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I have known of the problem of CD lifespan for a couple years and two years ago purchased a stack of Kodak Gold CD's, that were manufactured by Kodak for archiving data.

Learning about the problem, also led me to a couple sources for high-quality gold CD's.

The Kodaks, I originally purchased at InkJetArt.com.

Their newsletter, which mentions the discontinuance, by Kodak, of the Kodak Gold CD's, and then Mitsui Gold CD's effectively replacing the Kodak's:

MITSUI GOLD REPLACES KODAK GOLD ULTIMA CD-R
Kodak discontinued making its very archival and very reliable CD-R in January 2002. Our supplies ran out about a month ago, and we have finally found a replacement CD-R that uses REAL GOLD and the same archival dye to prevent fading and loss of data.
This CD-R is the Mitsui Gold Standard. In fact, Mitsui is the company that makes the archival and patented phthalocyanine dye that Kodak was using in their CD-Rs! And while Kodak was having their gold CD-R made for them in Japan, and later in Mexico, the Mitsui Gold Standard is made right here in the U.S.A. (Colorado Springs, CO)!
When we first introduced the Kodak CD-R's back in January 2000, they were priced at $2.18 each. As Kodak began close down their plant and close out supplies, their prices dropped to 99 cents each and less, making them competitive with even the cheap, Taiwan CD-Rs. The Mitsui Gold Standard is priced at $1.29 to $1.49 per disc; but real gold, archival dye, and attention to quality doesn't come cheap.
Kodak was undependable in meeting supply demands for their disc (often running out of stock for months), but the Mitsui Gold Standard is here to stay. Good supplies are almost always on hand. In fact, the Mitsui plant in Colorado can often manufacture special runs with only a couple of days notice.
Although quality and American reliability costs a little more, we're sure you'll agree, that for your important digital archive files, its well worth the assurance of knowing that your data is going to be safe and retrievable. For more information on the Mitsui Gold Standard.

You can buy Mitsui from InkJetArt.com, or you might be interested in CD Dimensions, these links:

Mitsui Gold With Gold Ink Jet Printable CDR Media, 74 Min./650MB In Cakebox
Mitsui Gold With White Ink Jet Printable CDR Media, 74 Min./650MB In Cakebox
Mitsui Gold CDR Media in Cakebox, 52x, 650MB/74 Min. (Color Thermal Printer Approved)

For better than everyday use, because I like success, in this business of recording to CD's:

Taiyo Yuden PrintWrite 80 Min.700MB White Ink Jet Printable CDR Media

The big deal with CD's, is simple. Purchase good quality for your archives and archive them --- don't use them for anything but restoring the data to a hard drive, from which drive, you would then make your everyday use type CD's.

At present, the word is that the Mitsui Gold and Taiyo Yuden CD's are generally the most reliable; the manufacturing standards are the highest. Yet there are probably other good factories.

The Mitsui Gold CD's are especially resistant to light that can age "ordinary" CD's. In addition, if you wish to save data or audio or video, if you simply keep these CD's that you want to last, in a box, they will outlive your great grandchildren's grandchildren, according to Mitsui, which rates them at 300 years; so I give 'em half. (It's the plastic, not only the dyes, that I wonder about.)

For archival storage, I use the Gold CD's and put them in a box. For general play and data transfers, I am currently using up a couple 50-CD "cakes" of Memorex, after which I'll be using the Taiyo Yuden 100-CD's.

The InkJetArt page about Mitsui Gold CD's, notes a little Windows executable named CD Itentifier v. 1.6.x. That little program will apparently "tell" you what CD disc you really have --- who really manufactured it.

I've learned about all this by stumbling onto this webpage a few years back: CD Media World. That website is sort of "the bibile" on CD's, from what I have seen.

There may be some updated information, and my current info is out of date, but the above, seems to me, to be the right direction in regard to CD recording with reliability, by means of getting good CD media.

I have not had any problems with the Mitsui Gold and Taiyo Yuden CD's from CD Dimensions. It's a good outfit. Delivery is fast. I currently prefer CD Dimensions or InkJetArt.com.

InkJetArt.com also happens to have many supplies for people interested in archiving all kinds of data and photographs.

Thanks for the information. Hmmm... the CDs may last 300 (or 150) years, but for how long will we have drives that can read them...?

I have had installation CD discs fail at around 10 installs. I suspect that is by design. The software suppliers are putting out junk so that it cannot be passed around. That's a pain in the butt for multi-user licensed folks in the computer maintenance industry. My theory is that little repeated exposure to the laser, is enough to cripple some of these CD's, even though the plastic surfaces and other appearances are flawless.

Getting "sour" CD's from Apple, is especially time-consuming. At the current rate, 5% of their installer CD's are junk, right out of the box.

Upon the very first occasion of a CD read failure, I "survey" the CD set and get another.

Thanks for posting that.

Thanks for all of the information and links. I burn two copies, archival and normal use, of almost all music CDs. The Mitsui Gold and Taiyo Yuden CDs will be ideal for this purpose, as you've said. The Mitsui Golds are ideal for data. The prices are much lower than I had expected for such a high quality product. I just happen to be almost out of blank media and will be ordering cakeboxes from CD Dimensions this week.

Thanks again. The timing couldn't have been better.