Continuing with CDs?

Arrow do great sales a couple of times a year, too. In fact I picked up a few things in their Easter sale a few weeks ago.

By the by, 4K Blu-rays are region-free, which makes collecting a whole lot easier.

did anybody here ever order from cheap-cds.com (maybe without the dash) in the 90s?

I bought a lot of CDs from that site, one of the first online stores I ever used

I'm really trying to stock up on a lot of electronic music I like before they're no longer available anywhere. Nabisco otm about that genre, there are so many compilations and DJ mixes which have zero presence in the world except on used cds, if you're lucky enough to find them, or maybe a YouTube video upload, which may or may not stay up there forever.

Pulled me up short to think back and realise that the only physical CD I’ve bought in the last 2 years was a small/local thing from a shop in Tokyo, March 2023. I haven’t been 12 months without buying a CD since 1987.

One upshot about expensive vinyl is that it’s made it easier to buy nice gifts for people. There was a long stretch where getting music for anyone I know wasn’t going to be met with an enthusiastic response, but now I can just buy a brand-new reissue of an album they like that they otherwise coveted but didn’t want to splurge on.

just to give you an idea of the allovertheplaceness of what i sell online when it comes to CDs. these are some from this week. all $10 and under except for the KLF which was $35.

Ken Nordine - Colors: A Sensuous Listening Experience

Jontavious Willis - Spectacular Class

Catherine Russell - Inside This Heart Of Mine

Adrian Belew - Op Zop Too Wah

Roberta Flack - First Take

Stratovarius - Elements Pt.2

Meredith Monk - Turtle Dreams

Bob Martin - Midwest Farm Disaster

The KLF - Chill Out

Turtle Dreams is so good, almost as good as Dolmen Music

That Ken Nordine is classic!

I went to the local used record store yesterday to patch some holes in my Reprise-era Sinatra, and I had the choice between a VG vinyl copy of September of My Years for $20 or used CDs of September of My Years, That's Life, Sinatra-Basie, and It Might as Well Be Swing for a grand total of $13. I went with the 4 CDs.

September of my years for $20!

I kind of thought Frank was one of the reliable holdouts as far as cheap vinyl, him and emmylou and Poco and Stephen stills or Graham Nash or stills and Nash

*crosby and Nash!

Yeah, I'm no longer shocked to see that kind of stuff for $20, it's par for the course now at my local record store. They have a copy of Fleetwood Mac Rumours on the wall for $50! I mean its in great condition, but those used to be always under $10.

Rumours will always be a dollar bin record in my mind

I sell Rumours for $20. that has been my set price for the last 5 years or so. Tapestry I sell for $10. they have to be VERY clean though. but what the hell things change. you know? people still come in and think ECM jazz records are going to be a dollar. I have to tell them that it is not 1992.
ELO prices have gone up. I have noticed. Out Of The Blue can be $20 now.

People don't want Tusk for $20 though. which is SAD. its worth its weight in gold.

i thought the Rumours frenzy would have gone away by now but it really hasn't. i could sell a hundred copies a year if i had a hundred. i still stop myself from buying new copies wholesale for $20 though. i don't know why. i could totally sell a new copy for $30. just feels wrong...

a profit is not without honor, they say

I hate digisleeves, I almost don’t even want to bother buying a cd released this way

specifically the small ass ones with no gatefold

ditto. as someone who typically stores CDs on a bookshelf, my policy is no spine, no sale

of course, the artist or label gets the last laugh because if I want it bad enough I'll just buy a vinyl copy at 3x the price instead

i thought the Rumours frenzy would have gone away by now but it really hasn't. i could sell a hundred copies a year if i had a hundred. i still stop myself from buying new copies wholesale for $20 though. i don't know why. i could totally sell a new copy for $30. just feels wrong...

― scott seward,

I read on Medium a few years ago a record store owner claim that he could pay his rent on how many copies he sells of Rumours monthly.

I think someone said it here before but Rumours is a great barometer record for a store. If it's $20 and in nice shape you can generally extrapolate that the store itself will be reasonable on the whole. And yeah, we sell them within 24hrs of putting them out, easily, without fail. But, like scott said, it's a bummer that the Rumours tide has not lifted Tusk at all. Perfect album, just sits and sits.

The new Jessica Pratt CD is particularly disappointing, not only one of the thinnest digisleeves I've ever seen but the CD itself was thin too! Borderline CDR. Going to think twice about buying a CD from Mexican Summer in the near future.

I thought this piece a touching analysis of the Fleetwood Mac phenomenon:

https://slate.com/culture/2024/04/fleetwood-mac-stevie-nicks-rumours-taylor-swift-stereophonic-daisy-jones.html

Old man question here: what’s the deal with all of the odd sized packaging for what I assume is k-pop cds? There’s a section of this at Barnes & Noble and Target, and all of the random sizes stress me out, as a person that wants uniform packaging.

the digisleeve thing really needs to end

I like them. They are more like vinyl lp packaging. Lighter and less bulky than jewel boxes or digipaks. no plastic to break and clog landfills. I hate when the spindle breaks in a digipak and it won't hold a CD.The spines are legible if they are not packed too tight.I prefer when there's an inner sleeve as well so sometimes I add a paper sleeves.

if it’s a nice mofi miniLP style digisleeve sure, yes, but no the other kind just give off cheap “random friend’s vanity project” vibes to me and the CDs get scratched because they’re too small to fit any inner sleeves inside.

go past his blahblahblah to 9:54 when he puts the needle down. sounds awesome! i do have really nice speakers in my bedroom though. but still. sounds awesome. i'm convinced that's a $2,000 turntable with $368,000 worth of gold on it though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBCnoVlFLDY

i'm gonna throw away my records and just make CDrs of youtube videos. sounds way better than Spotify. don't know about Tidal.

Wow. I can't believe how obviously the quality of the LP and system come through on a YouTube video. The soundstage was instantly there and everything is smooth and lush..Thank you for the experience.

Whooooffff! Superb sound, easily noticeable even on YouTube. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it. All the high detail but no sibilance, weighty and detailed lows. Best I've ever heard and I'm a SD fan. Excellent review.

my barometer for used vinyl had been (until lets dance jumped up several years back) the 80s bowie records.

my new one is randy newman.

obviously this is the best comment:

"GEEEEEZ! Porcaro is da epitome of perfection punch and subtle nuance dynamics and leads the energy like driving the song like a bus steady as she goes"

or maybe this is:

"i like your humor, greetings from switzerland"

i don't know how all the audiophile/classic rock dweebery hasn't killed my enjoyment for steely dan. they must be unkillable. i can talk about SD here on ilx and NOWHERE else. like, the very idea of a real life discussion fills me with fear, loathing, dread, hate, etc. even on social media. they are an asshat magnet for sure. and i do feel for the people who hate them. people probably should hate them.

Same, the fucking virus of awful Steely Dan internet meme joke crap hasn’t diminished my love either