With the popularity of online music listening sites as Pandora, the CD shelves at local libraries have become something of a ghost town. Depending on the library, you will see between hundreds and thousands of CDs gathering dust as nobody checks them out anymore. To me, this is a sad thing.
While Pandora and similar sites are great for listening to music that you are almost guaranteed to like (because it is similar to or the same as something you do like), you rarely get a moment of truly discovery of something new. I make a point of visiting the library regularly and when I do, I make sure to check out a couple of CDs that I have very little idea what they might sound like. I've discovered some really great things and some really terrible things, but regardless of whether I like them or not, I'm exposing my ears to the great unknown.
So, take a 10 minute trip to the library, grab a few CDs, dust off the CD player (it's like an MP3 player, but with better quality of sound!), and give your ears something new to digest for once.
