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Record collection pedantry

I also go by genre, then by artist surname and order the albums chronologically within the artist.

Recently I have been pondering introducing a mono section. The jury is still out on that.

Also I have been considering having sections devoted to series: Acoustic Sound Series, Blue Note 75, 80, Classic and Tone Poet Series. There's something appealling about having all the Tone Poets etc grouped together. Again the jury is still out on this radical move.
 
hermit said:
I also go by genre…
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How many genres do you split to?

Space/shelving dictates mine to a large degree. I currently have; ‘classical’ (includes modern avant/experimental etc), ‘jazz’, and a ‘main’ section that covers rock, indie, soul, reggae, electronica, techno, folk and really anything that isn’t ‘jazz’ or ‘classical’. There’s also a ‘kitsch/space age bachelor pad’ area for 1950 audiophile stunt records, test records etc that just doesn’t fit anywhere sane. Even then things still get a bit blurred. More so of late when the lines between jazz, soul, rap, electronica etc are so just vague, e.g. where do you put Ishmael Ensemble, Portico Quartet, Thundercat? Even George Duke or George Benson is up for grabs really.

I also have formats separated, e.g. 7” are in a flightcase that is actually supporting my TV (so I can’t get at them!), 10” are in one all-genres location, and 12” singles are in tubs on the floor under the shelves as they tend not to have spines so don’t work well shelved.

The CDs are a total mess as I’m so far out of storage space. Hundreds are just piled up without a home. Some categorised in piles so I can at least find stuff, e.g. there is a box with all the ECM. Box sets are even more random.

Everything is in Discogs though, even the 7” singles under the TV! That does make things so much easier, though it can still take a good bit of time finding a CD. Vinyl I can get to very fast, I know where most things are on the shelf from memory. The vinyl is the best ordered by far.
 
With some bands I'm tempted to go off piste e.g. Echo and the Bunnymen under B, as that is how I usually refer to them as the Bunnymen.
 
Tony L said:
How many genres do you split to?
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Jazz for modern jazz records first released after 1954 and prior to the year 2000.
Contemporary Jazz for jazz records first released after the year 2000.
Trad Jazz for early jazz records and records from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald etc
Blues
Rock / Pop
Downbeat / House
Funk / Soul
Classical
 
A bit off topic - I haven't put my stuff on Discogs as yet. Just wondering, if I wanted to view, say, Tony L's collection can anyone do that? Does the cataloguing exist for one's own personal use or is it in the public domain?
 
Nigel said:
A bit off topic - I haven't put my stuff on Discogs as yet. Just wondering, if I wanted to view, say, Tony L's collection can anyone do that? Does the cataloguing exist for one's own personal use or is it in the public domain?
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I don’t think so, not in one block anyway. I have however had a couple of enquiries about records despite not having anything listed for sale, so it is possible to contact the people in the ‘have’ or ‘want’ categories for a given pressing. You can set your profile however you want though, so it would be possible to block this.
 
Nigel said:
A bit off topic - I haven't put my stuff on Discogs as yet. Just wondering, if I wanted to view, say, Tony L's collection can anyone do that? Does the cataloguing exist for one's own personal use or is it in the public domain?
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I think you can see another person’s collection if that person allows it in their settings.

I have my collection set to private - otherwise you can get random emails from people making ludicrous offers for records that are not for sale.

I still get mail from chancers who go through lists of who owns what, for specific records.
If you click on ‘HAVE’ or ‘WANT’ for a specific release, Discogs will list who has, and who wants. The numbers are a good indication of how popular an album/release is.
 
My collection is ordered as follows:

Artists

1) Surname
2) Forename
3) Release date

Groups

1) Band name (ignoring first The)
2) Release date

Compilations/Soundtracks

1) Genre - dance, pop, rock, soundtrack
2) Title (Ignoring first The or A)
3) Release date

Peculiarities/clarifications

Two artists e.g. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus - under surname of first listed artist.
Number before letters e.g. 4 Non Blondes are before any band/artist beginning with a letter.
A space is alphabetically before A to Z.
A hyphen is alphabetically before A to Z but after a space.
Mc or Mac treated as MC or MAC not sorted before MA
Apostrophes treated as if they are not there e.g. O'Connor is treated as OConnor.
 
I have no particular order for my records, but I can usually find something that I am looking for.

I do have a ‘current’ box with about a hundred albums that I am currently obsessed with, but that changes a bit each week. Too much jazz in that box.
 
Tony L said:
The Beatles under ‘B’
Bowie under ‘B’
Gilmour under ‘G’
The The under ‘T’

Anything else is a breach of international law.

PS I arrange albums within artist by release date order, e.g. Ziggy is before Aladdin Sane and after Hunky Dory. I believe some people, who are wrong, arrange alphabetically within artist.
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This ^^^^

gavreid said:
Where do you put sound tracks? Say Grease? With the rest of the soundtracks alphabetically by show/fim name or with John Travolta?
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Grease!:eek: in the bin!:p
Seriously though, I'd put it under G,
 
davidsrsb said:
M dilemma is groups whose names begin with "The"
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‘The’ is no issue for me, I just ignore it(as does iTunes, though by default that catalogues by first name, though you can override that). My inconsistency is ‘A’. Thinking about it I have A Certain Ratio under ‘A’, which I’d argue was correct, but ‘A Guy Called Gerald’ under ‘G’, which I’m not so sure about.

One that always makes me laugh in shops etc is finding Jethro Tull under ‘T’, Captain Beefheart under ‘B’, or Dr. Feelgood under ‘F’. If it is a band name one goes by first letter, so ‘J’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ there.
 
Albums and CDs are for me the easy one ... group name or artist surname (ignoring 'the') followed by releases chronologically and compilations at the end of each artist

Big OCD nightmare for me was when I had a wall filling collection of VHS movies and TV recordings ... films by director/key actor/writer???? TV shows by the same criteria? - even when a long running series might have differing directors or teams of writers and changing lead actors???? Cassette recordings of radio progs in the same rack???
The advent of DVD/CD releases and home burnt off-air copies didn't make it any easier by a long chalk ... but at least their was some overlap in the shelved dimensions :(

Drove me nuts ... thank the media lord for 'on-demand' access and the end of physical collections of future landfill :D
 
Actually it doesn't matter one bit how you file stuff as long as you have a 'system' and you can find stuff.

I have a 'system' but sometimes I still can't find the record I am looking for! :rolleyes:
 
Sorting LP's after weight anyone?

The 'audiophile' record labels are obsessed with it, so it must mean something...
 
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