Vinyl vs. CD vs. Cassette?

[PixelDream]

Although I love vinyl, I have to pick CD because there’s no pops n clicks during quiet parts.

[pg1067]

Anyone remember the Columbia House Record & Tape Club?  One of the very first pyramid scams and, yep, I was in it.  It was, like, 12 tapes for a penny and that's how they got ya.

A scam perhaps, but not a pyramid scheme.

I signed up in late 1981 after I got my combo record player/cassette deck/8-track player.  My original preferred format was 8-tracks (oops), and I can still name the first set of tapes I got:

Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever
The Go-Go's - Beauty and the Beat
Joan Jett - I Love Rock & Roll
J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame
Devo - Freedom of Choice
Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert at Central Park (I believe this one counted as two selections)

I don't think I ever got another 8-track, and I stuck with it for a long time, even though I think I only ever ordered anything when they were having some sort of promotion because everything was cheaper at the local record store.

The original generation of CDs back in the 80s were often just ripped from whatever source they could find. In many cases, the vinyl did sound better than the CD.

Sounded better to whom?  I can't think of a single instance where I got a CD to replace a vinyl record and thought the record sounded better.

Cassettes were a horrible medium with no advantages

As compared to 8-tracks, cassettes had lots of advantages (and no real disadvantages).  Cassettes rarely (if ever) had tracks fade out on one side and fade in on the other side.  This was common with 8-tracks (here's an example:  https://www.discogs.com/The-J-Geils-Band-Freeze-Frame/release/7279595).  8-tracks also played in only one direction.  Rewinding was not possible (because of how 8-track tapes worked mechanically), and many 8-track players lacked a fast forward button.  If you had such a player and wanted to listen to "Centerfold" a second time, you had to listen through the first part of "Rage in the Cage" and then play "Freeze Frame" again.  As compared to vinyl records, cassettes had the advantage of portability.  Of course, once CDs became common, all of those advantages were nullified.

[The Walrus]

Funny little aside that I'm sure will amuse some: I'm one of the only people I know (my age) that actually had a cassette back in the day. In '97 I was 6 years old and, having no frame of reference for any music outside of cartoon themes and video game music, I heard Mmmbop by Hanson, and can't remember how it happened but I ended up getting a boombox of my own and their Middle of Nowhere album... on cassette. My older sister had a couple cassettes and I thought CDs were brand new because my mom only had a few in the car. It's weird then for me, being so young that owning physical media has almost always been unfashionable, but just old enough to remember using cassettes, and even floppy drives and Soltec Internet (never really figured out what Soltec was, honestly, just that if I went online... we called it Soltec).

Don't have that cassette anymore of course. The only cassette I own now is a copy of Passion & Warfare by Steve Vai. $4 at the record store.

TL;DR - Millennial growing up with digital music and cloud storage etc. but old enough to remember having used cassettes and floppies. Funny how fast technology moves in this era.

[pg1067]

TL;DR - Millennial growing up with digital music and cloud storage etc. but old enough to remember having used cassettes and floppies. Funny how fast technology moves in this era.

I read an article recently discussing things like this, including the fact that the "save" button in a lot of software is either shaped like or has a picture of a 3.5" floppy disc -- something that a significant chunk of the population has never actually seen.

[The Walrus]

TL;DR - Millennial growing up with digital music and cloud storage etc. but old enough to remember having used cassettes and floppies. Funny how fast technology moves in this era.

I read an article recently discussing things like this, including the fact that the "save" button in a lot of software is either shaped like or has a picture of a 3.5" floppy disc -- something that a significant chunk of the population has never actually seen.

Hahaha, I was thinking about that not too long ago. I work with my brother, who is car savvy, but not computer savvy at all. Was guiding him through some steps in some auto software recently and told him to hit the save button, which is shown as a giant floppy disk. He said, "Well how the hell am I supposed to know that's save?" He's only a few years younger than me. 

[Indiscipline]

LOAD:"ZackMcCracken&TheAlienMindbenders",1,2

Good times.

[Stadler]

The original generation of CDs back in the 80s were often just ripped from whatever source they could find. In many cases, the vinyl did sound better than the CD.

Sounded better to whom?  I can't think of a single instance where I got a CD to replace a vinyl record and thought the record sounded better.

I can think of one: Foxtrot by Genesis, and that was primarily because of a botched transfer, not a format issue.

[jammindude]

The original generation of CDs back in the 80s were often just ripped from whatever source they could find. In many cases, the vinyl did sound better than the CD.

Sounded better to whom?  I can't think of a single instance where I got a CD to replace a vinyl record and thought the record sounded better.

I can literally think of one: Foxtrot by Genesis, and that was primarily because of a botched transfer, not a format issue.

OMG the debut Rush album.   What a complete botch job.   At one point, I even thought of keeping it just because it was laughable excuse of a transfer.   Almost a coffee table piece.    Especially on What You're Doing.   Whoever did the mix thought they would be cute by fading out the tape hiss during the silent parts.   But at the tail end of WYD (when the band are doing their "stop start" thing) they fade back in late on the last guitar crash.  I can't believe that botch job ever made it to production.

[Setlist Scotty]

Add me to the list of choosing CD. While I almost never listen to them anymore, I want something tangible that I can hold in my hands, and page through the artwork/booklet. On some occasions (such as certain Porcupine Tree releases), I'll go with FLAC files if no physical release was made or is out of print, and on super-rare occasions, I'll go with MP3s if it's something I really want to have, but have no other way of getting it losslessly. The one thing I have zero interest in is streaming.

[The Walrus]

I'm slowly adapting to streaming. I made a commitment a while ago to keep my digital and physical collections separate so as to not cross wires, so to speak. So all my albums on Spotify (with a couple exceptions) are albums I've heard digitally and haven't bought yet, almost like a permanent 'rental' collection that I pay $10/month to keep adding to.

[CrimsonSunrise]

CD for me.  No question.  I never understood the vinyl resurgence.  When CD's first came out it was simply amazing to hear crystal clear music with no pops or cracks from vinyl, or hiss from cassette (even with Dolby Noise Reduction)  We did TONS of comparisons and were just amazed at the difference.  Personally, I never bought a CD that was such low production that it sounded worse than an album.  EVER!  Not even close. Vinyl, even in pristine condition on a professional turntable was "Noisy" comparatively.

[ytserush]

This kid.

I love it.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/meet-malachi-lui-12-year-old-very-serious-record-collector