Records were once among people's most highly prized possessions. They were the only way you could listen to your favorite songs in the comfort of your own home. Many people owned huge numbers of records, and they were the best technology available at the time. However, records were vulnerable to damage, and it was always distressing to find out your favorite had been scratched.

Then the audio cassette was introduced to the public. This form was much more durable. And it came with a new added twist; everyone was able to record their own audio tapes! This opened the doors to all sorts of experimentation. People could record their own music, lectures or just whatever silliness they felt like.

We can thank this newer, compact method of recording music for the advent of the walkman. Young people could carry their music around wherever they went. This was an amazing new development. Before this, the only portable music came either from car radios or boom boxes. Finally, to the relief of many, the walkman meant only the wearer needed to listen to their music.

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.

The audio cassette has lost most of its old market, but not all of it. There are still many people who swear that the audio cassette is at least the equal of the CD or the MP3. In addition, the creation of digital audio tapes allows the humble cassette to have a new lease on life. If you prefer your IPod, that's your concern; we'll stick with what we enjoy.

For those of us who grew up with the old fashioned mix tapes, we will always hold a soft part of our hearts' for the tape that let us be our own DJ. But now that we all have laptops and MP3 players, we have kind of let that art die out. It will never be forgotten though.