Which is your preferred internet retailer when buying CDs, MP3s, or vinyl?

Qobuz for HD

 

Well, to be fair the 2010 LP of Exile wasn't exactly an audiophile pressing, either.

It's all about the mastering, always, and if itunes works for you, that's cool.

I guess I just have too much pride and "do it myselfness", I suppose. I rip my own 24/96 WAVs of any vinyl I want to have digitized, then concert (usually to FLAC, sometimes itunes lossless/ALAC)

 

CD's - amazon UK or US (though I'm using marketplace sellers more)
SACD's - Puretone Audio
Downloads - qobuz

 

Primarily Amazon & iTunes these days, except when an artist only offers their new stuff thru their website (Dave Weckl). As a Salsa/Latin Jazz & Fusion Jazz lover, I feel a twinge of guilt aometimes. I use Descarga.com & Audiophileimports.com solely as a source for finding new releases I wasn't aware of. I used to buy CD's from them often but they always ask full price. I either find the CD at a much reduced price or buy select cuts from iTunes.

 

CDs and vinyl only. NO downloads

Squidco
Wayside
Mimaroglu
Forced Exposure
Improvised Music From Japan
CD Japan
ReR Megacorp
DTMGallery
Dusty Groove

if all else fails:
Amazon.jp
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Discogs
eBay

 

For new records:

http://www.diversevinyl.com

Great guys to deal with, all music lovers and have their own record label.

 

Records are poor value and quality, and digital these days.

I never stopped buying LPs in the 90s and 00s - so now I only buy CDs
Mainly new from FOPP (Charing Cross Road) or Amazon.
It's a great time to be buying CDs

I have also started selling some LPs to help fund my insane guitar habit.
It's not as easy as it was 10 years ago, the demand seems to be less.

 

Music Direct
Soundstage Direct
Amazon

 

disgcogs
amazon
importcds
cdjapan

 

I get most of my cds and records, and occasionally cassettes from ebay, amazon, or discogs. I don't buy digital files. I sometimes buy music from other sites that specialize in certain types of music like ErstDist or Improvised Music From Japan for example, or from the artist directly off their bandcamp or their own site.

 

I buy most of my CDs and vinyl on amazon or ebay. I don't really buy digital files.

 

I'll pretty much buy from most online retailers. Does it say something that I trust CD Japan and Amazon.co.uk more than domestic American retailers? It's pretty apparent to me the remaining American music retailers don't particularly enjoy servicing CD sales anymore and looking to get out of the business.

The music labels should have forced Amazon to get better packaging when they became the de facto CD retailer for a huge percentage of the market. It shows how little they care they haven't designed a packaging size specifically for CDs and mostly use those awful bubble mailers.

 

Bull Moose
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Deep Discount
Best Buy
.

 

A bit of a question about buying from Amazon. Typically when shopping online I'm looking for used CDs that I cannot find locally and in most cases these are early versions, collectible, rare etc. When buying from eBay you have a fair amount of information in the listing to have some certainty that you are buying the version you are interested in. On Amazon I see no way of defining or identifying exactly what you are buying of a title other than new or used. Is there a way?

 

You have to know the UPC code and search on Amazon that way. Most of the remaining Amazon Marketplace sellers are identifying different versions of the same album in that manner. Amazon's natural language search is terrible, they will often return only results of stuff they currently sell...so older out of print CDs do not show up unless you know the UPC code.

 

I buy most of my new CDs and Audio Fidelity SACDs from amazon.com. For new European issues, I buy on occasion from amazon.de and amazon.co.uk. For new Japanese releases, I often buy from CD Japan. I pre-order Mobile Fidelity SACDs from Music Direct and Analogue Productions SACDs from Acoustic Sounds.

Most of my used CDs come via eBay, this site, and local shops.

 

For high quality Vinyl LP's and SACD's in Europe: Vinyl Gourmet

 

Acoustic Sounds. Great service and great people to do business with. If I order before 2PM I have the order in my home the next day, EVERY TIME! Any time I have a question or problem they are there for me. Super source for music in all formats and a wide selection of equipment too.