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A compilation of audio recordings released as a collection on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium is referred to as an album. Individual 78-rpm recordings were collected in a bound book like a photograph album in the early twentieth century; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP records played at 33+13 rpm.

From the mid-1960s until the early 21st century, the album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption, a time known as the album era. Although vinyl LPs are still produced, record sales in the twenty-first century have mostly centered on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until it was phased out by 1983, and it was gradually supplanted by the compact cassette during the 1970s and early 1980s; cassette popularity peaked in the late 1980s, sharply declined during the 1990s, and had all but vanished by the first decade of the 2000s.

The majority of albums are produced in studios, but they can also be recorded at a concert hall, at home, in the field, or a combination of these locations. The time it takes to record an album in its entirety might range from a few hours to many years. Typically, this technique necessitates many takes with different portions recorded independently and then “mixed” together.

Even when done in a studio, recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are referred to as “live.” Other settings, such as concert halls and some “live rooms,” contain reverberation, which provides a “live” feel. Studios are constructed to absorb sound, minimizing reverberation, to aid in mixing multiple takes. Editing, sound effects, and voice changes may be included in recordings, including live ones. Artists can be recorded in various rooms or at different times while listening to the other sections through headphones, with each portion being recorded as a distinct track, thanks to contemporary recording technology.

Album covers and liner notes are utilized, and sometimes extra information, such as a recording analysis and lyrics or librettos, is included. The term “album” was originally used to describe a collection of diverse objects stored in a book format. From the early nineteenth century, the term was used to describe collections of small pieces of printed music.

Later, similar 78rpm records were packaged together in book-like albums (one side of a 78 rpm record could hold only about 3.5 minutes of sound). A collection of pieces or songs on a single record was referred to as a “album” when long-playing records were released; the term was then extended to other recording media such as compact disc, MiniDisc, Compact audio cassette, 8-track tape, and digital albums when they were introduced.

In ancient Rome, an album (Latin albus, white) was a chalked or painted white board on which decrees, edicts, and other public notifications were written in black. Album evolved to mean a book of blank pages in which poetry, signatures, drawings, photos, and the like were gathered throughout medieval and modern times. As a result, the current definition of an album has evolved to include a collection of audio recordings released as a single item.

The term “album” was infrequently used in the titles of classical music collections in the early nineteenth century, such as Schumann’s Album for the Young Opus 68, a collection of 43 short works.

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