Why Do ~You~ Still Play CDs?

Lots of the reasons why I still listen to CDs have been mentioned here before. 
 

The same goes for the argument that with buying physical media artists actually get paid. It bugs me that with streaming the people paying (so to speak) for my convenience are the artists. They generally earn a pittance and money goes to the owners and stockholders of streaming companies. Spotify’s Daniel Ek is quite outspoken about the fact, that musicians are just content providers to him (which keep the business running that makes him even more rich.) Most of the artists I like have low streaming numbers. There is a lot of music that people used to happily buy in significant numbers, music that they only play from time to time, music that does not go into heavy rotation anywhere. In physical media times you could still survive like that, with streaming not. On top the popularity of streaming and the way it works (popular playlists, suggestion of similar music etc) brings about a certain blandness. It‘s tougher than before to do something new and daring and make a living from it. It‘s literally calculated what many people listen to (and what they watch). It‘s a bigger discussion but I feel this all need to be pointed out because there‘s not only our consumer side to consider. Having said that, I do stream from time to time, mostly to listen to newly released songs or stuff I don‘t know. Then I gladly buy the CD.

Richardbrand I did not know classical is you say dreadful on streaming? I listen to classical 50%. I have not heard classical on streaming even at axpona..

Several reasons I listen to CD's; I have a ton of them. I get very little time to listen so I maximize the time by not "fussing" with LP's. I have an eclectic taste (a kind word!). Most of what I listen to isn't on ANY streaming channels. I'm not even on any service nor do I have a streamer. I play my CD's in my van (Yes, I bought a 2019 Ford Transit with a CD player!). Also, CD's sound fantastic. If the audio gods are kind to me I'll step up to a Mola Mola DAC in the new year. (It's supposed to be as good as analogue). My two cents. Joe

I have a huge collection, I still buy new ones and I prefer the sound of CDs on my player vs. Streaming.

It's still a fun way to explore music in a tactile sense.  I don;t do vinyl but buy/sell it to help fund hobby.  Next up will be streaming and probably hesitated to now for lack of understanding enough of the tech to make informed purchase decisions and also the time it may take to surf thru the music.

Assuming a certain percentage of streamed music would appeal to me, I would need to have a way to select, organize and categorize an online library for future listening as I do not always remember the artist, album, music by name and would want to minimize searching of music I already selected that I like.

That probably means choosing a streaming service in which I would plan or hope to have a long term relationship with. It would bother me to either lose music I like if the streaming svce decides to drop that music or loses the library settings, etc.

Then there is the time to explore the offerings itself.  I have kept what I consider the best albums I want to keep in my collection which is approximately 400+ cds at the moment.  While I have decent equipment, I do not typically listen to music for hours on end.  So there's the commitment to listening for enjoyment, relaxation, to energize, etc.,  Time becomes another factor in commitment.

Other than that, who knows.  maybe I would really like streaming especially for de-cluttering.  But...I think I would always keep the CDs/SACDs that meant the most to me, so a combination perhaps?