CDs and DVDs have had their day. The shiny discs and snappy plastic cases have no place in the modern world and, like the Teasmade and Raleigh Choppers, will forever be soundbite fodder for minor celebrities on Channel 5 nostalgia clip shows.

Streaming has inevitably sounded the death knell, and Sainsbury’s is the first supermarket to announce the phasing out of CD and DVD sales. And that makes me feel old as I remember the hallowed arrival of CDs, revered as something space age, cool and revolutionary.

The compact disc was on Tomorrow’s World and was seemingly “indestructable”. Apparently you could spread peanut butter on it, or fry an egg on it, and it would still play... We were awestruck, and dutifully started to replace our cassettes and big clumsy vinyl with these neat little discs.

The first CD I bought was Bjork’s Debut album, I’ve still got it and listening to it takes me back to that particular time of my life. Music is spookily evocative, reminding us of a time and place in a way nothing else does. And in our CD and record collections we have a sense of ownership of the music that is, to coin an over-used nostalgia clip show phrase, the soundtrack of our lives.

A recent call-out on I put on Facebook, about the phasing out of CDs and DVDs, got a lively response, with these among the comments: ‘Love DVDs - something ‘physical’ to have rather than be a virtual world hostage!’

‘Things come back full circle. I still have my children’s Disney videos in a suitcase’.

‘I did a clear out but there were a few hundred CDs I just couldn’t get rid of.Too many memories.’

‘People said vinyl was on its way out but like so many nice things it made a comeback. CDs have never been quite as ‘romantic’ but will have their day again.’

The phasing out of CD and DVD sales leaves those of us who still have them in a bit of a quandary. We’ve spent two or three decades building collections of music and film that now seem as irrelevant and bulky as a pile of old VHS tapes.

I’m fond of my CD and DVD collections. Like the vinyl singles and LPs of my youth that I held onto for sentimental reasons, they’re part of who I am. According to music industry experts, the CD still has a place in terms of sound quality, convenience and collectability, and the phasing out of sales in supermarkets could create a window of opportunity for independent shops to meet continuing demand.

But that will become very niche. In the mainstream, music and films will be accessed online, which seems rather soulless.

I once interviewed Jools Holland and, recalling the joy of buying records in his youth, he said getting to know an album, poring over its cover and sleeve notes, was like reading a book. It’s a tactile, sensory experience that stays with you. The CD was never a thing of beauty, like a vinyl cover, but still featured the artwork, lyrics and other quirks that you discover when you buy an album. And DVDs have special features like the director’s cut and cast discussions that you don’t get with streaming.

There’s something delightfully geeky about a music/film/box set collection but, like the pleasure of browsing in record shops, it’s becoming a thing of the past.

Turns out CDs aren’t as indestructable as Tomorrow’s World once claimed. Soon they’ll be gone from mainstream stores forever. But many of us will continue to cherish those space age discs, and press Play on our memories.