November 2026

17 People still stream while driving, work- ing, exercising, or discovering new art- ists. A favorite album may later become the one they decide to own. That combination may explain why physical formats continue to matter. Digital access gives listeners reach. Physical music gives some of those songs a place to live. There is a social side to ownership too. Record stores still create places where recommendations happen personally. A clerk can point toward an album based on one sentence. A friend can pull something from a shelf and say, “You need to hear this.” Those moments are slower than an algorithm, but they feel personal. Collecting also gives lis- teners a reason to notice liner notes, artwork, pro- ducers, engineers, musi- cians, photographers, and designers. A used record can carry history through a worn sleeve, a price stick- er, or a handwritten note. The ritual can be simple: choose one album, put the phone down, and let side one play without skipping. Sometimes attention is the rarest format of all. That is still part of the ap- peal. Photo by | Magdalena López Photo by | Markus Spiske