The CD player is dead.......

i like a few pics and lyrics etc so the cd, while not as good as the lp cover art, does meet that need. i buy cds and downloads about 50/50 right now. i am also always looking for 2 and 3 dollar cd.s like elizabeth mentioned. i still like record stores and going thru bins. since i live in the ozarks i sometimes want a new release NOW! last 2 i bought from itunes were tom petty MOJO and aljandro escovedo STREET SONGS OF LOVE, i was not going to drive 150 miles for 2 new cds. sound quality seems excellent on hd and cd and i use a music fidelity dac. currently watching shark week on hdtv{no sound] and listening to music. just like in the 70;s. thanks john

Shuffling around 18000 songs is also a lot easier with a computer. Playing that same Kenny G songbird CD you have had since 1988 has got to get old.

Shuffling around XXXXXX songs is easier... ?
Well if I WANTED to shuffle them, It might be hard to shuffle the LPs or CDs. But for FINDING something... I prefer the physical media. I do not need to have informational trivia at my fingertips. The album will do.
I wonder whom you are posting to with the comment "Playing the same Kenny G..." since it would refer to NONE of the folks posting in this thread, NOT one. I can guarantee it.
Unless, of course, you write from personal history.

I remember one day in the 1980's, I walked into a local record store and saw some computer softwear on display. I thought, hey, what's a record store doing selling softwear? Looked into it and learned that those CD's was music intended to replace my beautiful LP's. Blasphemy I thought. Computers will never, ever get near my hi fi. Well, years later, I did get a CD player (kept my vinyl rig) and years later, I do have a pretty great sounding music server. Take it for what you will. Took years and years for me to finally find CD sound acceptable. Here, the non-computer savey guys will take years to bite the bullet and realize how great music servers are and do what they need to do to have one set up. Will it sound better than your vinyl, CD, reel to reel or FM sources? Do we care? It will be fun, sound good and will allow you experience hours of uninterupted music of your favorite music. Kind of like FM except your the DJ. That's the key here. It's supposed to be about the music and there isn't an easier way to get to your music. Hey, I still play my CD when I want something special (and my esoteric sounds better than my Berkeley) but the Berkeley sure does sound good. There is no more convenient way to play your music than on a server, but, absolutely not, the CD ain't dead. Not even close.

I rarely use the CD player anymore. I have been using a PC
for several years now, and the hardware has been evolving constantly. I do NOT use MP3's, I, like many others who responded, buy cds and rip them. I am using a Maudio sound card that was designed for studio recording, and it has a sweet 24/96 DAC on board, plus you can output an analogue stereo signal while you feed a digital coax out at the same time (this allows A/B between the card and my DAC). I am convinced that my server sounds at least as good as the cdp(I am using a Pioneer Elite stable platter with a Musical Fidelity DAC).
Having said all that, NOTHING trumps vinyl!
I suspect that it is partly due to the way our brains process sound. There has been extensive reseach on this subject. Go to www.highemotionaudio.com for more detail on the research and how it has been applied - specifically in speaker design.