I'm getting ready to move a sizeable chunk of my CD collection into binders. I guess there's not a lot of difference btw that and just having digital copies. I guess I hold out hope that the CDs will return to a shelf eventually when I get these fucking kids out of my house.

Keeping some originals in a binder is actually a pretty good idea.

Over the last year or two, I've become increasingly comfortable with the idea of all my music being digital - all the music in my iTunes (and on my iPod) is 16-bit or 24-bit Apple Lossless, really, what am I missing out by getting rid of CDs? I've always been the kind of person to care more about the musical content than the packaging.

It does to me. Probably as much as the songs on the record. Sad but true.

I think it's worth mentioning that music itself means more to me than it ever does - things like artwork, packaging, etc. are peripheral at best.

I would happily just have FLAC downloads of music I like, that doesn't mean music itself means less to me - far from it.

I understand everyone's point of view on this.
Consider this: 24 bit WAV files released by the artist vs. a CD of the same tracks released by the artist. I KNOW that 24 bit WAV files are higher quality than the 16 bit CD, but because the artist has released the CD with the artwork/liner notes/lyrics/other packaging, I would rather have the CD than the 24 bit WAV files. WAV files are, like, in the air, whereas a CD/tape/LP feels like you own something. The fact that you don't own the music at all (the copyright holder does) is neither here nor there.

This line of thinking makes no logical sense, of course, but it's just how I feel about it. I suspect a lot of folk of my generation do, too.

The ultimate would be to buy the physical release, and buy the 24 bit WAV's, and just keep the WAVs in my archives until I reach a point where my travelling is done and I settle down and have a system that'll really bring the benefits out in 24 bit WAV's. Once I'm at that point, though, I'd still keep my physical releases.