A sign in a music store long ago advertised CDs at one price and “albums” at a much lower price. I was tempted to demand CDs at the album price, but I was never a troublemaker.
When 12-inch long-play phonograph records dominated the recorded music market, the word “album” was used as a synonym for “record,” but it’s an imprecise usage. A record is an album, but “album” can mean more than just “record,” which is why “album” and “record” are not synonyms. A look at the origin of “album” as a description of recorded music explains its eventual synonymy. Read the rest of this entry »