As someone who was born shortly after the 80s ended, I think I have always assumed vinyl was popular throughout the ‘80s, but cassettes took over by the end of the decade. Does anyone have a good time line for the rise, peak, and decline for vinyl, cassette, and cd? All of these were mainstream at some point in the 80s.

Audio Cassettes were the most dominant music format between 1983 -1990. CDs never overtook cassettes until about 1991ish.

Audio Cassettes were the most dominant music format between 1983 -1990. CDs never overtook cassettes until about 1991ish.


Correct for the most part. CDs showed up around 1985 and I'd say from 1985-1991-ish CDs and cassettes were pretty much neck and neck, with cassettes having a bit of a lead. From 1980 to 1985 or so vinyl was still very popular also.

Let me also add that though it's a moot point now, since CDs themselves are a thing of the past, CDs were the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the music buying public. At the time they were introduced there was a massive slump in the music industry (contingent on physical sales, as it was then). CDs were introduced to boost sales not only by moving new music to the then-emerging Generation X, but to also get Boomers, still a major force in the 80s, to REBUY what they already had on vinyl. The lies that accompanied the arrival of CDs were shamefaced. "They sound better than albums". Oh really? They sound CLEANER, and CLEANER does not equal "better". It's just cleaner, without the clicks and pops of vinyl. "They're INDESTRUCTIBLE!". Oh really? I've had more CDs crap out on me than any single other format ever. Not to mention CD players (the deck component kind) which tended to break as soon as you bought them.

Cassettes and vinyl records. Cassettes being the more popular format. In the 80s, my Jem and The Holograms doll came with a cassette included.

Correct for the most part. CDs showed up around 1985 and I'd say from 1985-1991-ish CDs and cassettes were pretty much neck and neck, with cassettes having a bit of a lead. From 1980 to 1985 or so vinyl was still very popular also.

Let me also add that though it's a moot point now, since CDs themselves are a thing of the past, CDs were the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the music buying public. At the time they were introduced there was a massive slump in the music industry (contingent on physical sales, as it was then). CDs were introduced to boost sales not only by moving new music to the then-emerging Generation X, but to also get Boomers, still a major force in the 80s, to REBUY what they already had on vinyl. The lies that accompanied the arrival of CDs were shamefaced. "They sound better than albums". Oh really? They sound CLEANER, and CLEANER does not equal "better". It's just cleaner, without the clicks and pops of vinyl. "They're INDESTRUCTIBLE!". Oh really? I've had more CDs crap out on me than any single other format ever. Not to mention CD players (the deck component kind) which tended to break as soon as you bought them.


I have to say cassettes were the most popular. Vinyl was around but was slowing down. CDs were gaining popularity but were expensive. Like I remember $17 and that was in 1980s dollars. And they weren’t in used music stores yet.

I think CDs have the most advantage. Vinyl sounds great for old time music but does wear out and damage easily, and is not mobile. Cassettes are easily portable and pretty durable and leave where you left them, but wear out and bind up from normal use. Slow to wind and search, sometimes player eats them. And get a magnet too close by accident and it’s done for. CDs I used to hate because my friends car players always skipped. So all I’ve ever had in my cars since I started buying CDs in 1997 were changers which almost never skip. And I love them. Non contact playing means they don’t wear out from normal use. Quick search. Mobile. I handle mine with respect and keep them in their jewel cases, and most of mine still look like new and out of at least 500, never have gone bad. CD wallets have gotta be the quickest destroyer of CDs. I’ve always refused to use them. And yes cd decks seem to crap out often, but my changers are all over 20 years old and still work great.

Cassettes were still king in the late 80's, as it was uncommon for car stereos (more influential than ever) to have CD players until near the 90's.  CDs did start ramping up by around '86, but were not the dominant format for a few more years.  Earlier in the 80's (up to around '85-ish) vinyl was still a high seller, coincident with prerecorded cassettes.  Later vinyl hung on, just barely, until near the end of the decade, but by '89 or '90 it had fallen off a ton.

(Incidentally there were a few of us weirdos that didn't much go for prerecorded cassettes.  As I had a "high end" cassette deck, I liked to purchase vinyl and "roll my own" cassettes to use in the car, stereo, walkman or boombox.  In fact I much preferred this, as I was able to mix whatever I wanted onto a cassette, and could get really creative in doing so.)

I handle mine with respect and keep them in their jewel cases, and most of mine still look like new and out of at least 500, never have gone bad. CD wallets have gotta be the quickest destroyer of CDs. I’ve always refused to use them. And yes cd decks seem to crap out often, but my changers are all over 20 years old and still work great.
This. Handle the things with respect and they last forever just like vinyl. I haven't had a single CD that went bad yet. CD players can fail but so do record players. We have two record players and both are broken (one was physically damaged by a clumsy relative though from whom I inherited the deck so it's not 100% the fault of the player but it happened when he had to change the needle which is something you don't have to do on a CD player.).

For a short period of time during the early 1980s my format for listening to music was the radio, and television was limited too.

Definitely cassettes and mostly vinyl records around that time and back then music cassette tapes were pretty cheap back then.

For a short period of time during the early 1980s my format for listening to music was the radio, and television was limited too.


Oh yes! The TV also. Because we watched music videos.

Oh yes! The TV also. Because we watched music videos.
Remembering that video killed the radio star.

With future film music composer Hans Zimmer on keyboards

Also, I think in the 80s the 7 inch records were more popular than 12 inch records. But 7 inch records were mostly singles.

Oh yes! The TV also. Because we watched music videos.


MTV was very popular back then.

This. Handle the things with respect and they last forever just like vinyl. I haven't had a single CD that went bad yet. CD players can fail but so do record players. We have two record players and both are broken (one was physically damaged by a clumsy relative though from whom I inherited the deck so it's not 100% the fault of the player but it happened when he had to change the needle which is something you don't have to do on a CD player.).


Cassettes can also get damaged too as well and I've had plenty of them that were damaged by my stupidity.

For me: I bought vinyl up until '89. Then in '89, I switched to cassettes because that was when I went overseas and my "stereo" was just a boombox that had a cassette player (two actually). I didn't bother to bring my stereo with the turntable and all my records. (I was trying to sell the stereo but decided to give it to a dear friend).

When I got back from overseas (1990), I bought a new stereo that had a CD player. I started buying CDs. I'm now trying to sell that stereo. I do have a turntable that I can hook up to the computer if I want to listen to my records. I also listen to my cassettes and CDs on a boombox. And I STILL buy CDs and have quite the collection. I haven't counted them but I think I have close to 1000-and that is NOT an exaggeration.  I mostly listen to them when I am doing the dishes.


Cat

Cassettes can also get damaged too as well and I've had plenty of them that were damaged by my stupidity.


Lol I hated it! Sometimes the tape would tangle up inside the cassette player and get ruined. I always wondered why that happened.

On a personal level and quite strangely enough, my family and me bought all 3 major formats for many many years. I'm still not sure why. We actually had a cd player in the car by 1985 and my parents would buy "family favourites" on cd. The albums I bought were mostly on cassette, and the singles I bought were mainly on vinyl. I think cassette singles came in late in the day, so for individual single releases, you still had to buy vinyl in the 80s.

Examples fo stuff I bought as a young boy...

Culture Club - cassette album (1983)
The Jets - cassette album (1985)
Feargal Sharkey - single 7" vinyl (1985)
Michael Jackson - cassette album (1987)
Kylie Minogue - single 7" vinyl (1988)

As for the 90s, the trend continued... though I personally bought more cds. I was still buying vinyl in the late 90s, as a lot of club tracks were released on 12" vinyl. I was also still buying a lot of cassette singles for the car stereo - even in the early 2000s.

In 1990, I became friendly with the guy would delivered heating oil to my house. One day, he told me that he had a patent pending. I thought it was cool because I never knew anyone who held a patent before. I asked him what it was. He said that he couldn't tell me at that time. Ok. Fair enough. It was not like I was going to steal his patent but I understood why he couldn't tell me.

I don't know how long it was after that conversation when he said to me that he could then tell me what his patent was. He said very proudly, "You know how when you get in your car and your cassette player is so cold that it won't operate? Well, my patent is for a heater that will heat up your player so the cassette will play." I looked at him and really didn't know what to say. "Um...OK." Of course by that time, cassettes were going the way of the dodo. I'm sure he made A LOT of money off that one.


Cat

Lol I hated it! Sometimes the tape would tangle up inside the cassette player and get ruined. I always wondered why that happened.


I hated when I played a cassette in the player and then it gets caught in the machine and it comes out looking all squiggly. ;D

I hated when I played a cassette in the player and then it gets caught in the machine and it comes out looking all squiggly. ;D


Yup! Lol. I was always careful when playing my cassettes. I still have mine and they're all in great condition!

Yup! Lol. I was always careful when playing my cassettes. I still have mine and they're all in great condition!


Any time I got a new or used cassette player, I always cleaned it good first. Then for a first run I would put in a “sacrificial” tape, one I wouldn’t be too upset if it got ate.

Overall, the cassette, thanks to the rise of the popularity of boomboxes and portable cassette players (including the Walkman) early in the decade. Portable CD players were first released not long after the first CD players (around 1985), but they were slower to catch on compared to CD players itself. Vinyl's point of no return (at least until its relative comeback) was when home stereo consoles started to regularly offer cassette decks as a regular feature. Once that happened, there wasn't a point to just get the vinyl, since not only they took up more space, but couldn't be used with those portable players, including car stereo systems. Finally, you still had 8 tracks somewhat popular early in the decade since many home and car stereo systems only had 8 track tapes and not cassettes, but it was on its way out. I would argue though that the CD became #2 to the cassette starting around 1987 before surpassing it several years later.

Asking this same question for the '00s would also be an interesting thread since that was divided between CDs (now the "old" format like vinyl in the '80s), MP3 players (including the iPod), and digital downloads, basically the end-all of all formats. I'd say in the '00s, CD was still the most popular until around 2003, then iPods for the middle of the decade, then a slow fadeout to digital platforms (Spotify, personal cloud and hard drives) as the decade drew to a close.

It all depended on how you listened to your music.  Vinyl was popular for home listening, cassettes were popular for on the go and in car listening.  CDs were the more expensive option that not everyone had, and while they were there and slowly being sold, the Compact Disc didn't really take over until the 90s

Finally, you still had 8 tracks somewhat popular early in the decade since many home and car stereo systems only had 8 track tapes and not cassettes, but it was on its way out.

You know what's funny? I don't know anyone here in Europe who has heard of an 8 Track. It seems to have been a US only thing. ???

Yup! Lol. I was always careful when playing my cassettes. I still have mine and they're all in great condition!


I don't know if mine still plays anymore, they're busy collecting dust.

You know what's funny? I don't know anyone here in Europe who has heard of an 8 Track. It seems to have been a US only thing. ???


I had a box of them but they got ruined being stored under my old house. And I had a couple players. I never really liked them. No rewind. Songs often split from one to the other. Tape pulled out of the center of the spool so it was a makeshift design.

It all depended on how you listened to your music.  Vinyl was popular for home listening, cassettes were popular for on the go and in car listening.  CDs were the more expensive option that not everyone had, and while they were there and slowly being sold, the Compact Disc didn't really take over until the 90s


In the 80s, my mom listened to cassettes and vinyl records. We never played any CDs we didn't even know about them until the 90s.

In the 80s, my mom listened to cassettes and vinyl records. We never played any CDs we didn't even know about them until the 90s.


During the early 80's Our Family listened to vinyl records.

You know what's funny? I don't know anyone here in Europe who has heard of an 8 Track. It seems to have been a US only thing. ???



8 Track sucked anyway. I really hated it when the tracks would switch in the middle of a song. To this day, whenever I listen to a song that I once had on 8 Track where the track switched in the middle, in my mind I can STILL hear the switch. (I can also still hear where a record had a skip way back when.) And you couldn't fast forward or rewind. You could only switch tracks only to listen where it was in that track. I still don't understand why it was called 8 Track when there were only 4 tracks. 


Cat

8 Track sucked anyway. I really hated it when the tracks would switch in the middle of a song. To this day, whenever I listen to a song that I once had on 8 Track where the track switched in the middle, in my mind I can STILL hear the switch. (I can also still hear where a record had a skip way back when.) And you couldn't fast forward or rewind. You could only switch tracks only to listen where it was in that track. I still don't understand why it was called 8 Track when there were only 4 tracks. 


Cat


Probably because it was 4 tracks in stereo so actually 8 tracks. Some could fast forward but due to the design, an 8 track was impossible to rewind. It couldn’t have been a full speed fast forward like a cassette, again due to the design, there was a lot of resistance pulling the tape out of the center of the spool and I bet a lot of them broke.

Yep I had J Geils Freeze Frame and I think Rage In The Cage was split over 2 tracks.

In the 80s we had a Motorola music cabinet with actual vacuum tubes, and a handful of records that my folks had when they were teens in the 70s. I ended up with the records and we sold the cabinet. My dad did have a few country music cassettes and I ended up with those too.

In the 80s we had a Motorola music cabinet with actual vacuum tubes, and a handful of records that my folks had when they were teens in the 70s. I ended up with the records and we sold the cabinet. My dad did have a few country music cassettes and I ended up with those too.


The Motorola with the tubes probably sounded great. What records did your parents have from the 70s if I may ask?

The Motorola with the tubes probably sounded great. What records did your parents have from the 70s if I may ask?


It did sound great.

The ones I remember off hand were Derek And The Dominoes - Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, England Dan and John Ford Coley - Nights Are Forever, Foreigner - Double Vision, Blue Oyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune, ELO - A New World Record, Sylvers - Something Special, Frampton Comes Alive.  Columbia Music Treasury - Glory Of Christmas box set.

I kept them in a box in my crawl space at the old house and the covers all molded and fell apart.  Sad because my cousin said the Derek And The Dominoes one was probably worth something, or maybe it was the Frampton one.  But I cleaned up the records themselves and I have them in a box in the basement.

The Motorola with the tubes probably sounded great. What records did your parents have from the 70s if I may ask?


My Parents had a lot of late 1950's and 60's music and also mostly comedy records too as well this would include Belle Barth and Pearl Williams to name a few.

8 Track sucked anyway. I really hated it when the tracks would switch in the middle of a song. To this day, whenever I listen to a song that I once had on 8 Track where the track switched in the middle, in my mind I can STILL hear the switch. (I can also still hear where a record had a skip way back when.) And you couldn't fast forward or rewind. You could only switch tracks only to listen where it was in that track. I still don't understand why it was called 8 Track when there were only 4 tracks. 


Cat
Probably the reason why I do not recall them that well.

I think Cds were starting to catch on in 1985-1987, but could be expensive and limited compared to tapes and vinyl which were the norm. In Ferris Buller's day off Cameron's room shows a framed U2 Cd, that was filmed in 1985.

They starting to getting big around 1987-mid 1989. But at some point between 1989 to early 1991 seems like they became a thing next to tapes and to a lesser extent vinyl, and vinyl decreased onwards and hung around until mid 1992 or early 1993.

Columbia house and similar mail order allowed people to buy more cds for much cheaper than the stores which also contributed.

I was too young but sort of basing it all this what I remember and what I've read.

Cassette tapes were still big in 1996 to 1998. There weren't enough really enough download sites and Mp3s to be proper music sources like 1999 onwards and Cds could be expensive, and  cassettes and tape trading was still a thing and popular, maybe not as much as earlier but still really popular. Why pay $18 for an album you can get for $7

I remember buying the sony freq walkman in spring of 1998 which was a big thing.

Tapes are still being made and haven't stopped since then either.

I think Cds were starting to catch on in 1985-1987, but could be expensive and limited compared to tapes and vinyl which were the norm. In Ferris Buller's day off Cameron's room shows a framed U2 Cd, that was filmed in 1985.

They starting to getting big around 1987-mid 1989. But at some point between 1989 to early 1991 seems like they became a thing next to tapes and to a lesser extent vinyl, and vinyl decreased onwards and hung around until mid 1992 or early 1993.

Columbia house and similar mail order allowed people to buy more cds for much cheaper than the stores which also contributed.

I was too young but sort of basing it all this what I remember and what I've read.

Cassette tapes were still big in 1996 to 1998. There weren't enough really enough download sites and Mp3s to be proper music sources like 1999 onwards and Cds could be expensive, and  cassettes and tape trading was still a thing and popular, maybe not as much as earlier but still really popular. Why pay $18 for an album you can get for $7

I remember buying the sony freq walkman in spring of 1998 which was a big thing.

Tapes are still being made and haven't stopped since then either.


In the early 90s my friend had at least a hundred CDs he got from Columbia house. He was into CCM.

I think tapes and CDs were neck and neck and this time. We had new tape stores but a used tape store that was huge, like a whole room full of tapes for $4 each. They had a very small section of used CDs for $8 each.

1996-1998 I think new tapes were pretty much out. I frequented another used music store in the town I worked an hour away and built a huge collection of used tapes for 99c each. They also had a healthy collection of used CDs but they were still expensive. Every Sunday was half off used CDs but that was a long drive for the only day I wasn’t working. Fall of 1997 I got my first CD player (car changer) and started to slowly build my collection from used stores. I’m still doing that, and finally used CDs are 50c to $2, and used tapes are almost free for the taking. I’ll still get a tape if it’s something I’ve wanted but never seen and probably won’t again.

In the early 90s my friend had at least a hundred CDs he got from Columbia house. He was into CCM.

I think tapes and CDs were neck and neck and this time. We had new tape stores but a used tape store that was huge, like a whole room full of tapes for $4 each. They had a very small section of used CDs for $8 each.

1996-1998 I think new tapes were pretty much out. I frequented another used music store in the town I worked an hour away and built a huge collection of used tapes for 99c each. They also had a healthy collection of used CDs but they were still expensive. Every Sunday was half off used CDs but that was a long drive for the only day I wasn’t working. Fall of 1997 I got my first CD player (car changer) and started to slowly build my collection from used stores. I’m still doing that, and finally used CDs are 50c to $2, and used tapes are almost free for the taking. I’ll still get a tape if it’s something I’ve wanted but never seen and probably won’t again.


I think cds and tapes were probably the most equal from 1991-1995.

1996-1998 tapes were still really popular by 1999 onwards they were almost dead, their main function was gone, and niche when filesharing exploded even though there was still a small cassette market until the mid 2000s and even smaller one later on.

1996-1998 tape trading music whether for regular party mixes, bootleg concerts, friends or through underground mail order or local tape trading markets, along with making mixtapes was in full swing and still integral part of listening to music before downloading eliminated all of it. It was a tool to acquire more music and to gain more music exposure that still wasn’t as feasible with cds and mp3s at the time.

Cd burning wasn’t common yet as well. So you couldn’t make cd copies.

New release cds could cost anywhere from $14.99 to $30 something bucks.

New release tapes were a lot less. Most stores I went
to had equal or almost equal tape sections through 96 to 98.

You were also able to build up bigger music collections or simply buy albums or singles if you were low on money which most youth tended to be.

That changed with downloading, cds which then dropped in sales still had much more to offer; much less compressed versions of the same songs, offering better sound and a physical product if you even felt the need to purchase it.

Mp3s definitely changed the need for cassettes.

In the 80s, my mom listened to cassettes and vinyl records. We never played any CDs we didn't even know about them until the 90s.

Cassettes and vinyl records are what my household listened to back then as well. We didn't get our first CD player until '93 or thereabouts.

Cassettes and vinyl records are what my household listened to back then as well. We didn't get our first CD player until '93 or thereabouts.


I got my first CD player in 1997. I still have it. The CD player no longer works but I just can't part with it.

I got my first CD player in 1997. I still have it. The CD player no longer works but I just can't part with it.

Similarly, we've had various CD players over the years in our household too. They've stopped working properly after a certain number of years. Probably due to overuse or other factors.

I got my first CD player in 1997. I still have it. The CD player no longer works but I just can't part with it.


Mine works. Both the car changer which I transferred to another vehicle. And the very simple house player that my cousin gave me about that time, a Realistic with old school yellow display that connects to the main receiver.

I think Cds were starting to catch on in 1985-1987, but could be expensive and limited compared to tapes and vinyl which were the norm. In Ferris Buller's day off Cameron's room shows a framed U2 Cd, that was filmed in 1985.

They starting to getting big around 1987-mid 1989. But at some point between 1989 to early 1991 seems like they became a thing next to tapes and to a lesser extent vinyl, and vinyl decreased onwards and hung around until mid 1992 or early 1993.

Columbia house and similar mail order allowed people to buy more cds for much cheaper than the stores which also contributed.

I was too young but sort of basing it all this what I remember and what I've read.

Cassette tapes were still big in 1996 to 1998. There weren't enough really enough download sites and Mp3s to be proper music sources like 1999 onwards and Cds could be expensive, and  cassettes and tape trading was still a thing and popular, maybe not as much as earlier but still really popular. Why pay $18 for an album you can get for $7

I remember buying the sony freq walkman in spring of 1998 which was a big thing.

Tapes are still being made and haven't stopped since then either.


I think people still listen to cassette tape music.

I got my first CD player in 1997. I still have it. The CD player no longer works but I just can't part with it.


I still have mine, I must've got it in 1995 but I don't know if it plays, haven't used it so many years.

I think people still listen to cassette tape music.


Hm. I think if they choose to. Once in a while I like to listen to my old cassettes. But only when nostalgia sets in and I want to remember the old days.

I think people still listen to cassette tape music.

Hm. I think if they choose to. Once in a while I like to listen to my old cassettes. But only when nostalgia sets in and I want to remember the old days.

My household has plenty of them too. But do we have a unit to play them on that still works? I dunno...we might. But if we try to play them on an old unit, they might unwind and get messy. I don't want that to happen. :-\\ :(

My household has plenty of them too. But do we have a unit to play them on that still works? I dunno...we might. But if we try to play them on an old unit, they might unwind and get messy. I don't want that to happen. :-\\ :(


I like them for learning songs. I can leave where I left off, pause, cue/review quickly all with one hand.

It’s either that or I think you can do that with a DJ CD player. Or if there’s a computer program where I can do these things using hot keys.

I’ve still got about 800 tapes in the basement. Getting about time to start hanging out down there for the season.

Hm. I think if they choose to. Once in a while I like to listen to my old cassettes. But only when nostalgia sets in and I want to remember the old days.


I can't remember the last time I put in a cassette tape when I wanted to listen to music.

I like them for learning songs. I can leave where I left off, pause, cue/review quickly all with one hand.

It’s either that or I think you can do that with a DJ CD player. Or if there’s a computer program where I can do these things using hot keys.

I’ve still got about 800 tapes in the basement. Getting about time to start hanging out down there for the season.


Wow, what kind of music do you have?  :o

I like them for learning songs. I can leave where I left off, pause, cue/review quickly all with one hand.

Yes, that was one advantage to having such a device. You can cue it to a specific point rather than have to go all the way back to the beginning.



It’s either that or I think you can do that with a DJ CD player. Or if there’s a computer program where I can do these things using hot keys.

I’ve still got about 800 tapes in the basement. Getting about time to start hanging out down there for the season.

Interesting...

Wow, what kind of music do you have?  :o


Pop, rock, r&b, dance, country, adult contemporary, Christian. 70s, 80s, 90s.

I’ve got about 500 CDs but most are greatest hits, compilation albums, or soundtracks. Tapes are so cheap that I would get an album for a song or two I liked. Or get all the albums by an artist I liked. Sometimes to get a case I’d have to take the tapes with it so that’s how I got some too.

Pop, rock, r&b, dance, country, adult contemporary, Christian. 70s, 80s, 90s.

I’ve got about 500 CDs but most are greatest hits, compilation albums, or soundtracks. Tapes are so cheap that I would get an album for a song or two I liked. Or get all the albums by an artist I liked. Sometimes to get a case I’d have to take the tapes with it so that’s how I got some too.


I'm kind of different in that I never really cared for greatest hits albums. If I like an artist I want EVERYTHING. Even unreleased things and bootlegs. There are very few artists who I only have a "causal" enough interest in to want just a greatest hits album, though I do have some greatest hits albums, of course.

I'm kind of different in that I never really cared for greatest hits albums. If I like an artist I want EVERYTHING. Even unreleased things and bootlegs. There are very few artists who I only have a "causal" enough interest in to want just a greatest hits album, though I do have some greatest hits albums, of course.


There are a handful of artists who I like that much and will get everything I can find on them. Even solo stuff after the group split up, or little known early stuff.

Greatest hits albums mostly target either the new fans who want to be introduced to the group/singer and have little or no other records from them, or the casual fans who could care less about their deep material and only the hits they remember from them. It's no wonder that ABBA Gold, the Eagles Greatest Hits, and Beatles #1 were among the best selling albums for not just those artists, but for all-time.  Though I don't mind some of the GH albums where an extra song or two is tacked on, especially if there isn't a separate single related to it.

But another thing that's on the decline is recording/taping material straight off the radio. Of course, this is the primary source for bootleg recordings, and this wasn't without controversy regarding copyright laws, which ultimately lead to the Betamax ruling when VCRs took off. Originally, the format used for bootlegging was on 1/2" reel-to-reel tapes, and this dominated the 1960s and early '70s. But it wasn't nearly as popular as cassette recording, as the record button made it easier than ever to simply record anything off the radio, and the most common surviving radio airchecks come from the 1980s and '90s before the format's decline and rise of the Internet made file sharing and CD burning more common via online files, and later on, audio recorders from stations that stream online. That said, you'll more often find cassette tapes simply copied from other cassettes as well, or with the commercials/VJ segments cut out. There is some potentially invaluable content to be found on some of these "blanks", from local concert presentations to artist interviews to countdowns (a good chunk of Casey's Top 40 between his American Top 40 gigs between 1988 and 1998 are missing, since the masters were thrown away and what survives comes from private recordings for an example).

Greatest hits albums mostly target either the new fans who want to be introduced to the group/singer and have little or no other records from them, or the casual fans who could care less about their deep material and only the hits they remember from them. It's no wonder that ABBA Gold, the Eagles Greatest Hits, and Beatles #1 were among the best selling albums for not just those artists, but for all-time.  Though I don't mind some of the GH albums where an extra song or two is tacked on, especially if there isn't a separate single related to it.

But another thing that's on the decline is recording/taping material straight off the radio. Of course, this is the primary source for bootleg recordings, and this wasn't without controversy regarding copyright laws, which ultimately lead to the Betamax ruling when VCRs took off. Originally, the format used for bootlegging was on 1/2" reel-to-reel tapes, and this dominated the 1960s and early '70s. But it wasn't nearly as popular as cassette recording, as the record button made it easier than ever to simply record anything off the radio, and the most common surviving radio airchecks come from the 1980s and '90s before the format's decline and rise of the Internet made file sharing and CD burning more common via online files, and later on, audio recorders from stations that stream online. That said, you'll more often find cassette tapes simply copied from other cassettes as well, or with the commercials/VJ segments cut out. There is some potentially invaluable content to be found on some of these "blanks", from local concert presentations to artist interviews to countdowns (a good chunk of Casey's Top 40 between his American Top 40 gigs between 1988 and 1998 are missing, since the masters were thrown away and what survives comes from private recordings for an example).


Another common practice in the 60s and 70s was audio taping from the TV. If a favorite artist or band was making a rare TV appearance one would shove a recorder against the speaker and pray like hell that nobody else in the house made any noise or that a fire truck didn't go by outside. This was the source material for a lot of vinyl bootlegs back in the day, because these TV shows were usually only broadcast once and that was it. So the vinyl became a precious commodity. I used to be thrilled to come across these back in the day.

Another common practice in the 60s and 70s was audio taping from the TV. If a favorite artist or band was making a rare TV appearance one would shove a recorder against the speaker and pray like hell that nobody else in the house made any noise or that a fire truck didn't go by outside. This was the source material for a lot of vinyl bootlegs back in the day, because these TV shows were usually only broadcast once and that was it. So the vinyl became a precious commodity. I used to be thrilled to come across these back in the day.


I did this in the 80s and 90s. But I made an RCA to headphone cable and recorded from the vcr into my recording Walkman. When I didn’t have a vcr I installed a 2 way headphone jack into the tv case which I could record from. I also had a ton of performances I recorded on vhs but my ex wife erased it before she left.

One of the reasons I accumulated so much music was to learn songs. And most people listening to band covers want to hear the greatest hits they are familiar with. I haven’t been in a band for a very long time but I still love to practice at home.

I used to hold my cassette player up to the tv and record tv theme tunes lol. Two that stick out are "Grizzly Adams" and the updated "Littles" season3 theme. I liked all the cultural interpretations...

OxRW8b95P28

I think people still listen to cassette tape music.


Yeah they have been for a while especially even more with experimental music and alternative music.

There are ongoing rereleases of classic albums like Pink Floyd, the Ramones, Eagles, Metallica etc You can usually find them at certain music stores.

Cassette store day takes place every year.

Mid to late 90s was the last time cassettes were a tool to easily acquire to share music before mp3s and cdr burning replaced it.

Pop, rock, r&b, dance, country, adult contemporary, Christian. 70s, 80s, 90s.

I’ve got about 500 CDs but most are greatest hits, compilation albums, or soundtracks. Tapes are so cheap that I would get an album for a song or two I liked. Or get all the albums by an artist I liked. Sometimes to get a case I’d have to take the tapes with it so that’s how I got some too.


I've got so many cassettes and CDs that it's hard to count them all.

Yeah they have been for a while especially even more with experimental music and alternative music.

There are ongoing rereleases of classic albums like Pink Floyd, the Ramones, Eagles, Metallica etc You can usually find them at certain music stores.

Cassette store day takes place every year.

Mid to late 90s was the last time cassettes were a tool to easily acquire to share music before mp3s and cdr burning replaced it.


I remember this place that used to sell cassette tapes and vinyl records for cheap, you could buy or sell them and lot of them were for a reasonable price but years ago they closed up shop because they couldn't keep up with the times any longer.