Black hole and neutron star binary systems are the most promising gravitational wave sources for the world-wide network of ground-based laser interferometers (LIGO, Virgo, GEO 600 and LCGT). I will present the most recent results of the LIGO/Virgo/GEO searches for gravitational waves from compact binaries, and discuss the prospects for studying black holes and neutron stars with Advanced LIGO/Virgo. These instruments are currently being installed and are expected to yield from a few to tens of detections per year once the detectors operate at design sensitivity.