With the CD-ROM and CD-Rs, compact discs went on to become much more than … Music hardware was large and unwieldy before tapes. Compact discs (CDs) replaced cassette tapes over time as the dominant format for music. The first commercial compact disc, Billy Joel's 52nd Street, was released in Japan in 1982. The business was saved by the introduction of the compact disc, or the CD, in the early '80s. It really depends on what consumers choose. As a matter of fact 2010 was the last year cassette players came standard in automobiles manufactured in the United States. And even that could take years. That’s why they reigned supreme for the better part of three decades before CDs dethroned them. ... a $6.98 cassette to $13.98 CDs, you know. A: The first commercial CD was produced way back in 1982, but it took awhile for them to really catch on. Q: When did CDs replace cassette tapes? Fortune has some data compiled from RIAA and other sources over the years found here. Partly because tapes were better for car rides (CDs skipped too much) and vinyl is the unquestioned leader in audio format for the home, CDs didn’t truly take off until around the mid 1990s. The audio cassette, better known as the compact cassette, was a marvel of modern science with its introduction in 1968. And while it did replace vinyl and cassettes as the format for nearly two decades, its primary focus shifted into a data storage medium over the years, especially it’s later years. Change is in the air. 1982: Sony starts selling the first CD players to the public. We don’t intend to take the lead with CD, but we won’t be the last to switch over either. Once upon a time cassettes were the preferred method of storing music. In 1991, a mere 45 million cassettes were sold while 300 million CDs were sold. The United States followed suit with declining cassette sales: in 1992, cassettes accounted for 50.8 percent while CDs accounted for 46.7 percent (the rest for vinyl) whereas in 1997 cassettes were 20.7 percent while CDs were 78 percent. The 12cm optical disc became the biggest money-spinner the music industry had ever seen, or will ever be likely to see. Wholesale sales of DJ compact disc players in the U.S. 2005-2018 Retail sales of DJ CD players in the U.S. 2005-2018 Unit sales of DJ compact disc players in the U.S. 2005-2018 At their release, cassette tapes were initially use It appears that sometime in the early 1990's (1991 to be exact), the compact disc overtook cassette tapes for music sales, in the USA. Compact discs had replaced cassettes by the early 2000s. I don’t think the CD will replace the LP, it’s more likely to displace the Compact Cassette. We’re also still considering the CX system. CD sales overtook vinyl in 1988 and cassettes in 1991.