New Times collage/Photo by dmitrynaumov
Audio By Carbonatix
For years, the compact disc felt like the most forgotten format in music history. Vinyl enjoyed a triumphant comeback. Cassette tapes clawed their way into indie credibility. CDs, meanwhile, sat in dusty binders and thrift store bins, relics of a pre-streaming era best remembered for scratched surfaces and bulky jewel cases.
Step into certain Miami record stores in 2026, however, and it becomes clear the CD obituary was premature.
At Sweat Records (named Best Record Store in Miami by Miami New Times, 2024) in Little Haiti, owner Lolo Reskin recently found herself doing something she never expected: building a brand-new fixture dedicated entirely to new compact discs. “Not too long ago, I stopped carrying new CDs and only carried used ones,” she says. “But because there’s a younger generation that keeps coming in and asking for them, I had to order new ones. Supply has to meet demand.”
That demand is not just anecdotal. According to industry data from the Recording Industry Association of America, physical music sales grew about five percent in 2024, reaching roughly $2 billion in revenue. Vinyl still dominates that category, but CDs quietly accounted for more than $500 million of that total. It is a modest figure by historical standards, yet notable in an era defined almost entirely by streaming.
Even more surprisingly, CD sales have inched upward. Luminate, the data company that acquired Nielsen SoundScan and tracks point-of-sale music purchases used by Billboard, reported that U.S. CD album sales increased by nearly 3% in 2023, with more than 36 million units sold. For a format long assumed to be in terminal decline, any growth at all feels significant.
At Sweat Records, that growth is being driven largely by Gen Z. “Young people know that artists hardly make any money when it comes to streaming, so they make a conscious decision to purchase either vinyl or CDs because they want to support their favorite artists,” Reskin explains. “CDs also cost less than vinyl.”
That price difference matters. A standard new CD typically runs around $15, while deluxe editions, like SZA’s recent enhanced-artwork release, can reach $21. Vinyl versions of the same album often sell for $40 or more. In an uncertain economy, affordability has become a defining factor in how young listeners build physical collections.
“Some kids just don’t have the money to buy elaborate records,” Reskin says. “Some kids want to have a physical music collection.”
There are also practical reasons the industry never fully abandoned the format. Unlike vinyl, which requires longer production timelines and more raw materials, CD pressing remains relatively fast and inexpensive. “Vinyl is more artisanal; it takes more time and material to manufacture,” Reskin affirms. “Record labels never stopped making CDs.”
As a result, CDs continue to be a preferred format for international releases and collectible editions. At Sweat Records, top sellers include Frank Ocean, Björk, and K-pop acts, artists whose fan bases skew young and global. “People come from all over the world asking for CDs,” Reskin says.
The trend extends beyond Little Haiti. At Yesterday and Today Records, Evan Chern says his shop has historically focused on vinyl, but the shift toward CDs has become increasingly noticeable. “I sell mostly used CDs,” he says, “but because more folks are coming in asking for new ones, I see myself putting in orders that I didn’t a year or two ago.”
Like Sweat Records, Yesterday and Today is seeing a younger clientele drive the resurgence. “They want to listen to older bands on CD like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Metallica, and Stone Temple Pilots,” Chern says. “If more people keep coming in asking for new CDs, I’ll have to invest in putting in a dedicated section.”
Beyond affordability, there is something tactile pulling listeners back. CDs offer liner notes, lyrics, and artwork, details stripped away by streaming platforms optimized for speed and convenience. “Kids want something tangible that they can hold and make it their own,” Chern says. “There’s something special about opening a CD jacket and reading the liner notes. Sometimes they even have the lyrics to each song.”
Chern laughs when asked just how far that nostalgia goes. “Want to hear something funny?” he says. “I’ve had a few people come in asking for cassette tapes. I’ve even had a kid visit the store with a Walkman on. There are some indie bands that are putting out cassettes.”
CD players themselves are also quietly creeping back into circulation, thanks to resale platforms, thrift stores, and affordable new models. CDs will never challenge streaming’s dominance, which now accounts for more than 80 percent of the music industry’s revenue, but they are no longer the punchline they once were.
“Some formats come and go,” Reskin says. “We don’t know for sure how long things will evolve.”
In Miami, though, evolution rarely moves in a straight line. It loops, it samples, it remixes. The compact disc now occupies a weirdly perfect sweet spot: cheaper than vinyl, more personal than a playlist, and just retro enough to feel cool again. Maybe it is nostalgia. Maybe it is economics. Maybe it is kids rebelling against an algorithm that keeps telling them what they should like.
Either way, the CD is back in the racks, back in backpacks, and back in rotation. And in a city that never met a trend it couldn’t resurrect, that shiny little disc suddenly feels right at home, because in Miami, a city built on reinvention, the CD’s second life feels perfectly in tune, a reminder that sometimes the future of music looks a lot like its past.
