I fought through the battle known as spotify free plan for the whole of 2020-2023, got premium for a good chunk of 2024, the migrated to apple music in 2025 bc I couldnt stand!!!!!!!!!! the direction spotify was moving at. then I also grew tired of Apple Music, figured it mightve just been that in general, that streaming music just isnt enjoyable for me
when I was 14 my mum got me a sony walkman nwz-b183 in red 
. I was stupid and didn't really know how to care for it, and looking at reviews I guess its also got a pretty bad shelf life. I used to listen to Tyler Joseph's Trees speeches on it and cry hehe. it broke shortly after, couldnt turn it on, gave it a proper funeral and thats where I moved on to spotify.
for my 16th birthday I was gifted a nw-a35 -- also in red 
. I loved it, but I never utilized it to its fullest amount. rn Ive lent it to my boyfriend, he's definetely showing it more love than I was
my biggest issue was its size (and a tug from nostalgia). I really missed that slick, usb stick that holds 4gb of my music. during my Japan trip I eyed the Walkman section. mp3s are huge now!!! wtf!!!1! I got a cheap(er) one from a brand 'kanadb' (seen above) (bigger one). seemed to almost do the trick... but............. it was battery powered!!!!!! my boyfriend said that I should get a rechargeable battery instead, but it seems counterintuitive to me... enter: philips sa1208
she's perfect ^^ nice and small, with amazing audio quality. and the minimal interface is perfect!!!! as for discovering artist, I moved onto Bandcamp. it feels like 2020 again, fighting to be the nichest person in the room. its less cringe now, though. I just like finding and supporting new artists. that, and I started ripping from me and my boyfriend's CD collection. #yay