What stylistic or experience changes happened in the shift from record albums to CD albums?

All records had two sides and had to be turned over after the first side to play the other side.

No, I don't think the move to CDs affected the way music was written and produced at all - I can't think of any reason why it should.

It affected the way tracks were sequenced as there was no enforced break between the two sides. On a record, tracks that served as a climax could be placed at the end of each side. People would think, "This is a great track to put at the end of the first side." CD versions of albums sometimes don't work well as the track at the end of the origanal Side A is in the middle now and everything after it seems like a let down.

The biggest change, Think, in terms of content was the time available. I have many records that were around thirty minutes long (or even less). Almost anyone could come up with thirty minutes of GOOD music once a year. CDs can hold about eighty minutes and are often over seventy minutes. Too often that equals maybe forty minutes worth of good, strong tracks mixed in with filler. Then there's the "bonus tracks" - I can see the point and they add vulue but they certainly spoil the unity of an album. I have CDs with "bonus material" that is totally out of place - live recordings tagged onto the end of a studio album, inferior sound quality and recordings of a different line-up of the band. It was great to put on the side of an album and listen to maybe seventeen minutes of music. Even with a new album it was easy to cope with. I'm not sure that many people can easily LISTEN to seventy to eighty minutes of music in one go, especially if its new to them. I can remember listening to new albums and, for a while, not liking particular tracks. It was easier just to let them play though then get up and move the arm on the record deck. Gradually, tracks I didn't like became favourites as I heard them over and over. With CD player and a remote control it SO easy just to omit tracks you don't immediately like.

Album covers were often works of art and showed a lot of imagination. CD booklets and inserts are just too small to have any impact. With albums, the covers were a part of the music.

Maybe ironically, I think CDs were the first step towards people wanting to just hear music rather than to actually listen to it. It's become a background noise whilst they do something else. Being able to programme specific tracks and use the "next" button on the remote was the first step towards people only buying and making an effort to listen to music they have already heard. When I bought albums I'd usually heard maybe one or two tracks at the most and sonetimes none at all.

Yes, CD's killed the "Concept Album", that was written and designed to be played in the order that an LP came in.

One odd artifact of that period is CD's whose liner notes list the songs as Side A, Side B on a CD. The company just took the vinyl liner notes and re-printed them for the smaller format.

Oddly enough, there are some artsy bands that currently put out CDs that have the songs listed Side A ..... Side B ......

One thing a lot of music aficionados lamented in the shift from LP to CD was the loss of the album cover.

Old LPs used to have really intricate photos or art for their covers. These didn't transfer over very well to the smaller CD cases.

Older LPs used to have a lot of stuff inside of them too, like lyrics and interviews, etc. Nowadays most CDs just come with an insert listing the producer and that's it.

The format change itself also had an impact, of course. CDs have no "Side B" and a lot of bands would write tracks specifically to be "Side B" tracks so their hit songs could sell on Side A.