I've been collecting CDs for a few years now. I rip them for archiving and for easy playing (iPhone, etc.), but also enjoy handling the real object. I like the experience of simply listening to album the way it was originally intended by the artist, in the original order, with the production values intended at the time, not mixed up with other songs. Streaming, or even shuffling, often makes me tense and anxious (radio did too).
Because it's a bit of a pain to get music to the iPhone (with ALAC conversion, etc.), I recently experimented with matching albums with Apple Music and just using that version. However, I've been disappointed that many of those albums aren't actually the same ones as my CDs! (Again, this is Apple Music: other streaming services might be different.)
For example, tracks might be remastered (sometimes for good, sometimes not), and often the album is a 'deluxe' version with extra tracks. If there was a way to 'hide' those extra tracks, I'd be okay with it, but sadly it feels like the original intent of the artist has been corrupted by the record label to sell more content.
So I'm slowly returning to my first method, and only listening to ripped music, an album at a time, in its original order.
I agree with most of what you said, but so many albums include awful filler music between hit songs. This was one of the reason mp3 downloads became so popular. Everybody knew record companies were just adding filling to get to a certain album lengths.
For typical single-based pop/top-40 that could be true.
But for the long tail of most album-oriented music (including the fairly obscure stuff I listen to), its the producer and musician(s) working together to create a coherent artistic work.
Obviously that doesn't always result in an album of consistently great songs, but in my experience as as an occasional musician, recording engineer, and producer, there's always more material than will fit on the album. Part of the creative process is to build that into a form that best expresses the concept of the work as a whole. That usually involves selection & curation, not adding extra filling. My opinion, of course.
> Everybody knew record companies were just adding filling to get to a certain album lengths.
Sometimes. Maybe even often. Never always. To me the highest achievement a recording artist can make is an entire album that is a good coherent work of art best enjoyed as a whole. Some artist actually deliver this.
Because it's a bit of a pain to get music to the iPhone (with ALAC conversion, etc.), I recently experimented with matching albums with Apple Music and just using that version. However, I've been disappointed that many of those albums aren't actually the same ones as my CDs! (Again, this is Apple Music: other streaming services might be different.)
For example, tracks might be remastered (sometimes for good, sometimes not), and often the album is a 'deluxe' version with extra tracks. If there was a way to 'hide' those extra tracks, I'd be okay with it, but sadly it feels like the original intent of the artist has been corrupted by the record label to sell more content.
So I'm slowly returning to my first method, and only listening to ripped music, an album at a time, in its original order.