Like most people I’ve more or less given up on CDs when it comes to purchasing music, heading instead to online destinations such as iTunes. I managed to shed all unwanted CDs in recent years before it became impossible to even give them away. But when there’s an album new or old that just has to be seen to be believed, I will visit the local High Fidelity-ish haunt and dig up the LP (or uuuuulp). Yes, the rather large black dinner plates with better sound than your average mp3 are still manufactured, and are surprisingly making a modest comeback according to some recent reports.

Now with services like Netflix streaming, iTunes movies for my iPod touch, and Hulu for my Office fix, I find the same thing happening to my DVD collection; the classics and extra special editions stay, and the impulse buys get handed off to whomever is willing to take on the dead weight (craigslist post pending).

DVDs aren’t going anywhere though; next on my list is the long-awaited upgrade to Blu Ray, where the functionality doesn’t require a collection reboot. This time around however (my third, counting the VHS years and the crazed DVD era), I plan to be as selective as I’ve become with my music; no more bargain bin dives, thank you very much. In the long run, items like LPs and DVDs will be safe as long as consumers need to feel that tangible association with their favorite album or film.

Of course there are other practical uses for such items, as demonstrated below: