My collection of books, vinyls, and CDs is my most prized possession. Although I could read books and listen to music from my phone, I love the feeling of physical media.

The digitalization of everything provides convenience, but the tangible experience of physical media beats Spotify or Netflix a lot of the time. The act of putting a vinyl on the record player beats pressing a couple buttons on my phone. And although it may occasionally pop or skip, it’s never interrupted by ads or wifi. 

In addition to the control and stability that physical media can offer, vinyls and DVDs often have special and bonus content that’s hard to find on streaming services. For example, one of my favorite vinyls is a Billie Holiday record that has readings from her autobiography between songs.

Reading an actual book allows me to live in the moment. Being able to hold it in your hands, feel the weight of it, see how much you’ve read makes the experience of reading much better. Plus the ability to underline sentences and scribble notes in the margins helps me comprehend and remember what I read, and gives me the opportunity to take it off the shelf and return to it.

Although vinyls and CDs are things that were before my time and I’ve recently started collecting, Blu Rays and DVDs played a large part in my childhood. Between roadtrips in my mom’s minivan and weekends spent watching movies on our projector, me and my sisters became frequent visitors to the Redbox at the local Walgreens. We also would go to the public library to borrow Blu Rays. That nostalgia is part of the appeal of physical media, and trying to return to a time of childhood when there were fewer options and decisions to make.

My favorite thing about collecting physical media is having something to myself that I can display. In addition to loving how they look on my shelf and adding color to my bedroom, they bring comfort by allowing me to return to my favorite stories and music whenever I want. I know I can rely on books, vinyl, and Blu Rays.