Browsing through LPs was a pleasure, not just the artwork but the sleeves were large enough to contain full sleeve notes. In a lot of shops you could listen to the album before buying. CDs just aren't the same to browse through.

Buying on-line has made things easier in some respects, and you can hear tracks again before buying. The biggest problem is that there's just so much music available - great if you're looking for something specific, not so good for browsing. I still prefer to have a physical product rather than downloads - too many problems with PCs breaking down, files getting corrupted, licences not working.

The introduction of CDs had a negative effect on my music buying. With LPs I'd often take a chance on a record, and if I didn't like it, I wasn't bothered. With CDs at double the price I began to think hard about whether I really wanted the album. Although CDs are now probably cheaper in real terms than LPs were, I'm still in that mindset and I'll often leave a record store without buying anything.