Some people may complain that cds and records are expensive, but I think they are a relative bargain now, comparing to 50-60 years ago. Atlantic Records inner sleeves sometimes come with album prices printed on them. How much was $5.95 in 1960 worth comparing to today? $10.95 for a 2-fer. Methinks that wasn't chump change. What was hourly wage for a construction worker or a pizza delivery guy or landscaper, house painter, someone in their teens-early twenties, working his/her way through college?
My first job paid $4/hr. in the late 1980s. CDs were $11.99, albums maybe $5.95-7.95, tapes about the same, maybe a buck or two more.