire; Luca Turilli's)
Dream Theater
Kamelot
Opeth
Power Quest
Avantasia
Edguy
Blind Guardian
Dragonforce
Iced Earth
Helloween
Explosions In The Sky
God Is An Astronaut

Plenty of others...

[bosk1]

And by the way, it's "Bands that..."  Not "Bands which..."

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I don't buy CDs like I used to, that's just a fact. However there's actually a few bands I always support and buy no matter what.

Ayreon
Soilwork
Meshuggah
Opeth
Dimmu Borgir
Evergrey
Toto

It's a bit of an eclectic list but those bands have made a special connection once in my life and I support them for various reasons.

Sidenote: Funny enough, i've actually haven't bought a Maiden CD since Dance Of Death even though the band is very very important to me.

[Dave_Manchester]

And by the way, it's "Bands that..."  Not "Bands which..."

No it isn't, because the sentence would still make sense without the clause the relative pronoun ('which' here) connects. "Bands which are still automatic buys for you" is a grammatically perfect sentence, and so 'which' is used.

Bizarre interlude, not sure why you felt the need to make it quite honestly. The entire reason for my making this thread is your apparent dislike of threads being taken off topic.

[Crow]

I'm always at least gonna check out the single(s) for a new album before buying, both my time and money are too valuable to waste on mediocre stuff

[bill1971]

Rush...R.I.P
DT

Maybe Living Colour simply because they often sign items after a show.

[ReaperKK]

As of now?

Kaki King
Dredg (although I don't expect another album from them)
Michael Kelsey

[mikeyd23]

There aren’t many anymore.

DT
Alter Bridge (and related projects)
Metallica

And probably some other bands but nothing set in stone beyond that without hearing something first. I still buy a lot of physical media, but there are very few auto buys for me anymore. Spotify, among other things, is a great tool to discern whether or not an album is worth the $12 or $13.

[wolfking]

Less and less as time goes on, but if i think about it probably still quite a few.

[SwedishGoose]

Everything I want to listen to will be bought as physical CDs.

Automatic buys are too many to mention but I will not automariclly buy a CD of a new band just because a favorite musiscian is on it. In example Sons of Apollo, I will listen to the singles. If they are good enough I will preorder (not SOA) and if not I will listen on Spotify when the album comes out and decide if it is worth having.

[efx]

Dream Theater, mostly for the completionist in me. Usually buy the most extreme special edition too haha.
Meshuggah, because they are my favorite band plus I like the box sets they do for their albums.
Iron Maiden and Metallica. For maiden it's about the covers so I always buy the LP as well.
Bands that I'm friends with I usually buy CD's of as well.

[ChuckSteak]

No band is an automatic physical buy, unless I like the album.

[jingle.boy]

Less and less these days.  DT used to be, but after TA... I'll be sampling first.  As for CD auto-buy

Arjen Lucassen
Evergrey
Flaming Row
Epysode
Avantasia
Vanden Plas

Probably others, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

[MirrorMask]

If there's an album that I really dig a lot, no way I'm just happy with Spotify, I just have to buy the physical album.

If we talk about automatic, blind purchases, based on faith and the band never letting me down, I'd count:

Iron Maiden
Dream Theater
Blind Guardian
Avantasia
Elvenking

With Maiden's Book of Souls and DT's Astonishing I made a point to completely avoid every kind of trailer, teaser or single, and went straight for the album on release date. I wanted a full, untainted experience and that's what I got. With other bands I know already I'm gonna buy the album no matter what, but first I allow myself to listen to the trailers and singles.

[PepeLePew]

Dream Theater
Neal Morse
Steven Wilson
Alter Bridge

Guess these are the only "Instant buys without having heard a single note" for me.

Physical copy or digital depends.... I like getting the CDs, but for reasons already mentioned by ProfessorPeart (running out of room and the wife not being happy about it) I am slowly drifting more and more towards digital. But even then I am buying the rather than streaming.

[Mladen]

Iron Maiden
Dream Theater
Radiohead

[Machine Messiah]

Dream Theater
Opeth
Steven Wilson
Mastodon
Riverside
Fates Warning
Animals As Leaders
Haken (after seeing them live and realizing I have all their stuff anyway)


*these are bands WHICH are auto-physical buys. I would never question your grammar, Dave. I mean, you're English, so I assume you have a better grasp on the language than everyone else! 

[Samsara]

Alter Bridge
Sevendust
Fates Warning
Mastodon
Iron Maiden
Alice in Chains
Living Colour
Extreme
Iced Earth

[SoundscapeMN]

Dredg (although I don't expect another album from them)

patience.

It's not a matter of if, but just when.

https://randombadassery.fireside.fm/16

"Yeah, I think now we're writing throughout the end of the year and probably all the way till spring, where we'll release it next summer or next fall, but we'll maybe start touring spring next year."

[Polarbear]

No band is an automatic physical buy, unless I like the album.

Yeah, i'm in the same boat. Even the bands i really respect and enjoy, have albums that i have no intentions of buying..

[ReaperKK]

Dredg (although I don't expect another album from them)

patience.

It's not a matter of if, but just when.

https://randombadassery.fireside.fm/16

"Yeah, I think now we're writing throughout the end of the year and probably all the way till spring, where we'll release it next summer or next fall, but we'll maybe start touring spring next year."

If this happens, I'll be so fucking happy

[RoeDent]

In my opinion you don't own the album unless you have (and actually play) a physical copy of it, whether CD or vinyl. People can easily set aside time to watch a film, a TV show, or read a book, so that time can be just as easily set aside to embark on the movie/novel for the ears that is The Album.

[ytserush]

I'm very old school. The answer is all.

I only buy digital if the artist does not release a physical copy or the cost to import one from Europe/Japan is too much. I will first seek out uncompressed digital via Bandcamp, their own site, or HD Tracks. If all else fails, I use my Google Opinion Rewards to buy the digital from the Play store.

I drive my wife nuts with the multiple UPS/USPS deliveries of my music. I have actually run out of space to store them. I have stacks of discs with nowhere to put them. That drives her nuts too. I probably have close to 2000 CD's in my living room alone.

EDIT: Not to mention that, lately, physical has a tendency to be cheaper than the digital which makes it sweeter for me.

All

I don't even buy digital.  Don't consider it a very valuable experience so I wouldn't ever pay for it.

[Dreammajesty]

Well if i really like an album i buy it myself.

Automatic buys are,

Dream Theater

Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson

Anathema

The Dear Hunter

Opeth

Ayreon

The mighty  Fates Warning  ofcourse

Spock's Beard


to name a few  and most of them are as well as cd and LP or if there's a bluray i'll buy that one too so then i have 2 or 3 copy's

[Stadler]

All are a physical purchase; I have something like 28,000 songs on my iPod, and maybe 100 are not on CD somewhere in my basement.

As for automatic buys?  The stalwarts:  Kiss, Deep Purple, Maiden, Cheap Trick...

Some have fallen out of "automatic", even if eventually I get them.  Yes, Marillion, etc.

[Grappler]

Metallica
Iron Maiden
Iced Earth
Any band that puts out a live cd/dvd/Blu-ray combo.

Other than that, I'm 100% digital download.  I refuse to stream music, since I spend 3 hours per day commuting and don't wish to increase my mobile data plan.  So I need to own the music to have access when I don't want to use streaming media.  I don't have space in my house to display racks and racks of cd's, so I'm MP3 based now.  And I actually really enjoy it.

[Mindflux]

Any I'm interested in. Digital media is cool and I turn my CD's into MP3s real quick but I love the art that comes with them, and more importantly unlike DRM purchases, I own them. 

I can't pass my collection on to my kids if Apple or whoever still owns the files.   Though by the time I pass my collection on my kids might be like "shoot we can' t even buy a CD player anymore!".

Anyway.. still buy physical unless there's ZERO option of it.

[Stadler]

Remember too, when you just "stream" or download, you're at the mercy of the owner.  For example, I have two versions Whitesnake's Slide It In, I have four versions of Rainbow Rising, three versions of Bark At The Moon, two of Diary and Blizzard... I want to control the ones I listen to.   I don't want to have to be stuck with the Trujillo/Bordin Ozzy if I don't want to.