Music Discussions

I would always recommend listening to a CD before you buy it to make sure that the new song that you heard on the radio isn’t the only good track on the album. I have been burned by this many times and now actively try to avoid it.

Many stores, like Borders, have listening stations where you can scan the barcode from a CD into a device and listen to it via the attached headsets. These stations can be very useful when you are unfamiliar with a group, or even an album by a group that you enjoy – everyone releases a bad album occasionally. Even more common are pawn shops that have an old boombox setup to allow previewing a CD before purchase.

These services take a similar stance to that of bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders have with their books. Allowing people to preview media (books, magazines, CDs, etc.) before purchase can be a great selling point for shopping in physical location instead of online (in addition to being able to check out the condition of the item in question). For more advice on verifying the condition of purchased CDs, both online and in retail stores, see my previous post.

Many online services like Last.fm, YouTube, Y!Music (formerly Launch), and, to a lesser degree, iTunes allow people to listen to music as well and many songs – both new and old – can be found on these services to preview before deciding to buy an album.