Can you ask owners of said phones if it would be inconvenient for them to mute them or put them on vibrate?

I remember when Itzhak Perlman came to Boston a few years ago. The Globe review said, in part:

"... and the violinist was in a particularly jovial and communicative mood, despite the cellphone that shrieked into a poignant passage in the Adagio cantabile of Beethoven's C-Minor Sonata, Op. 30, No. 2.

"The New York Legislature is considering a law that would impose heavy fines on those who bring activated cellphones or pagers into theaters, concert halls, and other places of public assembly. Perlman was mildly amusing on the subject. When he returned to the stage after intermission, he made a show of consulting his program book. 'I was wondering,' he said, 'whether that phone call was from Bach or from Beethoven.'"

One place I wouldn't care about hearing phones ring is in an office ;P

But I hate them everywhere else!

One of my coworkers has the LOUDEST ringtone of her favorite rockstar's biggest hit. It was a hit song 15 years ago. And we hear it at FULL BLAST several times a day. I feel your pain.

OK, toastedbeagle, everybody get together on this and play that song randomly throughout the day.

I suppose I could have asked the people to turn down their ringers, but given my level of irritation, it was probably best for me to vent here than to actually talk to them. That and the one lady was away from here desk somewhere, so there was no one to ask. My boss eventually came over and did something to shut the phone up.

I just don't get it... Sometimes I forget to turn my ringer off, but I immediately do if someone calls or texts so the phone doesn't make any more noise during the day.

It is surprising how many people are oblivious to noise. Including their own.

I give people three chances.
First time, I just silence the phone.
Second time, I silence the phone and send them an email saying 'Please remember to mute your phone or take it with you if you go to a meeting'
Third time, phone gets hidden. Under a keyboard, under a sheet of printer paper, when I worked at a big software developer in the PNW I would put it in the ceiling tiles (for particularly rude offenders)