physical CDs

Here is my growing collection of CDs. The process of collecting, organizing, and ripping albums is so fun -- in a way, every album in my collection has an origin story. I've found that tactile interaction with an album adds an extra layer of immersion and understanding to the experience. I'm also very inspired by album art and product design, so exploring each jewel case and booklet is great fun on its own. I love my CDs :) Here's my collection!

digital

Sometimes, especially in the case of small contemporary artists, collecting CDs is difficult or impossible. Owning an album digitally is still fun! Though I'm fond of the physicality of CDs, I'm proud of my digital collection, too. I love to participate in Bandcamp Fridays!

info & resources

I rip my CDs with an inexpensive external disc drive (LG GP65NB60) connected to my laptop, using the free Exact Audio Copy ("EAC") software. To organize, listen, edit metadata, create playlists, and sync my collection to my phone, I use the free MediaMonkey software and mobile app.

• Setting up EAC - A precise, step-by-step guide from CaptainRookie on how to download and set up EAC for the first time.
• How to rip a disc with EAC - Another step-by-step guide from CaptainRookie, describing how to use EAC to rip a CD to FLAC files.
• List of reliable disc drives - this guide is a little tough to navigate, but I found it helpful to compare the accuracy of a few disc drives I was considering. Neat!
• yt-dlp - downloader for pulling audio/video from Youtube and many other sites.
• Prog archives - A lovingly curated archive of progressive rock subgenres, artists, albums, reviews, etc. Maintained since 2002! Even if this isn't your genre, this site is very fun to explore.