Dear Head-Fi: I'm a pirate!
Dec 26, 2009 at 7:25 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 33

RobLikesBrunch

100+ Head-Fier
Joined
Jul 16, 2008
Posts
106
Likes
0
...and I think I'd like to change that.

Despite the fact that you can often stumble upon some albums in FLAC in torrent-form, you can't nearly enough of them(and I'm sick of the 128KBps ********)...and frankly, I feel a bit bad about stealing most of my 20,000 song library.

So, for now, I live in Switzerland and am wondering where I can most easily buy cheap CDs (used albums are just fine) from sites that will ship internationally (I'm thinking from the UK?). I'm trying to avoid places like eBay because I just want to buy a lot of albums at once in bulk...so I can rid myself of the dreaded mp3.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 7:40 AM Post #3 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by jonhapimp /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You suck at pirating if you can only find 128, i mean pirating is baddd! you can try google shop that's how i usually do my cd/electronic/audio shopping


I have plenty of 320 KBps songs as well as FLACs...it's just for some albums, you cannot find anything better.

I'd like to add that I tend to pirate albums fairly often--and I don't really listen to the entire thing. I flip through it, find songs I like, ignore the rest and then solely listen to those selected songs. As absurd as it sounds--to go from paying absolutely nothing to quite a bit for each song--albums that you've paid for carry the connotation of being of value, such that you're far more inclined to really listen to the album...and if that's what it takes for me to appreciate and album and really go through it, I'm more than happy to pay for them.

I just saw the stickied music store list...so nevermind to this thread.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 9:18 AM Post #4 of 33
I usually see 320 followed by 192 or VBR variants. I hardly see 128.

I agree though that nothing beats FLAC/ALAC from a CD.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 9:52 AM Post #5 of 33
Amazon can be quite cheap for mainstream, better known CDs but overtly expensive for lesser known albums.

I've bought from importcds a couple of times and been pretty happy. When I worked it out initially, it was the cheapest option. Last time though I got a few cracked jewel cases but they refunded me 0.50c for each which I guess was acceptable since it's likely it wasn't their fault anyway.

But yeah, if anyone knows of a better alternative that has a wide library of choice then I'm all ears.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 10:28 AM Post #6 of 33
Amazon all the way; it'll be cheaper than ebay and better service.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 1:53 PM Post #8 of 33
Amazon does take a long time to process your order though. Takes about a month or so for my orders to reach me. Bargains can be had if you shop at the right time, I was able to snag Emperor CD's for only $7 each not too long ago.

I've had nothing but success on ebay as well. Some of my other favorite online stores are Relapse, CM Distro, The Omega Order and Hells Headbangers.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 3:02 PM Post #9 of 33
Yeah, Amazon has decent prices for common mainstream stuff. Over here in Hong Kong, blues and country is often ridiculously expensive, and Amazon can easily be 50% cheaper than local CD stores.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 3:05 PM Post #10 of 33
Can you get Spotify in Switzerland? Then you can legally access loads of music.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 3:25 PM Post #11 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I usually see 320 followed by 192 or VBR variants. I hardly see 128.

I agree though that nothing beats FLAC/ALAC from a CD.



You've got to work hard these days to pull up pirated albums online at 128 kbps! Just like you, I don't think I've seen anything lower than 192 in months...
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 7:01 PM Post #13 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by appophylite /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You've got to work hard these days to pull up pirated albums online at 128 kbps! Just like you, I don't think I've seen anything lower than 192 in months...


Geez you guys don't know how many sites are out there that let you pirate at least 320 like nothing. There's even sites that let you DL CD ripped FLAC. I only go to these extents if i absolutely cannot find the album in stores, nowadays you can get albums for 2-6 bucks at your local used record store, the only time i'll actually buy a new album is if i really love that artist and want to show my support. Some might not agree, but Adam Lambert is a great vocalist. He may act VERY odd, but his voice is amazing.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 7:42 PM Post #14 of 33
Buy a turntable and start hunting used records. I don't know what the market is like in Switzerland, but it's easy to find used records in the United States. It's also fun hunting through old stores and bargaining for boxes of records. Vinyl sounds a hell of a lot better than 128k, as well.
 
Dec 26, 2009 at 7:47 PM Post #15 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Buy a turntable and start hunting used records. I don't know what the market is like in Switzerland, but it's easy to find used records in the United States. It's also fun hunting through old stores and bargaining for boxes of records. Vinyl sounds a hell of a lot better than 128k, as well.


But does encoded vinyl sound as good as encoded digital? That's been one my reluctances to getting heavily into vinyl.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top