The easy recordability of cassette tapes had another bonus. Both tapes and records wear out a little each time you listen to them. But you could buy a record and dub it onto a tape, then listen to the tape. If you eventually wore out the tape, you still had the original record with only one playthough on it, so you could always dub it onto another tape.

It's nice these days being able to listen to music and not simultaneously feel like you're treading a slow path to destroying the music you're hearing.