Steve Kemp wrote:
> On Sun Feb 01, 2009 at 07:30:41 +0000, Stephen Nelson-Smith wrote:
>
>   
>> Are there any other ways?
>>     
>
>   My low-tech solution is to find new artists I like, write down their
>  names and spend a few hours hunting for them for sale second hand
>  in the local used music stores.
>
>   Not sure what things are like down in Hampshire, but here in Sunny
>  Edinburgh we have a few huge second-hand music shops, and it isn't
>  often that I can't find what I want.  Though sometimes I'll have to
>  wait a few weeks/months.
>   
Sadly I have found the quality of LPs in used record stores down here to
be pretty awful on the whole. I guess that doesn't necessarily hold for
CDs since you have to work a bit harder at ruining them!
>   If I *really* want a particular album I'll look for it on Ebay.
>   
Alternatively check out the new and used on Amazon resellers - you get
some bargains on there too.
>   Once I have the physical disk in my hands I'll rip it, throw away
>  the jewel case and pack the disk & notes in a big box underneath my
>  bed where it can gather dust.
>   
I spend a lot of time listening to the stuff I have ripped this way, but
have recently rediscovered the joy of listening to CDs, LPs and analogue
FM broadcasts through a decent amp and speakers. I find a glass of
whisky helps me concentrate on the task in hand - i.e. just listening
and not multi-tasking! For that reason I rarely buy lossy formats online
now, since the opportunity to do this is not present.
I also download a lot of live material from Dimeadozen [1] and have
turned up some absolute gems there, along with the occasional pile of
crap too, I might add. There are controls around both the legality and
the quality of material available through Dime, so you can download
lossless material with a clear conscience. As I type this I am burning a
John Martyn show from 1977 to CD - crystal clear and a fine example of
the man in his prime.
>   I suspect this isn't remotely related to the solution you want, but
>  I figured I'd share regardless.
>
>
>   
Sean
[1] 
http://www.dimeadozen.org/
Perseverance is required to obtain an account as they are limited to 100,000
-- 
The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows.
Frank Zappa