As much as I’d love to read this article I can’t make it through the entire thing without inadvertently hitting something while scrolling that takes it back to the beginning. This happened with a GQ article I tried to read about MJ Lenderman a while back as well. Eventually, I made it through it but it took what seemed like forever. This is one of the downsides of reading on a phone as opposed to a desktop, I suppose. That aside, of what I could read, he makes some good points about what makes the CD listening experience unique.
That said, I’m not going back to them. The biggest downside is lugging them around and despite them being advertised as indestructible, they scratch rather easily. I’m not saying it’s a superior way of listening but I’ve really enjoyed getting back into vinyl. I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD. While I obviously wish the business model was better, it’s likely going to be streaming for me from here on out. With reel-to-reel, 8-tracks, cassettes (on auto reverse), and CDs you had the benefit of continuous listening, each with their own set of downsides. With streaming you can listen without the sequencing being adversely affected by being restricted by time constraints.