Favorite way to listen to music?

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

I like listening to cassettes, mostly because of the aesthetic, and partly because it's cool to make my own physical mixtapes off of the radio.

[Lambsbread]

Favorite? Vinyl. Preferred? Spotify.

[dead0man]

these days, streaming mostly YouTube and Amazon

[Santander]

I mean, clearly live.

But Spotify will keep me going day-to-day.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

#VinylOnly

[brucejoel99]

As someone who loves vinyl, here's my take on it:

Some people claim that vinyl sounds better than digital formats (CDs, MP3s, streaming) & will shut their ears to any arguments to the contrary. There's plenty of evidence out there supporting these claims, especially when you compare pre-compression era recordings to modern mastering.  There are also people who'll tell you that a digital format will never have the same sound quality as vinyl. Most of the proponents of that argument base their opinions on the earliest examples of said format, conveniently ignoring the fact that quality has increased significantly since the CD was introduced in the '80s.

Personally, most of the time, I've heard more depth & musical detail on vinyl than via digital formats, though I've had a few experiences where I was really impressed with a digital copy over its vinyl cousin.

As for convenience, there's no doubt that digital wins. When I'm out & about, I plug my headphones in to my phone, pull up Spotify, & happily go about my business. Likewise, if I'm puttering around my apartment cleaning & doing laundry or working out, it's super easy to hit shuffle & get moving. 

But when I really wanna sit & listen & enjoy my music, I go for my records. Vinyl requires a certain level of engagement. You can't throw a record on shuffle and forget about it. You need to go flip that thing every 20 minutes & choose what you're gonna listen to next. You reach without needing to look for an old, well-worn favorite whose sleeve has seen better days, or you flip through your collection & find something you haven't listened to in a while.

There are trendy hipsters who buy into vinyl because it's "retro" & they think it's cool to have something that's outdated. I'm glad they're into it! The hipsters that are spending their money on records & related paraphernalia are fueling a resurgence in the vinyl industry & that means good things for guys like me who love records.

I don't think that either digital or vinyl records are objectively better than the other. They both have their merits & benefits. I do have my own preference though, & it's definitely vinyl!

[President Johnson]

Music (mp3) player for my own music. At the office, I listen to the radio.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

YouTube vapor/synthwave compilations while tweaking on caffeine the weekend before finals.

[Lambsbread]

YouTube vapor/synthwave compilations while tweaking on caffeine the weekend before finals.

hell yeah brah that's the vibe

[morgankingsley]

Youtube

[Mr. Smith]

Radio while driving someplace.

[Gracile]

Instrumental/full album YouTube streams with lush video backgrounds.