Sony Puts An Incredible Spin On Music In 1982

In October 1982 the world's first digital CD  compact disc player was officially for sale in Tokyo, for about $650. It wasn't until 1986 that I purchased a small portable Sony CD player from Ollie Fretter and Fretter Appliance in Detroit for just about $100. When I got the player it came with a compilation CD of 80's artists also Journey's Raised on the Radio. 1st CD I ever bought was Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to hear the difference from Vinyl. Since I've downsized my collection to under 1,000 I'm back to Vinyl Records.

Back in the 80's Cassettes took over for 8 track players. Even back then the music industry was scared of people recording and sharing music on cassettes. Yes, even the mix tapes you made for a girl were considered dangerous to music sales. On the other hand, releasing music on tape is great because it's cheap to manufacture. Then Oct. 1st, 1982 Sony released the 1st of its kind CD player to the public. To think the shiny discs would go on to replace the standard black vinyl record for music. Imagine listening to an artist's music without the background noise of a crackle or pop.

October 1, 1982, the first commercial compact disc, Billy Joel's “52nd Street,” was released in Japan. In the US some of the artists released included, Bruce Springsteen, Asia, ELO, Journey, Pink Floyd, and more. For a complete list of the 1st 50 CDs released click here.

Review of The 1st CD Player from Stereophile.com

This one is lower and wider, has a horizontal drawer that slides out to accept the disc, and has much more flexibility of control. Audiophiles will however be dismayed to note that there is nothing on it to adjust; there isn't even a knob to diddle. But there are plenty of buttons.