C.D.s burnt on home computers are turning out to have a much shorter shelf life than anticipated. Basically the laser has to be so weak for safety reasons that the recordable medium has to be pretty unstable in the first place to allow the recording to happen. This makes it much more susceptible to sunlight, scratches and marks, usage and old age. Even copies of my band's first C.D. that were cut at the recording studio started to deteriorate after 3 years. The other part of the problem of course is that demand for recordable C.D.s has brought prices and quality plummeting. If you do decide to go this route, buy the best-quality C.D.s that you can afford.
BJ