CDs and vinyl vs downloads and streaming

Ah, the eternal debate. You've got into a new band, or someone you love has brought a new album out, and you NEED to buy it. Pronto. But in what format should you make this purchase? The humble CD, the fill-up-your-cool-points vinyl, or the ever popular download? Of course, there is the option of streaming it; a method berated by many yet one which music lovers globally are using at a growing rate. The choice is yours.
I think it's quite clear after the recent closure of many a local HMV that the CD has passed its heyday. I can kind of understand why; thanks to the internet, downloading music, whether legally or otherwise, has become easier than ever. It's quick - just a few clicks and it's on your iPod - and you don't even need to leave your house to get all the music that you love in one single place, rather than stacked up in cracked cases or left in your mum's car after a long drive. What's more, with downloads there's no chance of the CD getting scratched and the voices of your most cherished singers becoming distorted or stuttered. You can even insure your listening devices in case of theft or breakage, preparing you for any eventuality of your music being lost.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke hit out at streaming, saying it rips
off the artists.

If it hasn't yet already, streaming is looking likely to overtake downloads in the near future. You can join Thom Yorke and argue against the morality of it and the artists' rates all you want (they're said to be low compared to what they get for downloads or physical sales), but you cannot deny that applications like Spotify are damn useful. The vast majority of music you would ever want to listen to, all for free (if you're not a premium user). The adverts are less frequent than on YouTube, there is much more music than on Soundcloud, and you can listen to whole albums. What could be better?

London's Rough Trade East

In spite of all this, there is nothing quite like the feeling of holding a CD, or even a vinyl. Something the band you love has slaved over, perfected and released for you, the fans, and you're holding it. There's an astounding sense of connection between the artist and the listener. I myself could spend whole afternoons flicking through the booklets and reading the lyrics, the thank-yous, or the notes from the band. As for downloads allowing you to stay at home, who would want that when you could be in a music shop browsing the display for things you recognise and things you don't? Trawling through vinyls, row by row, creates in me a feeling of contentment. 
And when you come across a rarity, or just something you've been looking for for a while, the happiness brews inside you and you have to tell people about your discovery - whether that's face to face or online (#vinyl and #retro being some of the more popular tags for this kind of thing on Instagram). Vinyl sales this past year were the highest in the decade; strange since music is now more accessible online than ever, yet this gives me hope. While the CD is losing its place in the nation's hearts now, there will come a time in the future when it comes back, and the world, iPod in hand, will realise what it's been missing. Written by Molly McGrath