The problem are the listeners, always has been since ska died in favor of boy bands in the late 90's. Look at the iTunes playlist of the typical person who's "not into music." It's typically all of the top Billboard singles of the past 10 years. No continuity, just one catchy, mindless song after another. I don't want to live in a musical future that sells almost exclusively to those people that don't give a damn about music but toss their money at it anyway because they need something to listen to while in line for $6 coffee.

That said, I still think this is the best time for music in history, I just wish I wouldn't have to do research just to find it.

I'd really like to see a comparison of modern Billboard top 100 album sales versus lesser-known album sales. I believe the former can be more measured in terms of individual tracks purchased from iTunes, while the latter can be measured more in pure album sales. The point I'm making is that the average listener has never given a damn about artistic expression, and nothing has changed or will change significantly- they just want something to hum along to. Hell, that's why Eagles' Greatest Hits is one of the best-selling (if not the best-selling) rock album of all time. Whether it was 78's, Greatest Hits, Single LP's, etc., record companies have found a way to pander to those types of people for their money.

Consider this: I've paid money for all albums by the Dillinger Four and Bouncing Souls, and worked overtime at my dishwashing job just to see them in concert together last month. How many people do you think have actually bought and listened to the entirety of any Nickelback or Hinder album, and then forked over whatever exorbitant amount of money those bands charge for tickets to their concerts?

The difference now is that instead of charging $20 for a greatest hits for just that one hit song, the listener can just snag it for a buck off of iTunes, forcing the record company to charge for those $80 nose-bleeds at the pop shows. The target audience for those acts don't know what it's like to pop in Dark Side of the Moon or Zen Arcade with the lyric sheets spread out on the floor. Those people have never felt the power of a great live show. They're just willing to shell out a dollar for a song, and not watch the concert because they just want something to listen to while standing in line so they can pay $6 for some crappy coffee. The record companies had no fore-sight, and they really have nobody to blame but themselves.

To this day, if someone tells me that "They're not into music," I am genuinely offended.

Cameron wrote:

Despite my affinity to CDs as my favorite sound medium, I simply cannot buy even half of the CDs I want. Why? They're expensive, in comparison to online albums; places like Wal-mart and ESPECIALLY Borders charge $15-$22 for CDs, when I could just get it online for roughly $9. Plus, if I just want one song from an album, it feels like a waste to buy the entire album. And I don't like hunting down the CD single, as it usually costs six bucks, when I could just avoid all the hassle and download the dang song from iTunes for a buck.

Half.com usually has REALLY cheap CD's. Give it a shot

There's a store near me that will order whatever you want for you (useful if your roommate is fucking stuck-up yuppie prick who won't let anyone else have the mailbox key), and has a good collection of popular and obscure stuff. I've only ever bought one album from them that cost more than $12, and that's because they've yet to produce any more copies of it.