The shuffle mentality vs the full album
 

What do you do and why?

Do you pick and chose songs you like, buy them and stick them on shuffle, or are you a tradionalist and have to listen to the full album?

Depends on how good the album is obviously.

Isn't this a stupid question really?

You really think people have a set way of listening to different albums of varying quality?

Usually, I listen to the full album. Alot of the time, the order of the songs on the album was thought out, and not random. It really helps the album build energy over it's duration.

I listen to full albums pretty much all the time. I may occasionally skip a song or something, but I listen to full albums all the time basically.

I randomly choose a song, and usually let the music-player go from there, playing songs in order. I might skip to another album after a bit, or skip an album entirely.

I stay pretty far from the shuffle button.

I listen to full albums. I buy alot of albums in a physical form so I listen to music outside of computer, Ipod and mp3s. Also if I start listening to music for example on computer, I start from the first song of the album and just let the whole album play through.

The only reason that I don't listen to the full album, is

1.) Money is Short, I can't afford to be buying full albums.
2.) There is always that one song that...well...might not be so great.
3.) If I do have an album to listen to, I will just play it, but skip one or two.
4.) My Life is on Shuffle

I always listen to full album the first time but mostly i just listen to whatever i fill like hearing

I love listening to full albums, and whenever I get music I never get singles, but when I listen to music it depends on my mood, 95% of the time I'll just listen to a full album, but there's the 5% of the time when I just like to put my music on shuffle and just listen.

Bits of both.

I never use "Shuffle". Mainly because I am a major control freak and I like to listen to music in the order that I put forth. So shuffle is completely out of the question.

It all depends for me - sometimes I like having a random assortment of my favourite songs, but sometimes I'm in the mood for a specific artist or I really feel like listening to a particular album. Although overall, I probably use shuffle more, because most of the time I feel in the mood for a wide variety.

I chose other.

95% of the time I listen to full albums, and I never skip songs. But on occasion I like a bit of shuffle. Mainly on weekends when I'm at home and not sure how long I'll be around, just feel like hearing a variety of stuff.

I'm a fan of listening to the full album but I've got a rather spotty attention span or I'll just get plain bored with what I'm listening to and move on to something more enjoyable. I'm not a fan of random shuffling.

Especially when first listening to an album, I listen it in full. It's the only way to properly judge something the first time. That's generally how I always do it, too. I only shuffle if I'm in the mood for it, but often I prefer to think of albums as statements as a whole.

I have OCD issues with putting albums on shuffle. Even my 'random' playlists are in a particular order and God help anyone who dares to mess with them. It actually makes me a bit... cringey (best word I can come up with) if I hear an album I listen to a lot that somebody has got on shuffle.

Now I've just made myself out to sound like a proper nutter.

I like to listen to a new album all the way through the first few times, but once I'm comfortable with my favorites I often listen to three or four songs and then skip to a new album. Depends on other stuff like what else I'm doing too...

I only listen to a full album if it really draws me in, which is rare.

I hardly ever enjoy full albums so when I'm loading up my iPhone with all the new stuff I only pick and choose the songs I enjoy. Even if I do enjoy the full album I will usually only listen to it from beginning to end once. I think this may come from the fact that most Electronica doesn't come out on albums. Even if it does I usually wait for them to be released in their full form (instead of 3-5 minutes they're 7-9).

I usually shuffle by genre because, chances are, I won't be in the mood for Trance and DSBM at the same time.

I mostly listen to albums without shuffle. But whenever I'm listening to a playlist, shuffle it is.

I mostly listen to full albums but when i can't really decide what to listen to i usually do a shuffle. Sometimes i'd listen to a certain song on shuffle and decide to put on a full album by that band or even just a few select tracks. I also have a habit of skipping songs on shuffle and trying to find songs i'm in the right mood for.

Whenever I get a new album, I listen through in order a couple times, but after that, I just add a bunch of songs but not all to my main shuffle list and go from there.

Yeah me too, shuffle is a great way to figure out what you might be in the mood for and also remind you of albums you haven't heard in a while or never paid enough attention to. That's one of the reasons I shuffle my huge library at home on the weekends. So much to choose from, and it gives me ideas for the week.

Full album usually whenever I'm listening on the computer. When I have my MP3 player it tends to be song-by-song.

Personally I think bands that have a shuffle mentality ruin music. They tend to be more poppy commercial bands, and are the reason people like Lady Gaga and Miley are so popular. Forgive me if I offend but **** those people.

I usually put albums on shuffle, actually. Or put a certain artist on shuffle.

I don't really make playlists anymore.

Edit: and obviously I listen to albums normally, as well.

I asked because my friend said she never listens to full albums. I gave her an album and when I aksed her if she had listened to it she had said she hadn't cause she doesn't listen to full albums. She asked me to tell her a few songs to listen to.

I can't understand that mentality, but I couldn't come up with any real argument against it.


That's why I ask.

I think you could've found a better way to ask. More options poll-wise perhaps.
I'll have to go with a bit of both.
I listen to full albums predominantly; but lately I've been having trouble deciphering the mood I'm in, and shuffle is great for that. There's nothing wrong with shuffle.

I try to listen to full albums but the majority of the time I end just being bored so shuffle it is.

Whenever I buy an album for the first time (or listen through an album for the first time) I always do it from start to finish in the correct order. After I've listened through it once or twice as a whole, I pick the songs I like from it and then stick them into various playlists on the computer and just listen to them from there. I see no sense in repeatedly listening to songs you don't like just because they happen to be on an album you like.

Right but honestly one or two full listens to an album isn't enough time to get to know it. Many of my favorite songs throughout my life weren't the ones that initially caught my attention.

Still, to each their own, some people don't have any patience.

It's not a patience issue for me, it's about quality songs. A good song (in my opinion) shouldn't need five or ten listens before it might 'grow on you'.

That being said, when listening to an album for the first time, I sometimes repeat a track a couple of times before moving on to the next one if I'm on the fence about it.

For the most part, I like listening to a full album, skipping songs. But when I want just background noise, I shuffle my library.

Sadly, more albums aren't complete anymore due to the digital revolution and itunes. In general artists attempt to get noticed by putting most their effort into a few "pop" songs and the rest of their album is either trash or completely different. Nowadays it is hard to listen to and or like a whole album.

i put shuffle on, then skip all the songs. I just create my own playlist of songs im in the mood for :)

when i get a new album, i'll listen to it all the way through, and other times i will listen to full cds i really like when i can.

most of the time, though, i just shuffle everything.

I always listen to full albums and I never change the order of the songs. I view albums as wholes. I've never used the shuffle (that I can remember), but I admit that it can be interesting and surprising. So I might start using it, but only sometimes.

I shuffle sometimes when I feel random and adventurous. But mostly I listen to full albums.

it all depends on my mood. i often listen to complete albums. but other times i'll shuffle all 4- and 5-star tracks from a particular artist. or from a particular genre. sometimes i listen to carefully constructed playlists. sometimes i just hit random and take whatever comes my way...

That's a pretty bad approach to listening to music. Most good music isn't completely satisfied with giving you everything you want on the first listen. Pop music is really the only genre that 'gives' up everything it has immediately, and often even it doesn't do that.

Immediate satisfaction is a terrible thing to demand from music, because good music is often slightly abstract and needs time to show its true messages/beauties/etc.

Music for me is all about the music, meaning the actual melody. If a song doesn't have a good melody, it's not a good song in my opinion. And I can tell whether or not I like a melody on the first few listens because I know what speaks to me and what doesn't. I know my own taste.

For me it's a great approach, because I don't have to waste my spare time (which I have very little of) trying to get songs to grow on me after 10-20 listens or so.

Just because I only listen to a song a couple of times before deciding whether or not I like it, doesn't mean I won't ever listen to it again to give it another try. I have gone back to songs I've discarded in the past lots of times to give them a second chance but every time I've done this I only realized why I discarded it in the first place.