Various vs Single Artist CD's

[ravs]

Oooh, first time I have ever started a thread.

A question to all the music fans out there. Which do you prefer; CD's which have songs from various artists (such as Top 20, most popular songs etc.) or do you prefer to buy CD's for a particular artist only??

I have only recently started building up my CD collection (before I taped whatever song I liked from the radio) and I find it really frustrating that I only like a song or two for a particular artist eg) Cry Me a River from Justin Timberlake. So when I bought his CD, I only listen to about three songs and just ignore the rest. A waste of money right??
So thats why, I usually buy compilation albums which have all the popular songs from the charts however, there is always songs on these albums that I don't like. I can't win!
So what kind of CD's do you buy? Just curious, to see if I'm not the only one who has CD collection where I have only heard half the songs.

[queenb]

Ravs, I don't have that many CDs yet either; I still listened to cassette exclusively until last year,and my budget won't allow me to replace my "top 100" tapes anytime soon. So, I've bought quite a few "greatest hits" and compilations. I have bought a few of the regular cd's; what I have been doing is taking the ones that I only like parts of, and burning them onto new cd's , trying to keep the same style of music together of course. I do wish there were a way to burn all those cassettes onto CDs though. Of course everyone suggests downloading them from Kaazaa, etc, but I do think that's stealing (yep, I'm getting old!) plus, I'm not crazy about doing it due to viruses, poor quality files, and all. I guess at some point I might download a bunch of my favorites from one of those sites that let you download and pay per song; I think that might be a little cheaper than buying all new cd's.

[weston]

I usually buy from particular artists. With most of the music I listen to, I don't see them in the "Various Artists" CDs unless it's a soundtrack or something. That said, I prefer to hear albums from start to finish rather than skipping from track to track. If I am on the road, I like a little more diversity, but if I am at home I usually just stick to 1 artist at a time. My CD collection has grown considerably, so I need to be a bit more selective.

[audiomaster]

ravs. Good for your first thread-starting... !

I would prefer the artist's CD more as they give a wide range of the songs from the artist and also you can hear some of the songs that are not being played on the radio stations. Also, with the compilation CDs, you might not like some of the acts on the CD, and what's more, most of those compilation are very current, meaning, it gets outdated very easily, so I won't probably hear it again, or very seldom.

[haejin]

I tend to buy CDs from artists I'm more familar with than buying compilations, but I like Top 20 CDs too.

[PSi]

Simple Solution: buy the single.

As for me, i haven't bought a CD yet this year. I just don't like any of the new music out there, and the stuff i listen to isn't on the radio. So i stick with radio to kill time then i got muy artists who i know well.
ive implused a few CDs...and those usually have ended up in the trash.

[Lucy]

While most of my CDs are single-artist ones, I do sometimes get compilation CDs of, say, a certain genre -- sometimes I'm in the mood to listen to a *type* of music more than a particular artist, and also it can be a chance to hear someone you wouldn't necessarily hear otherwise.

[glennajo]

I'm a cheapskate. I'll rarely buy a single artist cd, but I'll buy compilation cd's if the songs are really good. I like country music a lot, so I stick with stuff like Totally Country, Country Hits from the 90's, etc.

[brusch]

I used to buy some singles back in my B96 days but I'm pretty much an album person. The idea of an "album" is lost on many of today's artists but there are still some who put out some good ones.

If I'm just looking for a song I'll get it from the library or have them get it on interlibrary loan so I can copy it. I find it's a good way to add to my 50s-60s and New Wave collections without going broke. I don't usually buy these compilation albums (although I have some British Invasion and "Nuggets" ones), but it seems libraries are pretty likely to have the various Time-Life or "Totally" collections.

[Mantenna]

I usually stick with particular artists I like and listen to the music repeatedly. I find over time that I really grow to like songs that I might not have liked just hearing them a few times.