A recent surge in digital music services has helped to launch a new era of consumption — one that no longer requires a trip to the local record store or batteries for a handheld cassette player.

These days, most people discover music via the radio, friends and family, or YouTube. Teens, however, hone their tastes mostly through CDs (50 percent), MP3s (53 percent), radio stations (56 percent), and YouTube (64 percent).

According to an infographic from The Music Bed(Opens in a new window), positive recommendations from friends are actually most likely to influence purchase decisions. Trust your friend’s judgment about the new Kanye album? So do 54 percent of buyers.

A quarter of people are more likely to make a purchase based on a music blog or chat room, while 12 percent can be swayed by a brand endorsement.

Still, subscription-based services like Spotify, Rhapsody, and Muve Music seem to be on the fast track to the front of the music industry class, ahead of download services like iTunes, the graphic said. In fact, the number of subscribers grew by 44 percent in 2012, reaching a high of 20 million.

That number can only increase by the end of this year, following the launch of a number of new streaming music services, including Twitter’s #music for iOS and Web, Google Play All Access, Apple’s iTunes Radio, and, most recently, Xbox Music.

Radio apps account for only 47 percent of smartphone owners’ devices, though, falling behind the more prevalent music player applications downloaded by 54 percent of people. No matter the venue, digital music is viewed as a superior value to physical CDs, which tend to cost at least a few dollars more, and don’t offer individual tracks for purchase.

Spending habits do change with age, though, as The Music Bed’s graphic points out, citing 41 percent of respondents ages 55 and older who have reduced their spending to a large degree during the current economy. Meanwhile, only 28 percent of those ages 25 to 34 agreed.

For more, see PCMag’s list of The Best Streaming Music Services. Also, check out the full Music Bed infographic below.