You sentimental old bast....

Actually, Stuart, I think you've done a really great job of outlining (did i just type that?) the pros and cons of the rdio offering, at least in its present iteration.

I do think the rdio ipad app is the best way to use the service: lounging in a comfy chair, typing in whatever strikes my fancy, and streaming it to speakers for listening pleasure. Then I can just do a quick google search for more info on the artist or release, which is another step but not too onerous in the whole scheme of things. But the sheer size of my own collection and inability to really organize it into genres, groups, playlists, etc. renders the whole concept of a collection almost meaningless. Is it better to scroll through my own music collection or someone else's?
Seems almost petty to complain about the lack of this or that feature when this type of functionality--scrolling through Stuart's music collection and playing what I want to hear without getting off my ass--is damn impressive.

But as you point out, the inability to group and shuffle through genres or a set number of albums is a big limitation, especially since these can be done in itunes, and creating a playlist ahead of a dinner party, gathering, or just a sunday morning reading can be almost as much fun as listening to the music itself.

re: Apple iCloud...seems a different beast than rdio, in that you have to actually 'own' the music in order to stream it. With rdio, you're simply leasing/renting the music and lose access after you stop subscribing. Not sure why I would need to use the Apple service, given what I can get currently with rdio, but it's probably best not to underestimate that company.

As to your 3 questions:

1) Do you still buy hard copies of music now? 2) If you do then why?

No. All online. Really don't have the space for more 'stuff'. Refer to giveaway of cds from a few months' back. Recognize I'm sacrificing ability to go into soundscapes and pick up some cool stuff that may not be either available or readily apparent in the online world but, for the most part, I don't have tons of time to go into record stores these days anyway.

3) If you do, do you see yourself stopping this practice?

I'm answering this one to because I'm wondering whether it still makes sense to subscribe to emusic, if I can listen to whatever I want with rdio then just buy what I want afterwards. These days, I'm mostly using emusic to sample and buy classical music,which as you noted, isn't all that easy to find and then play in rdio (though Bri seems to be able to navigate those waters fairly competently).

Could go on but gotta get back to it. Enjoy your weekend everyone!