Some good points from Bob Lefsetz in this post. Are albums dead? Personally, for some artists I don’t think the album is dead — it’s still a viable format. But, for the majority of the public I think the writing is on the wall. How many people actually sit in the sweet spot in front of a stereo and listen to an album from start to finish now-a-days.  I know I don’t.  The vast majority of my own listening is to playlists that I’ve created or to music streamed over the web or cable.