Ask O’Brien: ‘How Big is It? Your CD/Album Collection?”

So – opening it up to you guys to ‘ask me anything’ has been fun and interesting.  A lot of the questions that I’m getting I can’t really answer on this website because, well, let’s just say I can’t.  The question that I’ll be tackling today is worded this way; “How big is it?  Your album/cd collection?”  Okay, I can do that.

Working in radio for almost 25 years has its perks and I’ve acquired quite a collection of music, much to my wife’s displeasure.  I had to build several shelves in our basement to accommodate the thousands of cds, cassettes and albums. I'm guessing somewhere over 5000.  I’m ever so slowly moving into the current climate of digital (I have an iPod).  I must say though, I don’t like it very much.

I’m from the generation where music meant more.  Artists released full albums at once and I was type of kid that ate it up like candy.  I’d go out, buy a record, get it home, pop it on and read all the liner notes to see who was playing what, who wrote the songs and who produced it.  These days a kid can hear a song they like, click download on their phone and their done.  They may never listen to it again, but they own it.

Economically and spatially, it’s probably better the way it is now.  Just ask my wife.  But as a music fan, something has been lost in the technology.  This argument/gripe will undoubtedly go on forever.  I’ll stick to  listening to both side A AND side B of my records.

What do you think?  Has the change in delivery or acquisition of music affected the quality of it?  Tell me on Facebook.