Most preferred format for listening to music?

[Corndoggy]

i really enjoy listening to cds in my car whilst i drive, it makes the driving a lot nicer for me as it helps to calm my nerves and it sounds real cool

 

[Ghost Of Mascevanje]

CDs have always been my most preferred format when it comes to listening to music, although streaming also comes close these days due to its easy accessibility and variety (only YouTube, Bandcamp and occasionally Vimeo and Bit-Chute though. I don't like Spotify and refuse to use it). When I stream it's usually only when I'm sampling music that is new to me or with music that I already know and love but don't physically own yet.

Downloading music (and then burning it onto a CD-R) is another decent option, but I don't really like to download things if I didn't pay for them (unlike almost everyone else I know). The only times I have made an exception is when a recording I loved was extremely difficult to find and/or ridiculously expensive, as well as never issued on CD, only vinyl (I currently don't have a record player. I'm not an "audiophile", so not owning one isn't a major issue though).

As for the radio, nowadays it's mostly just good for having on in the background as I do things around my dwelling place. I used to like listening to it a lot when I was a child and a teenager, but nearly all of the radio stations that I enjoyed have either stopped broadcasting or they were replaced with different programming. Adding to that, there's also a lot of music that I like that would NEVER EVER (ever!) get played on the radio (it's simply just too weird, experimental, obscure, heavy, dark, controversial etc.).

In summary, I'm just one of those persons who would rather own a physical, official copy of an album (especially if it's one that I cherish a whole lot) than to merely stream or download it.

 

[Croconaw]

I like using Spotify or just anything on my phone.

 

[neoratz]

mp3 player baby.... put whateva i want on there.... it's especially fun if it's a cute player! unfortunately i haven't been able to use one in a few years because my old one randomly broke. it was a little green ipod shuffle. i didn't like wearing earbuds, so i always hooked it up to this cute idog clip and watched the colors!

that randomly broke with age too X_X i hope to get another mp3 player someday....

 

[Ghost Of Mascevanje]

Oops, forgot to mention cassettes. I've also used some of those in the past, but can't say I found them very convenient. Not only did the rewinding/fast forwarding thing get old, but it was also irritating when the tape/string got chewed up by the cassette player (in severe cases, that would permanently mess up whatever part of the music happened to be on that crumpled tape/string section).

 

[Neb]

I mostly stream music from Tidal since it uses uncompressed audio (and even 24bit audio with some songs). If a song doesn’t appear on the app I use Spotify instead. While I collect vinyl records I only listen to them occasionally. As nice as the sound is, the process can be a bit inconvenient.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

These days I just listen digitally, mostly on Spotify (sometimes iTunes or Youtube) using my headphones.

I'm very self-conscious about listening to music out loud. Vinyls do sound amazing though!!

 

[Xara]

my preferred and most-used method of listening to music is through youtube, but i also enjoy listening to music through car radios and mp3s. : )

 

[.: Meri :.]

It's my MP3 player or bust for me; Youtube only if I can't find a place to purchase the song anywhere and I'm desperate to listen to it. I stubbornly refuse to use music streaming services ahahaha—I just don't feel like they're offering anything better than what my MP3 player can do.
As for the format I buy it in, I typically prefer digital downloads, unless I really like the CD art and want to own a physical copy. It's more straightforward to get it on my MP3 player that way, plus I don't have to wait for the CD to be delivered before I can listen to it. If it's not available as a digital purchase though, I'll usually buy the CD then too. I've also used SONOCA cards in the past—they're interesting and I like how compact they are, but I'm a little iffy on the expiration date aspect of them. I've only bought a couple though, so I'm not sure if that's universal or not.

 

[Beanz]

i use itunes most of the time. i don’t have a subscription to apple music though, and i prefer to buy and download the song outright opposed to streaming it. i also use youtube sometimes and i listen to the radio when i’m in the car. i tried spotify one time because my favorite singer came out with a new album but it was too early to listen to it on youtube so i downloaded spotify. i had a good experience with it but i dont like streaming.

 

[Violet Witch]

I download/stream my music via iTunes on my phone and have an Apple subscription so I can download or stream any album I want without having to pay extra for it. I used to be a big lover of CD's but now that everything is digital I've just moved with the times even though I do still have a few old CD's I can't bare to part with it despite no longer owning a CD player.

 

[That Marshal Fangirl]

I use Spotify to listen to music, although YouTube is the only way I can access the music mashups I like so much so I use that when I don’t have anywhere to go. When my phone broke I used the radio in my car. I don’t remember the last time I listened to a CD, maybe when I was very young? I was born just after the cassette tape generation and never got into vinyl.

 

[Plume]

I love the convenience of Spotify. It's great that I can listen to music at my PC, and then easily continue where I left off on my phone. I like how easy it makes it to find and sample new music, and how it tracks my listening activity so I can review my listening habits at the end of the year.

I'll use youtube to share music, if I ever want to link to friends.

 

[sleepydreepy]

I have apple music so I listens to music through that! I usually listen to my own playlists or downloaded albums and once in a while use apple music playlists

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

I voted for streaming digitally a couple years back but i never do that anymore, i usually just download mp3s like an evil person. The only time i'll use spotify now is to recommend me new artists based on what ive been listening to

 

[amemome]

MP3 is my go-to still! I buy my music (CD, Cassette, Vinyl) and rip to iTunes and play music on my iPod. I like a lot of older Korean music that isn't available on U.S. streaming services yet so this is why I'm still unable to give up MP3.

 

[ChocoPie22]

I used to use an MP3 all the time, but then it stopped charging. I now use youtube and just put in earbuds while doing my work.

 

[DaisyFan]

I prefer streaming and radio the most. Some days, I would listen to CDs.