Music in the Digital Age

The way in which we obtain and listen to music has changed drastically over the past decade or so.  Thanks to digital music stores such as iTunes (as well as illegal file sharing sites), a fair majority of us are now downloading our music online.
Purchasing music digitally is very convenient, as we can have music in a matter of minutes and often at a cheaper price than buying it from high street music stores.
Purchasing digitally also means we can be more selective and precise by ordering one or two tracks instead of an entire album.  In addition to all of this, many music fans are discovering artists and bands online, either through recommendations based on their browsing and purchasing history, or through music reviews written by fellow music lovers.

However, the boom in digital music has of course led to a major drop in physical album sales, in turn resulting in the closure of many high street music retailers.
This is clearly a major drawback for the music industry, though it could be argued that digital stores such as iTunes, have saved the music industry from the affects of the mass of illegal file sharing sites.

I think another consequence of the rise in digital music is that the relevance of the physical cd and it's artwork is now often sadly overlooked.  Obviously, the quality of music is always the most important aspect of any album, but artwork is also an influential feature and is a reflection of the artist or band who created the album.
Below, I have included a selection of iconic album artwork, from some equally iconic musicians.