In the past, records were ruling the world. All you had to do to take the music home was to buy that shiny piece of vinyl. People purchased lots of these records and that was the best option at the time. It was really a bad day when you did found that your favourite track was scratched: that's the problem of records.

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.

This new and more compact form of recording music also led way to the walkman revolution. Now youth were able to take their loud music with them. This was revolutionary! Previous to this the most portable music had been was either a car radio or boom box. The walkman allowed this portable music to only be heard by the wearer. What a relief!

There was a distinct disadvantage to the audio cassette. You could not pick and choose which songs you listened to, you had to listen to every single one on the tape. That could be annoying if there was a song you particularly wanted to hear again. You needed to rewind the tape and that could take some time. You also ran the risk of rewinding too far and then going back and forth in an attempt to find the start of 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.

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 cassette tapes replaced the gramophone records of the past. The audio tape had several advantages over records. They were more durable and you could record on them. The walkman revolution took place when youth could take their music with them. One disadvantage was that you could not pick and choose which song to listen to on the tape. Digital audio tapes still have their place, even amongst today's CDs and MP3s. The generations of the past will always remember the old fashioned mix tapes of our favorite songs. These mix tapes will always have a place in our hearts.