I'm interested in what people are listening to - not specifically what artists, songs, genres or albums - but are more intersted in listening habits. For example, I don't really listen to a lot of new music. Some stuff here and there but not really. I'm still listening to stuff I downloaded (when that was a thing) from 10 - 15 years ago. That particular music is not relegated to any era or genre. It's all over th eplace.

Also the last couple of years I've reverted to the music I first got into when I was a teenager in the mid-80s and my early 20s. I'm also still using iTunes as my main listening source - the stuff I have loaded onto my computer; hence the 10 - 15 years old music.

And so out of curiosity, what are you listening habits?

Always listening Spotify on shuffle mode from Dylan, to Prince, to Shakira, Madonna, MJ, The Beatles, Sly and The Family Stone etc.

depends where I am and how much time I have

in the car: mostly Spotify playlists, or CDs occasionally. that does not include many new releases, 95% of what I play is at least 20 years old

on lunchbreak, relaxing on the beach, balcony or other occasions in between: Spotify and the digitised CD library on the iPhone with in-ears

on the weekend when I really have time: vinyl. that is when I take my time to listen to whole LPs or at least one album side nons-stop. also then I can blast it really LOUD over the big HiFi system.

I do not really buy new vinyl though, but there are a few thousand records prior 1990 so that is still enuff to fill my time

As Dancelot said, depends on the situation...

Running/exercising - I'll have my trusty Sony MP3 player, wired earphones, a mixture of dance music, modern upbeat stuff, rock music, anything upbeat.

Working on the laptop - Earphones in and YouTube on, listening to something without lyrics so that I can write without distraction, so movie soundtracks, electronica, chillout.

In the car - The radio if short journey (I can't stand commercial radio for long) or whatever CD is to hand in the glovebox. The missus does the driving so the in-car CDs have to be to her taste to, so mostly pop or cheesy rock.

Strumming - If I get the guitars out to play along with music I'll use the stereo (which is a decent piece of kit) and raid the CD collection, anything from rock, to funk, pop, whatever takes my fancy.

Background music - If we are eating or doing housework I'll either put a music channel on the TV (80s preferably but sometimes 90s) or BBC Radio 2 depending on whose show is on.

... typing that out makes me realise I don't sit and listen to music much anymore just for the sake of listening to music. That's a habit I need to change!

[Edited 9/1/20 8:33am]

Google Music is my go-to service when I'm streaming. I have all of my CDs downloaded in their music locker. But, they are forcing their users over to youtube music over the next few weeks.

I've been playing my CDs more since Covid. I purchased a Bose CD system right before everything went south so I have been really enjoying it.

99% of my music purchases over the past couple years has been older music I missed the first time around.

I actively seek out new music from acts I've just discovered or old ones I haven't listened to in years. When at home I watch live streams of concerts on the computer; when I'm out I listen to albums on my Ipods.

I tend to listen artists that I´m interesed in in the moment, and that can be a very wide range of music. Recently, I´m listening classic and rock and blues music.

For example, the albums by P. J. Harvey and Bonnie Raitt. I tend to combine itunes and spotify.

Music is like an onion that I just can't stop keep peeling. Constantly amazed by what I find that I haven't heard before - both new and old.

Otherwise it's a mood thing, I listen to music depending on how I feel at the moment or what gives me peace of mind.

iTunes library and Youtube music, I don't have physical music within my possessions anymore. As for the time frame, I stick to pre-1990 (sans Prince and a few people) not just when it comes to western music, but Arabic & African music too (which I grew up on) there's always al wealth of stuff that either slipped under the radar or I haven't been exposed to if they were popular, I'll say this though - and this is regarding genre, sorry - but the older I get, the more intrusive lyrics/singing are becoming to me, so I'm getting more gravitated toward instrumentals and musical pieces as opposed to songs OR vocal music with atmospheric quality to it that emphasis on the totality of the mood as opposed to the lyrical delivery (ala Cocteau Twins, my latest obsession). I know my taste will change in the future, and I'd be interested to find out what I'll be immersed in down the line.

S2DG said:

Music is like an onion that I just can't stop keep peeling. Constantly amazed by what I find that I haven't heard before - both new and old.

Otherwise it's a mood thing, I listen to music depending on how I feel at the moment or what gives me peace of mind.

I had not considered mood but you're right. Even if there is something happening in my life (good ro bad) it might dictate what I listen to.

Milty2 said:

I'm interested in what people are listening to - not specifically what artists, songs, genres or albums - but are more intersted in listening habits. For example, I don't really listen to a lot of new music. Some stuff here and there but not really. I'm still listening to stuff I downloaded (when that was a thing) from 10 - 15 years ago. That particular music is not relegated to any era or genre. It's all over th eplace.

Also the last couple of years I've reverted to the music I first got into when I was a teenager in the mid-80s and my early 20s. I'm also still using iTunes as my main listening source - the stuff I have loaded onto my computer; hence the 10 - 15 years old music.

And so out of curiosity, what are you listening habits?

The bold reflects my music listening as well except that I'd add that SiriusXM takes care of me when I'm in the car.

Milty2 said:

S2DG said:

Music is like an onion that I just can't stop keep peeling. Constantly amazed by what I find that I haven't heard before - both new and old.

Otherwise it's a mood thing, I listen to music depending on how I feel at the moment or what gives me peace of mind.

I had not considered mood but you're right. Even if there is something happening in my life (good ro bad) it might dictate what I listen to.

I don't listen music according to my mood almost ever.

slyjackson said:

Milty2 said:

I had not considered mood but you're right. Even if there is something happening in my life (good ro bad) it might dictate what I listen to.

I don't listen music according to my mood almost ever.

Maybe I'm just but it's just the way I experience music and always have.

I also use it to motivate - when I'm riding my bike, some high bpm techno always helps keep me moving. There's too many to list but here's a few mood examples -

Angry - reach for the metal.

Melancholy - reach for Pink Floyd or the blues

Happy - funk and soul

Then there's seasonal music that sounds better depending on the time of year. Not just Christmas music but for example certain artists sound better in the summer.

SantanaMaitreya said:

^Really? Sometimes I put on a record and then I think, no, not now, not in the mood, let's hear something else.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

S2DG said:

slyjackson said:

I don't listen music according to my mood almost ever.

Maybe I'm just but it's just the way I experience music and always have.

I also use it to motivate - when I'm riding my bike, some high bpm techno always helps keep me moving. There's too many to list but here's a few mood examples -

Angry - reach for the metal.

Melancholy - reach for Pink Floyd or the blues

Happy - funk and soul

Then there's seasonal music that sounds better depending on the time of year. Not just Christmas music but for example certain artists sound better in the summer.

I thnk music in genral sounds better at night or once the sun goes down, at leat that's the time when I enjoy iit the most.

I have my favorite artists... Stevie, Prince, MJ and then of course other legends like Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Smokey.....Phil Collins... 90's names like R. Kelly, Maxwell, D'Angelo...

Its fleshed out by tons of artists of different eras and genres, but I really no longer listen to pop radio or hit music. There may be a couple artists like John Legend and Bruno Mars, but I'm generally not a radio guy.

Sometimes I get hooked on a song, album or artist and listen incessantly...then I find something else, but keep them in rotation.

I mostly listen to 70's thru 90's music, but there's tons of outliers.

I rarely listen to albums all the way through after I've done so once or twice, but will occasionally revisit classics for a run-through, mostly albums in which I'm familiar with every song to get the full effect.

Mostly, I put a playlist on shuffle. Could be of an artist (Stevie), a playlist of style from an artist (Prince jazz cuts) or a genre (New Jack Swing). I literally have hundreds of playlists I've curated myself and am always tweaking and sorting them.

Just a tiny example of playlists in my Prince playlist folder...

[Edited 9/4/20 20:31pm]

I have switched over to almost all downloads and streaming from Prime since I got a car a year ago without a CD player. I do have a portable Bluetooth Cd player but it is just so easy to use my phone and Bluetooth it through the car stereo. I am definitely an atypical person in their 60s who listens to at least an album or its equivalent a day. Moreover, I still listen to way more music released in the past 12 months than older stuff, though Prince is an exception. It is actually a hobby of mine since I was 6 years old is to find new music I like (God bless the Beatles ). While there is not as much out now that appeals to me, it is easier to sample such a broad range of music through streaming that I still find some things I like. For example, the past 7 days I have listened to One Night Alone, Janelle Monae's Metropolis, and Fiona Apple's Beautiful Machine as my oldies, and Taylor Swifts Folklore (I am stunned how good this album is), The Jayhawks new comeback album, The Chicks Gaslighter album, A 20 song best of Prime Music's Acoustic Chill playlist (all new stuff), Jason Isbell's new one, and Halsey's Manic album. I tend to listen to the more commercial stuff when I exercise rather than just listening for pleasure.

Every month I create a playlist of the records, CDs, or iTunes singles as a way of taking it with me on my iPhone and getting to know the songs in a cohesive way. Used to have an iPod classic with ALL of my files on it!

I still buy CDs and vinyl (new, old, used) every month, but often these editions never arrive or take a long time unless it is one of the industry's top acts. Digital singles are teased months before the physical releases as well.

I don't like to stream. I have tried TIDAL and Spotify. Wi-fi at work does not permit streaming, and the rest of the time I am not connected to a network usually. My data plan is not yet unlimited and I can "go over" quite easily.

At home, I have all my CDs and records and like to play them, especially while cooking or doing laundry.

If I am going to a house party with a turntable, I am not too precious about bringing my wax along.

These days I mainly listen to Tidal and my collection of 'high res' downloads. Don't plays CD's or vinyl at all anymore.

Cinny said:

Every month I create a playlist of the records, CDs, or iTunes singles as a way of taking it with me on my iPhone and getting to know the songs in a cohesive way. Used to have an iPod classic with ALL of my files on it!

I still buy CDs and vinyl (new, old, used) every month, but often these editions never arrive or take a long time unless it is one of the industry's top acts. Digital singles are teased months before the physical releases as well.

I don't like to stream. I have tried TIDAL and Spotify. Wi-fi at work does not permit streaming, and the rest of the time I am not connected to a network usually. My data plan is not yet unlimited and I can "go over" quite easily.

At home, I have all my CDs and records and like to play them, especially while cooking or doing laundry.

If I am going to a house party with a turntable, I am not too precious about bringing my wax along.

I still get CDs and rip them to the computer and then either listen to them on the computer or load them on an Ipod.

i listen primarily in my car where i put a couple of playlists on shuffle. i also have a flash drive off stuff i downloaded over the last 5-10 years. like you, i also don't listen to a lot of new music (i find the pickings quite slim for stuff i actually like but i wouldn't know as i'm not "diggin" for it as they say). at home its either alexa when i'm in the shower or my phone or computer. same spotify playlists of a couple hundred songs (i need to add to it desperately). lastly, i have an old cd boombox that i use when i want to hear something from my cd collection. the 5 in 1 (AM/FM, cassette, vinyl, cd, usb) black friday deal i got a couple years ago proved to be quite cheap and unfixable after only being used less than 10 times.

I won't subscribe to any music streaming service. Renting music and letting someone else curate it is just totally bizarre to me.

I use my own streaming library which I am continually uploading to Vox Loop. It has unlimited storage and is only £45 per year. So far I have 5,500 or so albums uploaded there, nearly all in FLAC, some in 320kbps mp3. That's just a fraction of my digital library, I still have several terrabytes left to upload.

With Vox I can have my music on my phone or laptop wherever I go, in the car, away for work, etc.... and all of my library is mirrored in my iTunes library (now Apple Music library), so I can play it on my iMac if I want, or downstairs through my 'proper' stereo, through the Apple TV Home Sharing.

I have a couple of hundred CDs I've kept after selling most of mine - the nice boxsets and some other rarities I still have.... it's vinyl that I really collect. Over 4,000 LPs now and counting - including, of course, every album that Prince has ever released on the format.

These get played regularly, and they all get ripped to FLAC for the Vox and iTunes library.

That's another reason I don't do streaming services - I don't want 'whatever' version of an album, I want to hear my copy of an album.

[Edited 9/10/20 16:21pm]

Don't laugh, but I still listen to my favorite music and artists, downloaded from CD's that I still own and will never get rid of, on my Ipod nano.

At 'work' (which can be in the office and sometimes at home), it's generally a combination of Spotify and my iTunes library ripped from CDs (mostly from when I still *bought* many CDs up until the mid-2010s). At home, vinyl's my *preferred* format when I have the time, and it's what I've mostly bought since about the mid-2010s.

I'm largely still listening to the kind of funk and soul stuff (current and old) I got into a decade or so ago... Prince, MJ, Janelle Monae, Ledisi, Rene & Angela, The Jacksons, EWF, Heatwave, Chic etc. There's always new stuff to discover obviously, but there's only a light sprinkling of '2000s-onwards' stuff that I listen to, really, once the above artists are excluded.

I've given my dauhter my CD/ vinyl music collection to my daughter about a decade ago. I still have have part of my father's vinyl collection. I play the music he loved early Saturday mornings, West Montgomery, Billie Holiday, Miles Daves... classical Jazz. At the end of October, I'll start playing my dad's Christmas music till the New Year.

My former collection my kid owns has been digitize: I use single board compute(s) connected to two 2TB SSD servers connected to my router, I can stream my music to every TV, computer, tablet, phone, and speakers. The music servers I use are Kodi and Subsonic. My taste range from traditional Blues/Gospel/R&B/Funk/Classical Music. I still use an Apple iPod as well.

Lately NPR Tiny Desk program has introduce me to artist I would have never know about. I've bought more music in the past five years than I have a decade plus.

TD3 said:

Lately NPR Tiny Desk program has introduce me to artist I would have never know about. I've bought more music in the past five years than I have a decade plus.

That show has introduced me to countless great unknown artists as well!