Here’s something that might blow your mind: The compact disc turned 40 YEARS OLD yesterday.  To celebrate, here are a few facts about CDs:

  • The very first CD was produced at a German factory in August of 1982.
  • The “first” CD to be released commercially came out in Japan in October of that year, 1982.
  • The first commercially produced CD player was the Sony CDP-101.  In 1982, it cost about $1,000, although some deluxe players went for more than $1,500.  By the mid ’80s, the average player sold for $300 to $600.
  • The first CDs cost more than $20 apiece.  By the mid ’80s, they settled into a range of $11 to $15.  Although, that was around $30 in today’s money. (Then, 10 years later, Columbia House was selling 10 CDs for a PENNY . . . sort of.  And then things came full circle, with CDs shooting back up to around $20 apiece in recent years.)
  • CD sales peaked in 2000