Gramophone music records ruled the world for a long time before the arrival of cassette tapes. These are made out of vinyl and are the only way one can take the music home. Since these cannot be rerecorded, people bought tons of these records, as this was the best that was available at that time. The problem with the records is that they get scratched easily during handling and it is a sad day when you discover that your favorite song has a scratch on it.

Shortly thereafter, the audio cassette became popular with the public. Not only was was it much less fragile, but it allowed people to make audio tapes of their own. People used this media to record all manner of audio: their favorite music, university lectures, or anything else that struck their fancy.

The invention of the music cd, and the walkman, was truly revolutionary. Before the cd, the most portable form of music was a radio or a boom box. The cd freed the music lover. The walkman not only meant portable music, it also meant no one but the walkman owner had to hear the music. This was a great relief for society's ears.

The audio cassette did have its' downfall. You had to listen to every single song on the tape, there was no skipping. That could be a big problem if you just had to listen to that one song again. You had to rewind and wait for it to finally get there. Or, you could have gone too far and then got stuck in a back and forth race to find your song.

Audio cassettes are not in the grave yet. Though new creations like compact discs and MP3 players have been invented, many devoted people still swear by audio cassettes. Many of these users have advanced to digital audio tapes. However most members of the general public have bought new musical creations like Apple's new IPOD.

We that did grow up with the old style mixed tapes, will always have a special place in our hearts for the tapes that allowed us to be our own DJs. But now we all have lap tops and MP3 player we have to really let that art out. However we won't forget.

Audio cassettes were an improvement over records because they were more durable and versatile. For the first time, people could make their own recordings and carry them everywhere. However, it was difficult to choose the order in which one listened to songs on the tape. While most people have moved on to new recording technologies, the audio tape is not dead. Some even use digital audio tapes. Computers allow us to mix music more easily, but the old art of mix tapes will always have a place in our hearts. The technology that first allowed our generation to record our own "records" for the first time will never be forgotten.