45 Across

NYT Daily • August 26, 2025

Some pre-streaming music purchases

Answer:

CDS

Hint:

These shiny discs once held your favorite albums before digital downloads took over.

Explanation:

Before digital streaming took over, people bought physical music in the form of compact discs, or CDs. The clue hints at this older way of purchasing music by calling them "pre-streaming" items. "CDs" is simply the plural abbreviation for these discs, making it a straightforward answer.

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