My Journey back to CD Collecting - 2021 - 2023
It's September 2023, and before this month, I've not purchased a music CD since 2022.
My CD Collecting Journey first started back when I was a teenager, probably around 12 or 13 years old in the mid-90's. I don't recall my first CD, but up until I was about 20, I had collected around 60-70 CDs. Not bad for a teenager that worked a minimum wage job, and when CDs were anywhere from $15-$20+ after taxes. Sadly, many of my CDs were either trashed or stolen at some point in my 20's and also digital media started to pick up steam. My need for CDs was stopped.
Then something weird happened right around Thanksgiving (late November 2021), I became nostalgic while watching the Wu-Tang Saga series and I missed having the physical copies for the Wu-Tang CDs I had once owned. Being the impulsive buyer that America has raised, I immediately hit Amazon and made the following CD purchases:
- Liquid Swords GZA/Genius
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Raekwon
- Ironman Ghostface Killah
- Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers Wu-Tang Clan
- Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version Ol' Dirty Bastard
- Wu-Tang Forever WU-TANG CLAN
- Chronic by Dr. Dre
- R U Still Down? (Remember Me) by 2Pac
What I found so interesting about these purchases were the prices of CDs. Brand new most CD's were under $8 shipped. About a month went by and the 8 CD's I had collected were looking pretty sad on my shelf. So from 12/20/21 - 12/29/21, I purchased an additional 42 CD's, bringing my collection up to 50 CDs. I ended up buying 4 more CD's on 1/4/22. It seemed that I had amassed a satisfying collection for my self and my shelf was looking a bit more presentable.
In June 2022, the CD urge must've kicked in again, because I bought 125 more CDs through the end of 2022. I found eBay as a major source of used CD's that in some cases were $5 or under.
My collection was now bigger than the shelf had space for. I needed a new storage solution and decided to just box up my newly acquired CD's and just store them away. During this time, I had to figure out my CD ripping process. I found that using the EAC software fit easily into my workflow. I built a specific CD Ripping computer and add 4 disc drives that rip the CDs simultaneously into FLAC files. From there, theres just a bit of data massaging that needs to take place to ensure the Album data has successfully been collected. I purchased the Sony Walkman NW-A55 with a 1 TB memory card which allows me to take my entire library anywhere I go and not have to rely on a wifi connection. Plus the music files are all CD quality and not a lower "mp3" streamed type quality. I also setup a website where all the FLAC files can play over the web, in case I don't have my Walkman on me. With this setup, I've been enjoying my music again anywhere I am, home, car, beach, etc.
Fast-forwarding back to today, specifically today September 15, 2023, I've purchased 30 more CDs to add to my collection. Some have started to arrive, but still waiting on a few more CDs. The best part of these new CDs is that they are all new to me. Spending time listening to the music over my office stereo speakers and using my 5-Disc CD player to listen to the music has a different touch than listening to music from my Sony Walkman NW-A55.
My plan is to document my journey into CD collecting and share as much information with anyone else that's interesting in the music I listen to.