Not all "streaming" works the same way. Spotify (various resolutions, not yet high res, sometimes CD quality) and Tidal (higher resolution, usually CD quality or better, more limited catalog) are subscription "streaming" services. They do not use physical CDs, of course.
Then there are local hard drive devices (network attached storage) for music storage. Music files from NAS devices can be played using "streaming" hardware ("streamers"). Again, no physical CD media, but the files are stored locally on the NAS or similar devices.
The latter approach is the one I use currently, and it allows one to avoid keeping track of physical media (CDs) while accessing all of the stored CD albums via tablet or phone touchscreen app. VERY convenient, and in my system sounds at least as good as a CD player (i.e., physical media player).
Then there are local hard drive devices (network attached storage) for music storage. Music files from NAS devices can be played using "streaming" hardware ("streamers"). Again, no physical CD media, but the files are stored locally on the NAS or similar devices.
The latter approach is the one I use currently, and it allows one to avoid keeping track of physical media (CDs) while accessing all of the stored CD albums via tablet or phone touchscreen app. VERY convenient, and in my system sounds at least as good as a CD player (i.e., physical media player).