While the eternal debate between Spotify and Apple Music users rages on, some Aussies are turning to a different way to listen to music. In 2025, a growing trend is emerging of people purchasing portable CD players, with many retailers joining the bandwagon in recent weeks.
Aldi sold a CD Sound Machine for $69.99 as part of their Special Buys last month, and Kmart has recently begun stocking a Portable CD Player for $39. The product features a retro design, LCD display, and bass boost sound function, and comes with a pair of headphones.
Adelaide content creator Michael Jaimie told Yahoo Lifestyle that he decided to purchase the product because it is both “nostalgic” and makes it easy for him to listen to his collection of CDs.
“Preserving physical media is very important to me, and I like to collect CDs because a lot of my favourite underground songs/artists aren’t available on streaming services or digitally to purchase anymore,” he shares.
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“Being that modern technology rarely offers a CD/DVD tray these days, I wanted something that could actually play these albums.”
Pros and cons
Michael says the product is “relatively inexpensive”, the audio quality is “fantastic”, and he enjoys listening to a curated tracklist rather than feeling overwhelmed choosing from thousands of songs on streaming platforms.
“I’ve also noticed that the batteries haven’t drained that quickly for me either,” he added.
“In saying that, the cons would be not having the ability to just flick to your favourite song/artists like you can on streaming, the display doesn’t light up for when you’re using it in the dark, and that these CD players I had when I was a teenager are now considered vintage/retro.”
Aussie teens jump on ‘retro’ trend
While Michael grew up owning a CD player, 19-year-old content creator Yasmine tells Yahoo Lifestyle she bought the Kmart product because she uses CDs in her car and “wanted to get more use out of them”.
“I feel extremely ethereal when I’m using it, like I’m in the sitcoms I used to watch as a kid, and I enjoy that you can use your own headphones,” she says.
“I would say to be wary that the provided headphones are not the best quality — they do the job, but they’re not noise-cancelling, and if you have the volume up too high, it will leak through the headphones.”
The portable CD player comes with a pair of headphones. Photos: Kmart
Kmart’s CD Boombox
It’s also not just portable CD players that have been making a resurgence, with Kmart also selling a CD Boombox for $29.
The product, which also works as an AM/FM radio, has received rave reviews online and currently has a 4.5-star rating on Kmart’s website.
“It’s perfect nostalgia,” one person wrote in their review, while another said it was “good value for money”.
“Great CD and radio. Excellent sound. It’s compact and fits neatly on my side table,” someone else wrote.
Big W also sells a Portable CD Boombox with AM/FM radio for $29, as well as a portable CD/MP3 Player with headphones for $49.95.
Kmart is also selling a CD Boombox for $29. Photo: Kmart
The rise in physical media
Physical media has been making quite a comeback in recent years, with Taylor Swift largely credited with driving vinyl sales to levels not seen since the late 1980s.
Meanwhile, in 2021, CD sales increased in the US for the first time since 2004, and in 2024, there was a rise in sales in the UK for the first time in 20 years.
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So, if you were contemplating throwing out the old CDs you have stored in the garage or top shelf of the wardrobe, you might want to hold onto them for a little longer.
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