Starting over, musically

[Gator]

I have an MP3 player that is not compatible with iTunes, so does anyone know of a good site where I can buy songs in the correct format? Amazon?

And if you're starting fresh, Ten should be the first album you download.

 

[Brian]

As middle aged people dump their CDs in favor of digital music (a process younger people went through about a decade ago), I fatten up my collection (34 gigs and counting!) by going to some antique stores and used music stores. You can find some really great albums for a buck or two. Also, you'd be amazed at some of the selection a local library has to rip and get into your collection. Especially if you want to get a solid base of classical music.

If you're near a university library, you likely can get almost any great album from the last 50 years in any genre to rip for free, too. Being in college at the start of the digital revolution, I always found it funny that people were bragging they got all their music for free...in a tinny, loss-filled format...when they could've strolled down to the media library and checked out the same album, ripped it to a lossless format for free, as well.

There's no way I could afford Bob Dylan's voluminous catalog. Ripped the whole freaking thing in three days my freshman year of college.

You can build a great collection of music for very little money without using downloading sites. And the quality of the sound is much better when you rip instead of download, too.

I stilll use ITunes for new music I can't find (I live in the middle of a cornfield...so no independent music stores for me), but otherwise anything recorded before 2001 can be found.

 

[Gator]

As middle aged people dump their CDs in favor of digital music (a process younger people went through about a decade ago), I fatten up my collection (34 gigs and counting!) by going to some antique stores and used music stores. You can find some really great albums for a buck or two. Also, you'd be amazed at some of the selection a local library has to rip and get into your collection. Especially if you want to get a solid base of classical music.

If you're near a university library, you likely can get almost any great album from the last 50 years in any genre to rip for free, too.

You can build a great collection of music for very little money without using downloading sites. And the quality of the sound is much better when you rip instead of download, too.

It's funny you say that because I'm in the process of ripping all of my old CDs (of which And Justice for All .. and Load are a part of. And I think Load is a very underrated Metallica album) to put onto the MP3 player. The library idea is a great one ... I don't think I've been to a public library in at least a decade.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I have an MP3 player that is not compatible with iTunes, so does anyone know of a good site where I can buy songs in the correct format? Amazon?

And if you're starting fresh, Ten should be the first album you download.

I like the Amazon store a lot more than the iTunes store. Better prices, slightly better quality and pretty much the same selection.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

About a year ago, I went through my CD collection and ripped all of the ones I didn't really listen to that much anymore. Turned around and sold them for a nice chunk of change. I figured the window for being able to sell CDs for something resembling good value is rapidly closing.

 

[Batman]

If you're on a budget and starting from scratch, you should definitely check out the 69 cent songs on iTunes. There's some good stuff there, from a variety of genres, and they change the selection pretty often.
They also make a few songs available for free every week. More miss than hit on those, but it's a good way to sample some new bands or pick up something you might like just for the hell of it.

 

[Batman]

**** iTunes. I got like 4,000 songs on mp3 and they want me to buy them all again at 99c a shot. **** that ****.

Why can't you just upload those files to your iTunes library?

Starman's just pissed that he had to replace all of his 8-tracks for those newfangled cassettes. Look what happened to them!

 

[Versatile]

As middle aged people dump their CDs in favor of digital music (a process younger people went through about a decade ago), I fatten up my collection (34 gigs and counting!) by going to some antique stores and used music stores. You can find some really great albums for a buck or two. Also, you'd be amazed at some of the selection a local library has to rip and get into your collection. Especially if you want to get a solid base of classical music.

If you're near a university library, you likely can get almost any great album from the last 50 years in any genre to rip for free, too.

You can build a great collection of music for very little money without using downloading sites. And the quality of the sound is much better when you rip instead of download, too.

It's funny you say that because I'm in the process of ripping all of my old CDs (of which And Justice for All .. and Load are a part of. And I think Load is a very underrated Metallica album) to put onto the MP3 player. The library idea is a great one ... I don't think I've been to a public library in at least a decade.

Load is the most boring, least creative, most straightforward Metallica album. I'd rather listen to St. Anger. OK, I guess it's probably better than the new one with Lou Reed, but at least that's interesting in concept.

 

[buckweaver]

I have an MP3 player that is not compatible with iTunes, so does anyone know of a good site where I can buy songs in the correct format? Amazon?

It's really easy (though sometimes time-consuming) to convert songs in your iTunes library to MP3 files. There is never, ever a need to rebuy any music, digital or hard copy, you already own.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1550

 

[Bodie_Broadus]

**** iTunes. I got like 4,000 songs on mp3 and they want me to buy them all again at 99c a shot. **** that ****.

Why can't you just upload those files to your iTunes library?

Starman's just pissed that he had to replace all of his 8-tracks for those newfangled cassettes. Look what happened to them!

iTunes allows you to download previously purchased songs again for free. When I got my new computer, I entered my username and password and it had the option to get them all back. It was free, took about 4 hours to get all of them back but I got them.

 

[rmanfredi]

If you're starting from scratch, make sure you've got the early rock stuff covered - it's hard to get higher replay value than having Chuck Berry's "The Great Twenty Eight" or a few choice Buddy Holly albums. You also can't go wrong with the Everly Brothers - I think they are criminally overlooked today and their best stuff holds up remarkably well.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

As middle aged people dump their CDs in favor of digital music (a process younger people went through about a decade ago), I fatten up my collection (34 gigs and counting!) by going to some antique stores and used music stores. You can find some really great albums for a buck or two. Also, you'd be amazed at some of the selection a local library has to rip and get into your collection. Especially if you want to get a solid base of classical music.

If you're near a university library, you likely can get almost any great album from the last 50 years in any genre to rip for free, too.

You can build a great collection of music for very little money without using downloading sites. And the quality of the sound is much better when you rip instead of download, too.

It's funny you say that because I'm in the process of ripping all of my old CDs (of which And Justice for All .. and Load are a part of. And I think Load is a very underrated Metallica album) to put onto the MP3 player. The library idea is a great one ... I don't think I've been to a public library in at least a decade.

Load is the most boring, least creative, most straightforward Metallica album. I'd rather listen to St. Anger. OK, I guess it's probably better than the new one with Lou Reed, but at least that's interesting in concept.

Load at least includes a couple of different genres. Re-Load, as Load leftovers, is worse.

Half of it is songs that shouldn't have gotten past the demo stage.

 

[Versatile]

As middle aged people dump their CDs in favor of digital music (a process younger people went through about a decade ago), I fatten up my collection (34 gigs and counting!) by going to some antique stores and used music stores. You can find some really great albums for a buck or two. Also, you'd be amazed at some of the selection a local library has to rip and get into your collection. Especially if you want to get a solid base of classical music.

If you're near a university library, you likely can get almost any great album from the last 50 years in any genre to rip for free, too.

You can build a great collection of music for very little money without using downloading sites. And the quality of the sound is much better when you rip instead of download, too.

It's funny you say that because I'm in the process of ripping all of my old CDs (of which And Justice for All .. and Load are a part of. And I think Load is a very underrated Metallica album) to put onto the MP3 player. The library idea is a great one ... I don't think I've been to a public library in at least a decade.

Load is the most boring, least creative, most straightforward Metallica album. I'd rather listen to St. Anger. OK, I guess it's probably better than the new one with Lou Reed, but at least that's interesting in concept.

Load at least includes a couple of different genres. Re-Load, as Load leftovers, is worse.

Half of it is songs that shouldn't have gotten past the demo stage.

You're right. I was thinking of them all as one lump ... load.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

About a year ago, I went through my CD collection and ripped all of the ones I didn't really listen to that much anymore. Turned around and sold them for a nice chunk of change. I figured the window for being able to sell CDs for something resembling good value is rapidly closing.

Did you do it online or did you just take them to a store? I probably have a thousand CDs I'd love to get rid of and I'd be thrilled if I could get a couple hundred out of the deal...

 

[oxfordcrowe]

Drive-By Truckers — Southern Rock Opera ... Start there and if you like what you hear definitely check out the rest of their stuff.

Alabama Shakes — No album yet, but they do have a 4-song EP and several videos on YouTube. Hands down one of the best new bands.

 

[EStreetJoe]

Not sure what your tastes are musically, but two discs I can highly recommend are:

Amanda Shires' "Carrying Lightning"
Here are some tracks from it:
Shake The Walls --
Ghostbird -
When You Need a Train It Never Comes --

Rod Picott's "Welding Burns"
Some songs off it..
Rust Belt Fields --
410 --
Sheetrock Hanger --

 

[YGBFKM]

Drive-By Truckers — Southern Rock Opera ... Start there and if you like what you hear definitely check out the rest of their stuff.

Alabama Shakes — No album yet, but they do have a 4-song EP and several videos on YouTube. Hands down one of the best new bands.

Oh, DBT will definitely be a huge part of the foundation. Probably the biggest part. I had put together my top 20 on a band message board months ago. I need to dig that up and start there.

 

[YGBFKM]

When You Need a Train It Never Comes

This was good. Reminded me a little bit of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter.

Shake the Walls also was good. Kasey Chambersesque.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

When You Need a Train It Never Comes

This was good. Reminded me a little bit of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter.

Shake the Walls also was good. Kasey Chambersesque.

And she's got a DBT connection.

Amanda Shires is Jason Isbell's girlfriend.

 

[EStreetJoe]

When You Need a Train It Never Comes

This was good. Reminded me a little bit of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter.

Shake the Walls also was good. Kasey Chambersesque.

And she's got a DBT connection.

Amanda Shires is Jason Isbell's girlfriend.

and she played on his latest solo disc and on Justin Townes Earle's latest disc as well.