When Did I Lose Control Of My CD Collection?

GoodSpeak · January-2nd-2004, 07:25 PM

OK.

How many of you have found your CD collection to be completely unmanagable? Lately, I have been finding CDs that I either bought and never got around to listening to or forgot I had or never remember buying it/receiving it in the first place. Can any of you relate to this rather bizarre phenomenon?

To wit, read this check list and see how many you can relate to:

1. Your collection has gotten so big, you are now buying CDs you already own.

2. Alphabetical order is only something you dream about.

3. You can never find the CD you're looking for...unless you're not looking for it.

4. You have lost or permanently misplaced the CD and have only the empty jewel case.

5. In spite of this, you don't have enough CDs and keep buying more.

6. I've lost control of my CD collection and it is threatening to take over every inch of living space I have in the house.

8. Forgot I had that one.

9. Never knew I bought this one.

10. Lost another one.

And it's making me CRAZY!

TimMc

Arrrgghhhh!

frankiepop · January-2nd-2004, 08:26 PM

here's when i lost control

Captain Hate · January-2nd-2004, 09:11 PM

I've never bought a cd that I already have (I did, recently, take one out from the library that I had received as a gift; I don't think that really counts).

I have two separate racks that are kind of alphabetic; losing a cd brings on a psychotic reaction. There is no more appropriate use for space in my house than storage for my discs; it's the path I was meant to travel on.

Pete C · January-2nd-2004, 09:15 PM

Where did L'Affrontement des Pretendants go?

Capt. W./TX. · January-2nd-2004, 09:59 PM

I actually do have my collection (over 800 titles) stored in alphabetical order by artist.

Or-I pretty much know where everything is...sort-of

(but don't ask me where I left my car!)

Tanager · January-2nd-2004, 10:26 PM

Mine is stored by (1) Genre, (2) alpha by artist/composter, (3) release date. I agree with Hate - what'd you buy a house for, anyway, if not to store music?

stonemonkts · January-2nd-2004, 10:31 PM

I'm an obsessive record keeper. I log every CD purchase into a spreadsheet with columns for price, artist, session date, title, and sidemen. I mentioned this on WAYLT a few days ago.

I know this is nerdy but it sure makes it easy to find a CD. I have about 700 jazz recordings but add to that 2000+ LPs and 400+ homemade cassettes.

Ok, I left out the column for Penguin Guide rating.

I'm a geek!!

shrugs · January-2nd-2004, 11:53 PM

When we moved into our new place, I just took all of my lp's and cd's out of boxes and put them on shelves. Only the Mosaic lp's sets are in one place and some of the lp's that I like to know the location of. The rest of it is scattered in 4 different rooms and it's great finding things that were in the closet in Connecticut since I didn't have enough shelves. I found two inches of lp's I had completely forgot about. They have kept me out of the record stores down here for the most part though!!

mke · January-3rd-2004, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pete C
Where did L'Affrontement des Pretendants go?

How does that compare to Les Violences de Rameau?

Gary Sisco · January-3rd-2004, 08:04 AM

Last summer. I still have maybe ten CDs from my NYC safari this past June that I haven't heard yet or have heard only once, and still the new ones keep multiplying. I have a "to listen to" stack that's about 14" high.

Tanager · January-3rd-2004, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David Gitin
Tanager, problem with 'genre' is accentuated every time I go to buy CDs. For example, what's Ray Charles? Sometimes jazz, sometimes blues, sometimes rock, country, oldies or pop(!)

Yeah, 'genre' is at times a rough stab, nothing more. Simply a feeble attempt to impose order upon chaos.

stonemonkts · January-3rd-2004, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
Yeah, 'genre' is at times a rough stab, nothing more. Simply a feeble attempt to impose order upon chaos.

I've tried to add a column for genre several times to my spreadsheet, but always found myself scratching my head and giving up. But I would love to re-sort my shelves according to your method. May I ask which genres you listed? I'd like to give it another go.

Your humble nerd,
SM

BlueMiles · January-3rd-2004, 10:53 AM

It's a mess.

I am orderly in one sense. I have always written down purchases as they occurred, noting format--CD, LP, cassette. Of course, these days it's nothing but CD's. I have also tried to keep a complete list of all my jazz in a computer file--this one is alphabetical. But there is certainly chaos in the house. I have CD's and CD players upstairs and downstairs, and in my car. I have tons of storage units. For over a year I have been burning CD's, so that's an additional problem--especially with those skinny little jewel cases.

I still listen to cassettes from time to time. The organization is even more chaotic. I've been searching for some time for Jackie McLean's "Nature Boy" (on cassette), and no luck yet!

At least I don't think I have any repeats.

GoodSpeak · January-4th-2004, 11:37 PM

Next question:

How do I get things under control...is it possible?

Gary Sisco · January-5th-2004, 08:00 AM

No.

Darryl G. Thomas · January-5th-2004, 02:27 PM

I moved from a condo to a rambler in Auguts of '01. My CD collection had grown in an orderly fasion in the condo. So everything was in alphabetical order (artist or group name) and by recording date. At the time I had over 2000 cds and a few hundred LPs. When I moved I was taking care of my sick mother and allowed the movers to pack. You know what happened. Plus, I still haven't completely unpacked. On top of that, there's the ton of music I've bought since the move. Finally, the Ella Fitzgerald songbook collection was on sale a while back but it's buried somewhere in my basement. So yeah, my collection's totally out of control and someday, someday I hope to get it back in order.

Sergio Zamora · January-5th-2004, 02:28 PM

I haven't been able to fully reorganize my cds for at least a couple of years. I always get to L or M, get tired or run out of time, and leave it at that. Next time I come back to it, I have to reorganize from the beginning again. And since I'm away from home so much, it's gonna be a while until I get to it again. It's a mess.

Alastair · January-6th-2004, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Darryl G. Thomas
I moved from a condo to a rambler in Auguts of '01.

I think I know what a condo is, but what's a rambler?

GoodSpeak · January-6th-2004, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alastair
I think I know what a condo is, but what's a rambler?

Same thing as my CD collection....a REAL rambler.

[heaviest of sighs]

Chris D · January-7th-2004, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alastair
I think I know what a condo is, but what's a rambler?

It's one way to refer to a ranch house.

Alastair · January-7th-2004, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chris D
It's one way to refer to a ranch house.

Still not helping...

Chris D · January-7th-2004, 11:27 AM

A ranch house is a one-story abode, usually rectangular, with a roof that has a low pitch.
It's called a "rambler" because the floor plan "rambles" from kitchen to dining room to living room to bedroom areas. Most ranches have 3 to 4 bedrooms.
Does that help any?

shrugs · January-7th-2004, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alastair
but what's a rambler?

Alastair · January-8th-2004, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chris D
A ranch house is a one-story abode, usually rectangular, with a roof that has a low pitch.
It's called a "rambler" because the floor plan "rambles" from kitchen to dining room to living room to bedroom areas. Most ranches have 3 to 4 bedrooms.
Does that help any?

Very much. Thanks.

(still getting my head round what an American friend calls a "duplex"...)

bostontricky · January-8th-2004, 11:25 AM

I've got CDs at hand here ordered here quite well, alphabetically, mostly by genre (jazz, vocals, world, classical, soundtracks, everything else), but most of my avant-garde type stuff is hidden in the card catalog.

It's actually my want list that's in shambles, and I've won my second CD that I hadn't intended to pick up yesterday on eBay, Gerry Hemingway's "Down to the Wire" instead of "Demon Chaser". C'est la last minute bidding, baby.

Noj · January-8th-2004, 11:33 AM

As my collection has grown, I have gone to great lengths to organize it. This includes breaking it into sections in terms of genre, lots of subcategories, chronological within multiple titles by a single leader, etc...Now I'm in the process of putting the whole thing into one big alphabetical mish mash. I think I'll like it better that way.

Vince Kargatis · January-8th-2004, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
Mine is stored by (1) Genre, (2) alpha by artist/composter, (3) release date.

Why release date instead of recording date? I do the same except for that substitution.

GoodSpeak · January-8th-2004, 11:09 PM

OK.

Here's my problem with rank ordering things by genre, alphabetical order or artist:

1. After you pick out the CDs to play, when do you put them back into their original order?

2. What happens if Life gets in the way and you can't re-catalogue the CDs anytime soon?

3. Where do the new purchases go before you listen to them?

4. What happens if Life gets in the way and you can't LISTEN to the new CDs anytime soon?

5. What then?

[heaviest of sighs]

shrugs · January-9th-2004, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alastair
Very much. Thanks.

(still getting my head round what an American friend calls a "duplex"...)

We live in what is called a shotgun. Would love a camel back though.

MRS · January-10th-2004, 12:43 AM

. . .know why it's called a 'shotgun'? (not because it's long and thin)