My son converted his entire large collection of CDs to mp3, loaded it all onto his iPod and got rid of the CD player, shelves and all his CDs. Any new music he buys is in digital format. Not the musician son, by the way, but the computer son. He says that most people he knows no longer buy CDs but rather download or listen directly from digital sources. They still have stereo sound in their homes via docking stations for the iPod.

Some of the digital distributors specify what quality level they require from CD conversions, but M.Ted is certainly right about the sound quality and liner art of original CDs vs downloads.