How do you listen to music? Do you stream it off the Internet, tune into the radio, or download it from a questionable online site? For the longest time, I used an iPod for my music needs and felt that that was normal. However, whenever I’d be out and about using my iPod people always seemed surprised to see me using one and would ask me why. After being questioned about it several times, I’ve decided to fully explain why I prefer using an iPod over any other way to listen to music.

The first and most obvious reason to my mind is the desire to possess my music. I’m not going to lie and say there is no appeal in streaming services, after all, you can't beat free music, but there is something satisfying in owning your music. There is also the fact that owning your music allows you to listen to it without the intrusion of ads or other interruptions.

Not to mention that you are not beholden to another person for the creation of a playlist or what comes up next like you are for other streaming services where playlists and stations have their mixes decided by strangers or algorithms.

Next, there is also the convenience of having an iPod. Streaming services are bound by the availability of cell service or Wi-Fi. If you are in a city this is not too much of an issue, but if you live anywhere else it’s a major hassle. An iPod, on the other hand, is only limited by its battery charge.

There is also the fact that putting all your music on your phone eats up memory space that could be better served by other things while the iPod allows the storage of a truly massive music library.

Probably the best reason to have an iPod, in my opinion, is that it is far better suited to running than any streaming service or phone could ever hope to be. As previously stated, streaming services are reliant on cell service to work and when you are out on a trail somewhere you probably aren’t going to be getting any signal.

Phones are also really bulky to have to carry around running and can become very cumbersome on longer runs. An iPod, by contrast, is small and light and easy to carry without much effort. in addition, most running shorts have small pockets to fit iPods for hands-free carrying.

Now it’s perfectly fine if you use a streaming service, I certainly have found great enjoyment out of both Pandora radio and Sirius XM, and it's also fine if you run while listening to one of these services. But for my day-to-day life, I have found I just can't beat the usefulness and versatility of the iPod.