Remember CDs, the digital compact disc turns 40!

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -Cue the music and celebrate good times! Remember CDs? Well, they are turning 40 years old in the United States.

The first commercial compact disc was released in Japan back on October 1, 1982.. However, CDs didn’t make it over the U.S. until March of 1983.

The CD served as an alternative to the larger vinyl records and bulkier cassette tapes. Sleek and about the size of a drink coaster, CDs came with the promise of crisp, clean digital music.

When it first came out, it was only 4.5″ in diameter and could hold up to 74 minutes of music and you could skip tracks and shuffle too.

The CD would eventually overtake cassette tape sales by the late 80s. Over the years music lovers have purchased 14.9-billion CDs since the formats arrival. They since lost a lot of ground -- first due to MP3 players and now streaming music with paid subscriptions to services like Spotify topping 10 billion for the first time.