Why the super CD is the latest music format to make a comeback

One of my favourite cheap thrills is to score a CD for $2 in a charity shop that still has its 1990s price sticker in place.

It’s a reminder of how we paid massive amounts like $30 for the privilege of owning the first and best iteration of digital music.

But guess what, get them cheap while you can as apparently there’s a CD revival in the wings and some prices are astronomic.

We all know about the vinyl revival as a new generation of music lovers discover the tactile joys of owning a disc complete with liner notes and artwork.

There’s even been a cassette renaissance of sorts with new bands able to cheaply record and on-sell their music in a format that might engender some Fifty Up nostalgia.

But the warning from history is don’t junk or give away your CDs for nix at garage sales as they could, like those given away when CDs rocked in, be worth big money.

The 1992 re-issue of Richard Clapton’s Main Street Jive is for sale for $1250, and some Australian CD releases long out of stock and hard to find can fetch hundreds.

But regardless of the collectable considerations and cash component, I reckon CDs are worth having for these simple reasons.

They sound better. Certainly compared with the compressed sounds of streaming services and arguably with the scratches and jumps of many LPs. The dynamic range and bass were pretty mind-blowing when they first appeared, and given the standard of sounds on streaming seem even better today

The extras. A 12 inch 1970s gatefold album and there were some elaborate issues ( See Isaac Hayes’ opus Black Moses)is a joy to behold, but good CDs responded with handy booklets. They also carried more than an hour of music which could mean bonus tracks over the vinyl version.

Value for money. The kind of music Fifty Ups might have grown up with is regularly repackaged in box sets with rare recordings, outtakes etc., for the connoisseur. A couple of years ago, I picked up a 50 CD set of Beethoven’s complete works on the Deutsche Grammophon label for $49.99. Some Facebook friends said it was a rip-off as I could hear them all for free on YouTube. My case rests.

Availability/accessibility. In some cases, CD online sales are the only way to find the music you seek. However, many millions of songs Spotify and others, and I use them too, claim to have there are significant gaps for various reasons.

Convenience.  I must have several hundred CDs filed in a jumble of genres and frankly cannot be driven to digitise them all. I don’t like to break up an artist’s carefully curated and ordered albums into fragmented files of songs. You can easily pick up CD players and whole hi-fi systems and sometimes for nothing in council clean-ups.

My love affair with CDs can be tested when they stick or jump in the car despite an early prediction, I once heard that you could spread marmalade on a disc, and it would still play!

You may appreciate all or some of these advantages or maybe none at all and are happy with MP3s etc., but it seems more young people are getting the message.

Have you hung onto your CDs, or did they go out long ago? How much would you pay for a rare CD of a rock idol? Are there any other collectible items you once threw out which are now worth a fortune?

Any information contained in this communication is general advice, it does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs.