I am an audiophile, and long refused to buy CDs, since they are not analog, which is real.
However, there has been too much music I wanted that only became available as CD (which included recordings of all the concerts in which I have performed). Further, my entire (very expensive) system, including manual turntable with special cartridge, was stolen.
I now rely on CDs, partly because they are space-saving, and longer lasting (with proper care). I am (re-)building a system that will maximize the rendering as pseudo-analog.
I was once in temporal audiophilic heaven with the advent of Half-Speed Masters: Cincinnati (Telarc) 1812/Tchaikovsky, Katy Lied/Steely Dan, Dreamboat Annie/Heart, Rumours/Fleetwood Mac. (Sigh.)
I played some on my system in a spacious, properly dampened ballroom. I closed my eyes, and the performers were in the room with me.
Although I compromise with digital, I refuse to use MP3 if at all possible. I would use FLAC, but my overall setup favors WAV - and I use an editor for metadata.
“I would use FLAC, but my overall setup favors WAV -”
Both are lossless but the WAV file is larger.
“I am an audiophile, and long refused to buy CDs, since they are not analog, which is real.”
Far from ‘real’.