Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cds

Where's the best place to buy classical CDs in Winnipeg?

Johnny Assay — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:56:27 -0800

Are there any good brick-and-mortar places to buy classical music CDs in Winnipeg, MB? I'm flying up to Winnipeg to visit my family for Christmas this year. My current plan is to buy gifts for them at brick-and-mortar stores in the days leading up to Christmas. I'm hoping to be able to buy a classical CD or two as a gift for my sister; however, I'm not sure where the best place is to go to do this.

My go-to place for classical CDs in Winnipeg used to be the downtown A&B Sound; they had a huge selection in all genres, especially classical. Unfortunately, they closed down years ago. I know that Winnipeg's not a huge city, but there's got to be enough old-fashioned classicophiles around to allow at least one store to stock more than a few dusty old copies of Beethoven 5 and "Tchaikovsky's Greatest Hits" — right? Or am I stuck with what's available at the HMV locations in St. Vital or Polo Park?

Recommendations for DJ samples/songs ala Fatboy Slim?

heatherfl — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:56 -0800

My husband mixes dance music using Fruity Loops. I want to get him some CDs for Christmas for samples -- particularly stuff that sounds like Fatboy Slim. Help? I can buy loops already sampled or I can buy songs for that he can sample himself, it doesn't matter.

This song is a good overview of what FBS sounds like and what I'm looking for:
Mad Flava

There's a lot of retro sounding piano and brass, some funky bass/guitar, syncopated percussion, a bit of synth/electronica, and non-rap but rhythmically interesting vocals. If you're familiar with Fatboy Slim, you know what I mean!

FYI, I already got him "The Ultimate DJ Sample Box" which has actual Fatboy Slim samples. Just looking for supplemental goodies now.

So what should I get for him, music experts?

Thanks so much!

How do I convert from cassette tape to CD (or mp3)?

jdroth — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:46:51 -0800

For a memorial service on Saturday, I need to convert audio from cassette tape to CD. I'm fairly geeky, and used to rip vinyl to mp3, but that was five years ago. I have several modern Macs and a Windows Vista machine at my disposal. I have a standard mid-1990s component stereo system with tape deck and/or an old portable cassette player. Assorted cables. An 8-10 year old copy of CoolEdit somewhere. What's the easiest way for me to get from cassette to CD? I have plenty of money to throw at the problem, so that's not an issue. Time is the issue. (Which means that I'd rather download software than go out and buy it at Fry's.)

CD promotional review aggregator?

Dr-Baa — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:45:46 -0800

Where can I find those nifty CD promotional reviews online? When I volunteered at my local college radio station, the promotional CDs we received would often have small review blurbs stuck to the cases. The reviews would list some of the qualities of the music as well as a RIYD/RIYL list of similar artists. There were several different companies who would do this, but I can’t remember any of their names.

I found these to be very helpful and informative because 1) The artists they covered were mostly unknown or just starting out and 2) Were preferable to a music magazine review because they always focused on the positive aspects of the music. While I enjoy a bit of snobbish musical snarkery every once in a while, in the end it really doesn’t help me in discovering new music (and often leaves me feeling bitter).

Is there a site online where I can read these reviews? Bonus points if they have an RSS feed!

Software for copying CDs to computer

tonci — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:27:26 -0800

What's the best software for turning CDs into music files for any kind of player including Ipods and cellphones? Finally embarking on copying my CD collection to the computer. I've got an ipod but want the flexibility to put songs on my cellphone too. Have a Mac and a PC. What's the most versatile reliable approach to get the best quality file? Will Itunes work or should I avoid? Thanks for your help!

Goozex for CD trading

calistasm — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:35:39 -0800

Is there a site like Goozex for CD trading? Failing that, what CD trading sites do you like? For those unfamiliar with Goozex, they use a points and trade credit system based on their valuation of the game so it's basically like currency. The closest I've come across is Swaptree, and it values things weirdly, especially across formats. The only other CD trading website I've come across is swapacd.com, and it doesn't seem to have anything I'm looking for.

Where to sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and gaming stuff in Chicagoland?

korpios — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:59:49 -0800

What are the best places in the Chicago area to sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and tabletop gaming materials? My wife and I are moving into a new place in a month; since we're largely a digital-only household these days (Kindle, MacBook, iPhone), I'd like to take this opportunity to clean out the physical media that keeps following us around. We have a bunch of DVDs and CDs, as well as quite a few boxes of books (largely non-fiction and older tabletop gaming stuff, e.g., AD&D 2nd Ed.); I refuse to drag it all to yet another apartment.

I'd ideally like to be able to visit as few places as possible to offload the majority of what I have; I'm willing to drive (both within Chicago and the suburbs), but I don't want to end up having to visit 15 different places. I also don't want to list items individually on Craigslist since what I can expect to be paid per-item isn't worth the hassle of making many individual sales; by the same token, I really don't want to bother with eBay. My primary goal is getting rid of the stuff — not making the most amount of money possible. (Anything I don't end up selling will be given away and/or tossed.)

So, Chicago submodule of UsedStuffFilter ... suggestions? (The closest AskMeFi post I've found was this one for used CDs.)

A perhaps naive question about securities.

boo_radley — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:09:42 -0800

Thanks to NPR, I understand that securitized mortgages are bundled together and divided into traunches, and that this is bundling and dividing process is what makes these securities so difficult to deal with. Is there no way to "reassemble" the traunches and de-securitize the mortgages? It seems like that would make valuation easier to determine, and help with isolating bad mortgages/ investments.

Pop idle

hnnrs — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:57:55 -0800

Apologies in advance, this is a question about the X-Factor For the non-Brits amongst you, the X-Factor is the UK equivalent of American Idol (AFAIK). Last Saturday saw the final episode of the show, which was the first one I'd watched of this series (honest!).

In the final, there were three, um, finallists. The winner gets their song released and a proper recording contract and a life of fame (probably). The final is apparently live, and the public get to vote for the winner. And the winner gets their CD single released in the shops on the Monday after the show's been broadcast.

The CD single is said to be a guaranteed UK Christmas number one, selling at least a million copies.

So, there are 35 hours between the winner being revealed on Saturday evening and one million copies of the CD hitting the shops on Monday morning. Is it possible to manufacture and distribute one million CDs in that time period? Or do they manufacture three million CDs and only distribute the winners?

Apologies for the banality of the question, it's just puzzling me quite a bit. And I've tried searching the net for an answer, to no avail.

Spare your wrath about 80s music, please, this is my childhood we're talking about.

tehloki — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:31:48 -0800

I've been looking for an old CD my parents used to play when I was little, caled "here come the hits", but it doesn't seem to be anywhere visible. In fact, it seems to have dropped out of existence entirely; I can't even find a tracklisting on the internet so I can gather the songs from other sources. I know "shout" by tears for fears was one of the songs, and "black cars look better in the shade" and "one night in bangkok" are likely contenders. Can somebody help me find an official tracklist for this album of 80's one-hit-wonders so I can get some closure?

Risk Balance with CDs/FDIC

raz5 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:19:32 -0800

What are the logistics of CDs at a bank that gets taken over by the FDIC? If I'm looking to put money into CDs, the best rates out there are obviously with the banks in desperate need of cash (WAMU, Indymac pre-blowup, etc.). I know that deposits and CDs are insured up to the FDIC 100k limit...what I'm wondering is what the template is in the following situation:

Say I invest 50K tomorrow in a 3 year CD at a great rate, and in two months the bank gets taken over by the FDIC. What happens then? Do I get my CD paid back in full w/accrued interest immediately as of the takeover date? Does the bank continue to function, and my CD gets paid normally by the government as if nothing happened? Somewhere in between?

Thanks!

What's the best way to include album art?

yeahyeahyeahwhoo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:42:26 -0800

If I'm making an album available on the web, whats the best album art file names and dimensions to include with the download? Is it worth it to include a playlist file?

Lazy Money

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:56:26 -0800

What is the best way to invest $10-15,000 if you don't want to tie the money up for longer than, say, a year? I have money that is currently sitting in a bank account doing nothing. I would like it to start working for me, and I was thinking CDs might be the way to go since they're easy, but I'm wondering what the other options may be. I don't want the money to be tied up in any investment for longer than a year at a time. Another way of putting that is saying I want to be able to get it out without too severe a penalty if things start going haywire. Also, how do I, as an investor, beat our current high rate of inflation?

Amazon CD Seller Woes

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:23:45 -0800

I've had some problems selling CDs on Amazon. Will what I consider to be unfair buyer feedback end my ability to sell CDs there? I've been selling my used CDs on Amazon for a couple of months and doing pretty well, but I've ran into a couple of snags recently.

First, four of the CDs I shipped this month seem to have disappeared into thin air even though I shipped them to the addresses I got from Amazon and they all had my return address. I print my address and the buyer's address (from Amazon's packing slip), and tape the addresses securely to the envelope.

I've only sold 114 CDs, so having four go missing seems a little sketchy to me, especially since one of the CDs was rare and sold for $50. I've issued full refunds for the CDs and started tracking all of my shipments. I've always sent shipping notifications and I recently started including the tracking number with a link to the tracking page on the USPS web site.

Second, one of the people left negative feedback on my seller account, which I think is unfair because (1) Amazon's expected delivery times are "4 to 14 business days after shipping (may take up to 21 business days)" and it was less than 21 business days and (2) the buyer didn't contact me first to resolve the issue even though that's what Amazon recommends. If they had contacted me I would've done what I did with the others: remind them of Amazon's expected delivery times, and give them a full refund after 21 business days. I emailed the buyer and said I thought the feedback was unfair, but didn't explicitly ask them to remove it.

I suppose I'm partially to blame because I send CDs first class mail (because it's the cheapest option), which is supposed to take 2-3 business days, and I used to say that in my shipping notification, which created an expectation for delivery sooner than Amazon's guidelines. Still, I don't think it's fair for them to have left feedback before the time that Amazon allows for delivery had passed.

No one's bought any of my CDs in the three days since the buyer left the feedback, after I'd sold 43 CDs this month.

So, I have some questions:

Do you think people aren't buying my CDs because of the negative feedback? I've only had one person leave negative feedback--most of my ratings are five out of five--but it makes a 5% negative rating because 20 buyers in all have left feedback.

Does having 4 out of 114 CDs go missing sound sketchy to you, or is it about what you'd expect?

Should I be doing something different, or do my business practices sound OK?

Should I email the buyer and ask them to remove the feedback?

I'm posting here instead of dealing with Amazon because they basically say the feedback's there unless the buyer removes it.

Good places for me to sell my used cds, books, guitars and old computer/computer parts in London, that would offer me reasonable/good money?

Ira.metafilter — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:31:53 -0800

Good places for me to sell my used cds, books, guitars and old computer/computer parts in London, that would offer me reasonable/good money? (You'll be helping me pay my bills - any help much appreciated!)

Where shall I sell these CDs?

santojulieta — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:46:49 -0800

What record shop in Chicago will buy my newly released but used CDs at a fair price without a lot of indie kid employee mockery? I'm looking to rid myself of my physical CDs since I no longer have the room to store them and becuase it might be nice to have some extra cash this Christmas. Much of what I'll be selling will be newer releases (within the last calendar year), but those titles range from the new Iron and Wine album to Timbaland and Korn. It seems that I've read some reviews about record shops in the area that seem to make the employees out as elitist indie kids, a la Jack Black and Todd Louiso in High Fidelity. Where can I find the friendliest folks to purchase my CDs?

Disposal of non-usable CDs

tksh — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:29:51 -0800

How does one responsibly dispose of a stack of outdated CDs? Let's say we have a hundred or three CDs: some pressed, some CDR and some CDRW. And let's also say that none are audio CDs or of the nature that can be donated to the local library or school. No cases or covers, just the plain discs but no privacy issues either.

There is no need to destroy them but just the desire to dispose of them in some eco-friendly way. Just dumping them into the garbage pail doesn't seem too responsible.

Any ideas?

Help me find music to divorce by.

ScarletSpectrum — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:15:33 -0800

Untying the Knot: Songs about Divorce. My friend was recently divorced, and while the breaking-up part was emotionally devastating, she is viewing the actual signing of the papers and being free as a celebratory event. Thus, she is holding a "Divorce Party" at our local dive bar in a few weeks. I want to make a CD of songs about divorce to present to her, and I need the help of the hive in coming up with just the right mix. So far I have:

"Divorce Song" by Liz Phair
"Last Day of Our Acquaintance" by Sinead O'Connor
"D-I-V-O-R-C-E" by Tammy Wynette.

Bonus points if anyone can find a hair/metal band who tackled this subject - Amy's a gigantic cock-rock fan. Thanks in advance!

How can I make iTunes burn music into MP3s?

hot soup girl — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:55:58 -0800

I am having difficulty making my laptop burn songs as MP3s - iTunes keeps burning them as other format called .m4a. How can I fix this? Please excuse my lack of technical nous. I am clearly a buffoon.

Anyway, here's what happens: if I burn music to my laptop from a CD using iTunes, the file ends up as an .m4a file. This is fine for playing on my own computer, but if tricky if I want to send it friends. Can I make iTunes burn songs as MP3s? And how can I turn these .m4a files into .mp3s? This ought to be simple, but I can't for the life of me figure it out.

Large Volume Radio Compilations

adipocere — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:15:15 -0800

I'm looking to find out more about the very large, compiled sets of music that oldies (and presumably other formats as well) stations use. When I was younger, a visit to a radio station, one which also trained high school DJs, had a long series of CDs on its CD rack. These CDs went A - Beatles, Brown through Credence, and so forth. Just this one set consisted of fifty CDs.

This made a lot of sense to me, because many of the oldies stations are playing songs from one hit wonders, and it wouldn't make sense to have a whole bunch of CDs where you only needed one track from the band.

1) What are these kinds of compilations called? Clearly, I'm not using the right search terms.

2) Where can I find listings of these compilations? Do they in fact have them for other formats besides oldies?

3) How can I, as a human being and not a radio station, purchase these items?

Mac OS X CD Cataloguing Program

Megamix — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:29:24 -0800

Does anyone know of a mac program to catalogue cds - which will allow me to IMPORT my exisiting files (.csv) from my PC Music catalogue program? I have 55,000 tracks listed on a CD cataloguing program ln my PC - but have moved to a mac - my program allows the export to a .csv file - but I need a mac program that can import the data - anybody know of one?
TIA

Looking to get a quality disc resurfacing machine...

You Should See the Other Guy — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:42:57 -0800

Tell me all you know about mid- to high-end cd/dvd disc resurfacing machines. I'm in the market and don't know anything. Will be resurfacing 50 - 100 discs per week. Thank you.

Where to find solid wood cd shelving in the Dallas/Fort Worth area?

snowleopard — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:34:07 -0800

Where to find solid wood cd shelving in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? I want to purchase solid wood bookcases/towers made specifically for cds. I have a large collection and I enjoy seeing them displayed in their jewel cases, so I'm not looking to rip and toss or Caselogic them.

I don't like particle board furniture (so ikea's benno shelves are out). I love this tower from Gothic Cabinet Craft and want to find something similar in the DFW area. I like plain, no frill bookcases (think amish/shaker style furniture with straight, clean lines) I'd be happy to buy unfinished wood and paint it myself. Looking to pay around $100 ($150-200 is possible, though less likely).

Need classical recs!

archagon — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 04:50:11 -0800

I recently started listening to classical music, but my usual means of finding new albums (radio, friends, overheard-at-the-store, etc.) are somewhat ineffective. Need recommendations! Please recommend me some classical albums! (No disembodied titles or composers, please; I'm more interested in specific performances than specific pieces, as well as compilation albums [single- or multi-performer] and even anomalies like Rachmaninov's "A Window in Time.") I'm quite receptive to everything, though contemporary and classical-era interests me somewhat less than romantic and baroque. Obscure material's fine.

Also, what do you consider the "definitive" recordings of the New World Symphony by Dvorak (I don't like Harnoncourt's version -- part 4 doesn't have nearly enough "oomph") and the St. Matthew Passion by Bach?

How do I get everything off of a CD?

reventlov — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:39:53 -0800

I want to make sure that the next time I rip my CD collection is the last time. What should I know? I want to rip all information that I possibly can from my CD collection--CD TEXT, CD+G, ISRC codes, data tracks/sessions, audio tracks, audio in the space before track 1, audio in the gaps between tracks, and index marks. Am I missing anything? And if I am, is there a tool available for Linux that will let me read it?