I thought audio CDs, if treated properly, were supposed to last a lifetime, or at least a life sentence. When I originally wrote this page I owned about thirty audio CDs, three of which appeared to be disintegrating after only ten years, a 10% rot rate. The polycarbonate was unscratched but transparent "holes" had developed in the reflective surface. Although I couldn't find any skips when I played them I figured it was only a matter of time. I've since sold or donated most of them. It's kind of irrelevant at this point since nobody buys CDs anymore, but if you still have any you care about you might want to make backups.
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