in 1999 you had the ability to get into a music shop, load the cd and test listen to it. Or just go through the music charts. Or wish for a specific song on radio.
Also 1999 already had Napster, Morpheus and others.
I’m old enough to know the pencil trick to fix a cassette that got eaten by the stereo…
I also learned how to do this as a child but I am probably a bit younger than you at 18yo.
You buy the CD because they had a charting single on radio, you’re than disappointed that the rest of the album is a different sound.
Not everyone had internet in the 90s-00s either mate……
Then you keep listening to it anyways, and it slowly becomes one of your favourite albums of all time.
We call that justifying your purchase. You forced yourself into liking it so you didn’t “waste” the money.
Did you miss the whole “you could test listen to the CD in the shop” part?
Nope, not every place had the money to burn on a cd in a jukebox from every artist. Also standing there for 45 minutes to listen to the entire thing? Who actually does that?
Sugar Ray surprised many people by being a punk band that had a pop song or two.
God, I miss test listens. My favorite record store was very easy going in this, they’d happily let me stand there listening to most of the CD. The unspoken rule was that if you spend that much time listening, you’re going to buy it anyway.
One of the few shops where I always felt welcome.