Time for a hard truth—music doesn't sound as good when it's compressed into an MP3. Those thousands of songs on your phone are smudgy Xeroxes offering the barest fraction of the audio quality of a compact disc. They can't achieve the rich, warm tones of vinyl records, much less the sheer immediacy of
hearing it live. Don't deprive yourself. If you've invested in high-quality
speakers, you owe it to yourself to hear your favorite music as it's meant to be heard. Browse Groupon's ever-changing selection of new albums in both CD and LP formats.
Play the Hits
Few things are more personal than one's taste in music. That said, it never hurts to have a few certified crowd-pleasers on hand when
entertaining guests. Need to liven up a dinner party? Kick off with new albums from
pop superstars like Beyoncé and Adele before shifting towards sultry
R & B as the evening goes on. Throwing a good old-fashioned rager? Keep a stack of iconic
hip-hop vinyl records next to your turntable and work the crowd like Grandmaster Flash. And if you're planning a cookout, a little
rock and
country are as essential as ice for the cooler.
Revisit the Classics
If you're more in the mood for sheet music than dubstep drops,
classical masterworks demand impeccable sound quality, as do the epic scores of
soundtracks for films like
Lord of the Rings and
Star Wars. Only on compact disc can you fully appreciate, say, the nuances of a Brahms concerto under the bow of violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. You can also test for yourself the purported benefits of symphonic scores, namely improving concentration while studying, soothing a fussy baby, and boosting an unborn child's brainpower. If your kids get antsy, though, sing along with them to
kid's music mainstays—or let them compose their own masterpieces on an adorable child-sized grand piano.