TEN REASONS TO OWN A CD PLAYER

CDs are second-rate, outdated has-beens. So there’s no reason to invest in a CD player in 2025, right?

Wrong! CDs and CD players are alive and well in the homes of many vintage lovers, music enthusiasts, and audiophiles. Though many people have written off CD players as dead relics of a bygone era, there are actually quite a few reasons to invest in one - yes, even in 2025.

So we’ve compiled a list of the ten biggest reasons why we think you should consider owning a CD player.

1. CDS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK

The CD renaissance has arguably ridden on the tailcoats of the vinyl resurgence. But it holds its own when it comes to the revival of physical media. Along with vinyl and cassette tapes, CDs are making a comeback and are garnering attention. Though it seems that streaming services and digital downloads dominate everything, CD sales are pushing through (37 million CDs were sold in the US in 2023!) and are hanging on tight. In a world where wireless music is all the rage, it’s a great feeling to step back a bit and support something that’s as old-school as compact discs.

And why is it making a comeback? Well, everything from sound quality to price to reliability to nostalgia. And it’s not only lovers of source components and steadfast audiophiles who are responsible for the sales. CDs are making a comeback among hipsters and younger music lovers who want to experience the joy of physical media for themselves.

2. HIGH-FIDELITY SOUND

CDs actually have higher sound quality than streaming services available for iPhone or Android. The reason is based on bitrate. Bitrate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. The clarity of your music is based on bitrate, so the higher the bitrate, the cleaner and more precise the sound. Streaming services typically use a bitrate of 160-320 kbps, while CDs produce a bitrate of 1,411 kbps. That’s more than four times higher than MP3 downloads! This basically means you will hear things that you have never heard before in your music when you listen to the CD.

CDs played on a quality player also provide an incredible sound experience. You’ll get a richer, warmer sound from that analog CD player than you could possibly achieve on a computer. And with a dedicated CD player and audio setup, you can enjoy the immersive sound of CDs in a more powerful way than you can from the tiny speakers of your smartphone.

3. PHYSICAL OWNERSHIP

If you’re a sucker for physical media, you’re not alone! There is a joy to CD collecting that you can't get from streaming. With CDs, you don’t just own the music - you own the experience. There’s a tangible joy to thumbing through your CD collection, picking out a CD, opening the case, and placing it into your CD player. There’s a pride in owning your favorite music as well, knowing that it’s yours anytime you want it and you don’t have to essentially rent it from a streaming platform. The finicky, ephemeral nature of streaming subscriptions is nothing compared to having a shiny disc at your fingertips.

Plus, when you buy a CD, it is yours forever. You don’t need to pay a membership fee to maintain access or worry about disagreements between record companies and streaming platforms that could make your favorite music unavailable to stream. Some platforms also only offer certain songs from certain albums - with CDs, you can own the entire album, bonus tracks and all, without needing three different subscriptions. In a world of never-ending subscriptions, owning a CD for life can feel like a breath of fresh air.

4. COST-EFFECTIVE

CDs and CD players have become one of the most cost-effective options out there. CDs are cheaper than ever and can be found at yard sales for a few pennies or at Goodwill or on eBay for a few bucks. Particularly the ones with music from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. You can even get them free from people looking to simply donate their collection.

Plus, as vinyl reproduction and shipping costs continue to climb, collecting CDs can save you half the cost: you'll pay far less for ten CDs than for ten records. And in many cases, buying CDs can even be a cheaper option than streaming individual songs or albums, particularly for avid music listeners. With streaming memberships, you have to pay a monthly or yearly membership fee, which can get expensive. Get the albums from your favorite artists on CD, and you won’t have to pay a fee over and over again just to listen to them.

5. YOU ALREADY OWN CDS

If you were around when CDs hit the scene in 1980, then chances are you owned at least one CD player. And if you did, chances are you still have a nice collection of some compact discs even if you no longer have that player. If not, you probably know a family member who still owns some CDs packed away somewhere in a box.

If so, there’s no reason to let them stay packed away collecting dust! Instead, get a CD player and pop in those old discs. They’re an excellent way to reminisce.

6. RELIABILITY

Though it might be surprising to hear, we’re ready to argue that CDs and CD players are more reliable than other formats. Yes, a CD can get scratched enough to skip or possibly stop playing (that’s why it’s so important to learn how to properly care for your discs) and your CD player could malfunction. But if your CD somehow gets scratched beyond use, you’re typically only losing an album at most, one that only takes a few bucks to replace. And if your CD player breaks down, you can easily find a refurbished one as a replacement - and your CDs would still be right there waiting.

But by saving all of your music on your phone or computer, there are many reasons why all of your music can become inaccessible. If you have your music files saved to your computer or phone, then the device could crash or break, and all of your songs would be lost if you don’t have them backed up; computers and phones are more expensive to fix or replace as well. And iTunes accounts can get hacked into or you can forget the password or be unable to recover your account for whatever reason. And any drop in your internet means you can't access most streaming services.

7. CD CHANGERS ARE CONVENIENT

With most music streaming apps, you need a stable internet connection to play or download songs, which isn’t always available to everyone, particularly in rural regions. Your phone has to always be charged up as well. But with a CD player, you don’t have to worry about all that. Instead, you just need a player and a source to output the sound. It’s pretty convenient to always have the media right at your fingertips.

The convenience of CD players is particularly evident if you own a disc changer. These can hold anywhere from five to 400 discs! CD mega changers provide super easy shuffling and searching through your entire CD collection. You just load up your discs, hit play, and listen to your all your favorite songs. They're as cool as an old-school jukebox!

8. SOME MUSIC IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON CD

While streaming platforms offer most of the music that is out there, there are still some songs only available on CD that will never be made available for download. For example, promotional-only releases and limited edition or special releases that are part of a limited run are difficult to find digitally. Music from smaller artists are often only available on CDs as well since streaming software companies often want too large of a profit cut.

Plus, bonus tracks from older albums and other miscellaneous CD singles are only available on CD. Music from international artists or Japanese bonus tracks are tricky to find digitally as well - especially the original versions and not terrible remixes. Soundtracks and OSTs are another place that streaming services tend to overlook. The availability of different masterings of old albums is woefully ignored as well.

9. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CD PLAYERS ARE AVAILABLE

There is an entire realm of CD players out there! You not only have the choice of single disc players, you also have CD changers. These compact disc changers come in many different varieties: they range from holding 2 discs to 400 discs and can be a carousel, file, or cartridge magazine type.

There are also under-cabinet CD player radios for installing in your kitchen and 6-in-1 CD player devices that are versatile machines that combine six or more audio devices into one. Plus, there are the portable CD players out there like Walkman players and boomboxes. You’ve also got CD recorders, which come in single trays and dual trays. These compact disc burners will not only let you play CDs, they will also let you easily record audio onto CD. Then there are the incredible wide range of brands available including Sony, Yamaha, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Technics.

10. NOSTALGIA

Perhaps the greatest reason why you should invest in a CD player is simple: nostalgia. Downloaded music will never compare to the nostalgic experience that CDs offer. You can’t get the same effect through streaming as you do with a CD player. CDs let you travel back in time to the era of album art and liner notes, when the song lyrics would be printed on the inside cover. Digging through your CD collection, picking the one that’s calling your name, and placing it into your player was an immersive experience many people remember fondly.

The 80s and 90s was a great time to fall in love with music. Whether you were born before then and got to fall in love with CDs when they hit the market or you were born at that time and got to grow up with them as a child or you were born after then and simply wish to experience that feeling now for yourself, CDs and CD players are an incredible way to enjoy the time when everything felt simpler and happier.

IN SUMMARY

CDs are garnering more attention than ever, and we’re here to tell you: it’s for a good reason. CD players are reliable and convenient, and they allow you to hear your music the way it’s meant to be heard. They also give you that nostalgic, hands-on experience that only vintage players are capable of doing. Will CD players ever win out against streaming services? No. Thanks to its convenience and popularity among younger people, streaming will always outdo CDs. But that doesn’t mean you have to let your love for CDs fall on the wayside.

Thanks for reading! If any of these reasons have convinced you to consider getting a CD player, you’re in luck! At SpenCertified we have expertly refurbished CD players and changers that range in price and brand so there’s something for everyone. You can find all of our CD players here. Have a great day!

https://spencertified.com/collections/refurbished-compact-disc-cd-players