While they were around as early as the late '60s, their dominance was probably about 1981-1994 with enough popularity to exist as a common secondary format as late as 2002 or '03.

I'm now thinking it wasn't really CDs that killed them off (they managed to co-exist for so long, because it was vinyl that CDs really killed the popularity of, along with tapes! So it wasn't as direct). It was actually probably the Internet and downloading, as well as the c. 2003 takeover of digital music such as Itunes and Limewire that really was the end for analog technology in the mainstream.

Even in the Y2K era, people still recorded songs off the radio quite a bit. Maybe that's really the new/old-school line right there. ;)

A primary reason cassettes didn't take off immediately but became more popular in the early 80's is due to technological improvements, in particular, 1) noise reduction, and 2) improved tape formulations.  Audio cassettes were in use throughout the 70's; however, because of their hissiness and low fidelity (at that time), they weren't used for demanding audio reproduction - mostly talk.  As boomboxes, walkmans and cassette car stereos increased, the technology improved at the same time, thus making the cassette a choice vehicle for recorded music.  Not to mention that people liked to 'roll their own'.

Cassettes faded out in the mid 90s, but were still sold as late as maybe 2003.  To my knowledge, no new cassettes are made anymore for today's albums/cds

I still love cassettes.  I've probably got close to 5,000 of them 8)

Cassettes faded out in the mid 90s, but were still sold as late as maybe 2003.  To my knowledge, no new cassettes are made anymore for today's albums/cds

I still love cassettes.  I've probably got close to 5,000 of them 8)
I know that stores like Currys and Dixons do not stock any more, but I cannot remember when they stopped selling them.

I'm now thinking it wasn't really CDs that killed them off (they managed to co-exist for so long, because it was vinyl that CDs really killed the popularity of, along with tapes! So it wasn't as direct).


One important sector of the market where CD did kill the tape was via car stereos...

Once someone got round the idea of making a CD player that didn't jump or skip when you drove over, say, a matchstick, then the tapes days really were (thankfully) numbered...

That's not to say tapes in cars didn't have their 'entertainment' value...I'm sure there's plenty of people here that remember 'the snarl-up'!

That's not to say tapes in cars didn't have their 'entertainment' value...I'm sure there's plenty of people here that remember 'the snarl-up'!


Oh, I sure remember those days!

I must've owned hundreds of cassettes! The last time I saw cassettes (new, sealed ones) at any store was at Tower Records in the late 90's. The only place I see cassettes now are at used music stores and thrift shops.  :(

While I'm sure lots of people like them, I'm probably one of the few who still actively collects them. The last "new" ones that weren't old stock were sold in 2003.


A primary reason cassettes didn't take off immediately but became more popular in the early 80's is due to technological improvements, in particular, 1) noise reduction, and 2) improved tape formulations.  Audio cassettes were in use throughout the 70's; however, because of their hissiness and low fidelity (at that time), they weren't used for demanding audio reproduction - mostly talk.  As boomboxes, walkmans and cassette car stereos increased, the technology improved at the same time, thus making the cassette a choice vehicle for recorded music.  Not to mention that people liked to 'roll their own'.

Yeah, that makes sense. I think of the '70s as being a more "vinyl-oriented" decade (probably even up to c. 1985). Portability was what really popularized them - imagine what a vinyl boombox would've looked like. ;D

I agree, mixtapes are great. It feels like more of a "creation" than doing CDR's, although I like both.

Portability was what really popularized them - imagine what a vinyl boombox would've looked like. ;D


Well, imagine no more!

I give you the Sharp V2500, which had it all...radio, cassette and a turntable!

This used linear tonearms...yes two! The idea being you didn't even have to turn the record over to play the other side!

It sank without trace within a year...shame!

Well, imagine no more!

I give you the Sharp V2500, which had it all...radio, cassette and a turntable!

This used linear tonearms...yes two! The idea being you didn't even have to turn the record over to play the other side!

It sank without trace within a year...shame!




That's cool, man. I had no idea those truly existed (I was actually joking when I said that). ;D

Well, imagine no more!

I give you the Sharp V2500, which had it all...radio, cassette and a turntable!

This used linear tonearms...yes two! The idea being you didn't even have to turn the record over to play the other side!

It sank without trace within a year...shame!




Dang, now those are awesome!

Cassettes faded out in the mid 90s, but were still sold as late as maybe 2003.  To my knowledge, no new cassettes are made anymore for today's albums/cds

I still love cassettes.  I've probably got close to 5,000 of them 8)


I remember going to our local music stores (which are getting fewer and fewer now :0( ) and seeing a few rows for records, lots of rows for cassettes and just beginning were CD's. By the mid-90's, there was still a demand for cassettes, but CD's definetly owned the shelves. Records were pretty much special market by that time for hardcore collectors. I remember as late as 1995 I actually purchased the Beatles Greatest hits on tapes and it was still kinda expensive, but at that time buying it in CD was really going to drain me, so I decided to go with the cassettes.

I still have a box jam packed of audio cassettes with stuff I recorded off the radio 11 years ago, lol. They are still great to listen to! It's like capturing time, ya know!

I remember going to our local music stores (which are getting fewer and fewer now :0( ) and seeing a few rows for records, lots of rows for cassettes and just beginning were CD's. By the mid-90's, there was still a demand for cassettes, but CD's definetly owned the shelves. Records were pretty much special market by that time for hardcore collectors. I remember as late as 1995 I actually purchased the Beatles Greatest hits on tapes and it was still kinda expensive, but at that time buying it in CD was really going to drain me, so I decided to go with the cassettes.

I still have a box jam packed of audio cassettes with stuff I recorded off the radio 11 years ago, lol. They are still great to listen to! It's like capturing time, ya know!


Yeah, I remember getting my own copy of The White Album when I was about 12 too (we had it on CD and my dad has an older cassette version, but I wanted my own).

I can beat that actually, since I was still buying new cassettes in stores in 1999! ;D Combining mixtapes and actual storebought ones (I also have double copies of some of the better ones!), I must have close to a thousand now. I agree, radio recordings are great - it's like a time capsule, especially with the DJ'ing or the commercials.

Well, imagine no more!

I give you the Sharp V2500, which had it all...radio, cassette and a turntable!

This used linear tonearms...yes two! The idea being you didn't even have to turn the record over to play the other side!

It sank without trace within a year...shame!




A friend had one of those.  We thought it was so cool at the time!

A friend had one of those.  We thought it was so cool at the time!


Blimey! He/she must have had some money...they cost a bomb when they were first launched!  :o

It's not really practical for use as a portable stereo (the thing must weigh half a ton!), but I must admit, it would look good on the shelf...

(Reinforced concrete shelf, that is!)

While they were around as early as the late '60s, their dominance was probably about 1981-1994 with enough popularity to exist as a common secondary format as late as 2002 or '03.

I'm now thinking it wasn't really CDs that killed them off (they managed to co-exist for so long, because it was vinyl that CDs really killed the popularity of, along with tapes! So it wasn't as direct). It was actually probably the Internet and downloading, as well as the c. 2003 takeover of digital music such as Itunes and Limewire that really was the end for analog technology in the mainstream.

Even in the Y2K era, people still recorded songs off the radio quite a bit. Maybe that's really the new/old-school line right there. ;)



Yeah, tapes were actually still pretty popular throughout the '90s. For me, and alot of my friends back in the '90s, the easiest way for us to get our favorite songs was still to record them off the radio. None of us could get jobs or anything, and CD's were still kinda expensive, so thats what most of us did, even into the late '90s.

Alot of people still bought albums on cassette in the mid/late '90s too. I didn't even get my first CD until 1996, up until that point I had just gotten cassettes. In fact when my parents got a brand new car in 1999, it actually still had a tape player in it :o

Yeah, tapes were actually still pretty popular throughout the '90s. For me, and alot of my friends back in the '90s, the easiest way for us to get our favorite songs was still to record them off the radio. None of us could get jobs or anything, and CD's were still kinda expensive, so thats what most of us did, even into the late '90s.

Alot of people still bought albums on cassette in the mid/late '90s too. I didn't even get my first CD until 1996, up until that point I had just gotten cassettes. In fact when my parents got a brand new car in 1999, it actually still had a tape player in it :o


Yeah, I started seeing the combo units if not purely CD players become common in new cars around Y2k, although some of the cheaper models still have tape decks. A cool thing which will probably add to their longevity in the future is that people tend to only use them peripherally now. I bet most of the "last run" cassette decks manufactured during the '00s will last a pretty long time. They're not getting the heavy, repeated use the '80s ones got. Heck, I remember our family boombox from 1985/'86 with a dual deck was on the skids by early 1990 and we didn't even use it as much as some people probably did, lol.

Yeah, I actually still record off the radio to this day if I just want a "quick" copy of a song, or if I only casually like the song and wouldn't really want to buy the CD, even used.



P.S. Something else relating to tapes, but has anyone ever noticed the difference between the "old-school" and "modern" ones? Like ones made in the actual '80s are usually white or grey for prerecorded ones, or the blanks were darker with a smaller window in the middle? Right after the turn into 1990, most of them got that clear, see-through casing. I actually recall noting that as it happened and thought it was kinda significant (then again, I'm a geek!). Even at the age of 8, I began thinking of the enclosed ones as "classics". ;D

Blimey! He/she must have had some money...they cost a bomb when they were first launched!  :o



Well-paid job and lived at home with an indulgent mum, doting on 'her boy'