definitely--i think these services will become more successful when they start to offer bodies of work, even including liner notes and covers. i'm at that age where those things are what i seek when i seek out music.

does the iPod allow for viewing this "extranneous" information? (liner notes, viewing thumbnails of covers, etc)

mp3.com had a decent start, when they came out with a way to view this information in a music player. but i don't see many others who caught on to doing this.

i'd like to be able to download an album, liner notes, and cover art, in a neat little package, with an option to print, for catalog purposes. There's still something about something i can take along with me (in the car, to the john--although my ipaq is dang good for that albeit tiny, etc)...and until digital paper pans out, i don't have what i want.

-Posted by jon on July 30, 2003 06:58 PM

Umm, isn't this the same site where people were complaining that some bands want you to buy whole albums? I know you want choice, but from a simple business perspective, if those 3 or 4 tracks aren't selling, they'll take them off to make room for more popular stuff.

-Posted by Eric on July 30, 2003 07:25 PM

Umm, isn't this the same site where people were complaining that some bands want you to buy whole albums

from what i remember, the complaint was less about buying whole albums, but about artists not making good enough entire albums worth buying.

-Posted by jon on July 30, 2003 09:43 PM

BuyMusic.com has no led zepplin or Doors

-Posted by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com on July 31, 2003 02:02 AM

The point made before was that a batch of artist didn't want to help kill the record by selling tunes one a atime thru iTunes. My point here is that good albums deserve to be bought as an album.

Too bad most modern (and well advertised) music doesn't come in groupings of good music. It's very hard to find a good full length record these days, even if it is a record by New Order produced in 1989 :)

And Jon (nice icon btw) you asked "does the iPod allow for viewing liner notes, viewing thumbnails of covers, etc" Unfortunately, no, and perhaps a future model will, but for me, the music is really where it's at. For me record covers are one of those places where you use the phrease 'beauty is only skin deep.'

-Posted by Dan on July 31, 2003 09:24 AM

When you're getting into wanting the covers and the liner notes and stuff... I think you're at the point where you should be buying the CD in the store. Then you can rip the CD and have the music electronically AND dead-tree liner notes that'll look far better than an average home printer could manage. They have to offer *some* benefit for buying a CD over using IMS or another online music thing. And of course, if you rip it with a program that checks CDDB, it'll probably pull in the album cover and other assorted info with the song titles and so on.

As for complete albums, I must sadly say I do not recognize New Order though I'd probably know them if I heard them, but a couple of other groups that always have good complete albums: Pink Floyd and Roger Waters when he solos. Amused to Death is the best... a full album experience.

-Posted by JC on July 31, 2003 10:12 AM