Over the months, I notice the website changing a lot. There latest sets were some rehashes of there older sets but slimed down and others were trying. Eventually the page only listed there toll number and told you that you can find there sets else where but finally there website is blank and cannot be found on search results. I looked on the wiki and there mentioned them winding down of March, no citation but that's literally all we got. No news, no social media posts, nothing.
Me and my family grew up with Time Life Music. I remember as a kid watching the "Oldies But Goodies" informercials at night, the way they made them appealing to watch them over and over. My father bought some sets from them although none were Super Sets and they gave me Fomo because of that.
Looking back 95% of there catalog had good selection and good sound quality. In terms of the "Worst" collection would be the "Rock N Roll Era", very very strong song lists, 50+ CDs but the sound quality was very lack luster. In terms of the "Best" collection would be many ties, AM Gold (The 30+ CD version), Sounds of the Eighties, Classic Country, The Teen Years, etc.
I have a few theories on why Time Life Music just vanished.
New Alternatives to Time Life? Closest is Eric Records and Rhino. Eric Records has decently priced CDs and lets you choose which CD you want. Rhino has made some good collections over the years but however there known to pump the volume high from time to time.
Old Used Alternatives to Time Life? Old Time Life CDs are priced pretty fairly. Others I recommend are DCC, Ace Records UK and MCA.
Me and my family grew up with Time Life Music. I remember as a kid watching the "Oldies But Goodies" informercials at night, the way they made them appealing to watch them over and over. My father bought some sets from them although none were Super Sets and they gave me Fomo because of that.
Looking back 95% of there catalog had good selection and good sound quality. In terms of the "Worst" collection would be the "Rock N Roll Era", very very strong song lists, 50+ CDs but the sound quality was very lack luster. In terms of the "Best" collection would be many ties, AM Gold (The 30+ CD version), Sounds of the Eighties, Classic Country, The Teen Years, etc.
I have a few theories on why Time Life Music just vanished.
- Same songs across 20 years worth of CDs. Why bought new TL sets when you can buy older specific CDs and CD lots for much cheaper and have most of the songs you want. TL didn't really change up there song lists and didn't dive into new genres/years.
- Cost and Choice. Although $13 to $15 a CD is decent, when buying in a Set, you may have 1 or 2 CDs you may not like at all and that feels like throwing money away. Some people wanted to choose CDs they wanted rather then "all or nothing". TL did offer a subscription service where monthly you get a CD but you had to the choice to send it back and not pay for that specific CD. TL stopped that service many years ago.
- Lack of Ads. TL barely marketed there collections and the appeal went down every year since less and less people watch TV.
- Convenience Alternatives. Some of these collections care about convenience more then cost & quality. Its easier to load up a Spotify playlist or load up a station with Sirius XM.
New Alternatives to Time Life? Closest is Eric Records and Rhino. Eric Records has decently priced CDs and lets you choose which CD you want. Rhino has made some good collections over the years but however there known to pump the volume high from time to time.
Old Used Alternatives to Time Life? Old Time Life CDs are priced pretty fairly. Others I recommend are DCC, Ace Records UK and MCA.
