How Many CD's do you own?

Dear Ken,

At one time I had nearly 900 CDs, and before that 900 LPs and about 100 CDs, and some overlap of recordings while CDs took over. I parted with all but about 50 LPs in 1991 as CD took over for me.

This was a time when my library was definitely too large, and now I have about 550 CDs transferred to iTunes.

My rule is that if a recording has not been played for a long time - say two years - I consider why? Has my taste changed? Does the performance no longer represent a sort of subjective ideal in the music for me?

I play it over, and decide whether to get rid of the CD, and delete from iTunes. Currently I have six waiting for a trip to Oxfam.

When I did use direct CD replay, I often had two or three piles say twenty high of the "current regular" listening. This was not satisfactory really, and since getting iTunes going, I find that my listening has increased in length of time devoted to it, and also that I am mining the little nuggets [often say ten minutes of a compilations CD, and a real nuisance to find], with the iTunes search engine so that my library of recordings is now much more effectively enjoyed than ever before.

I will add that among the 7000 odd tracks I have in iTunes, I made over 20,000 corrections additions and standardisations of the tagging details so that the search engine will produce any work by name in the sometimes multiple versions contained, or by composer catalogue [BWV, for Bach, or K, for Mozart] or Opus number. I cab further refine by specifying leading artist, and this creates a temporary "play-list" of one work from a chosen performer, which when the music ends, I do not have to get up and "stop" the next thing on the CD being played!

This works just as well for say the four minutes of Piazzola's "Oblivion" as it does for the nearly three hours of Mozart's Don Giovanni, and in the operas contained [only four] I can specify "Act One" "Two," etc so I get the span played without gap that would be encountered in a live radio replay or a proper concert. The replay is perfect gapless replay without interpolation of silent time between tracks, or eliding the beginings and endings. The reproduced quality with ALAC is far better than LP replay in a whole variety of ways, and even has some useful advantages over CDs, which are too short for some works be be listened to in a single sweep as intended. And being able to fine down to one specific piece over several tracks is a wonderful development.

Yes iTunes and my enhancing of the tagging and thus very fine search engine has transformed my listening. The other day I was listening to Joyce Grenfell - monologues and songs - definitely a dark corner in my recordings, but dusted down now!

I imagine that over time I may actually get as many as 650 CDs transferred, but after that they will drop out as fast as they go in.

ATB from George

PS: For Don Giovanni, the search words are "Giovanni, Busch, One," which brings up Act One of Fritz Busch's recording of the opera. For the Second Act after a suitable coffee brew I substitute Two for One and set off again. Much better than eight sides of LPs or three CDs! If I wanted Klemperer's recording, then obviously I would insert Klemperer rather than Busch.

George,

But why do you delete from iTunes? 

What if you promise to yourself not to listen to it since you've sold the CD.

Who knows, maybe in 20 years once the CD is out of print, you might want to listen to it again. And you could mail the artist a 20 pound bill since the CD is out of print and you've started listening to it again but can't purchase the CD anymore.

Just saying....

and restarting the fight we had over two years ago. ;-)

Sure, egging you along a little, but you know me now.  

Loads more than i had when this thread was started in 2010.

Stu.

Good and interesting post George - kind of sums up some real advantages to streaming audio, and I can relate to them even though I am only peripherally involved in it now...and makes me want to go for it "whole hog" - albeit cautiously to do it in a manner that gives me the most bang for my buck, and doesn't introduce the technology as a hobby (better: chore) unto itself.

Not including cover discs etc, I've about 3,500 CD's and about 2,000 LP's, singles etc. I've just about completed ripping my CD's to a NAS and thoroughly enjoying going back over stuff I haven't played for years (mainly because I'd forgotten I had it!). I can now play nearly everything I own in a matter of seconds.

Although my new Uniti 2 is an entry-level product, I'm loving it. And I'm buying more CD's - some excellent suggestions of artists I'd never even heard of on other threads, particularly the one on women singers. Long live streaming!

I have no intention of getting rid of my CD's. As well as the legal angle, I simply couldn't bear to part with them. I don't feel attached to downloaded files in quite the same way. I must have the physical artefact! 

Vlad,

Also a plus if everything digital has a melt down you will always have them to rip again.

Stu.

True, though given the time it took to rip them, it's not something you would look forward to! I do also use the Uniti's CD player.

BTW What abbreviation should be used on the forum for the Uniti 2? I'm definitely not having U2!

I lost count long ago but I think I have over 5,000 now, some of which I've not got round to listening to yet. At least 1,000 of those CDs are live recordings of Zep, the Floyd, New Order and the Dead.

One day I'll get round to alphabetising them all

Dear MM,

Since this thread originally started, I have not parted with any CDs, but have continued to add new ones to iTunes, whilst deleting unplayed ones at a more or less a one to one rate. 6963 tracks compared to a peak of 7005, to indicate ...

I plan one major addition to iTunes in the next year or so as finances allow. The complete Sacred and secular choral music of JS Bach. That would be a grouth of about 20% without any compensating deletions. If I add two complete recordings, that would amount to a huge increase in the scope of the library. It is the last addition I plan, though the selection will evolve slowly in other areas without any increase in the iTunes folder as one goes out for a new one in!

By now, if I made a mistake the CDs are still there.

ATB from George

Just seen this thread... Interesting. I have about 3000 cds + another 1500 digital legal downloads. I listen regularly to about 100 cd's or files (I always listen to an album in full) that I roll from time to time. I didn't rip all the cd's except my long time favorites. I also have a rule that I kinda follow for the past few years and it works and satisfies me. Whenever I can listen to music for some time, I always get one that I haven't listen for a long time... Right now is Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Touré - Talking Tumbuktu - ... Very nice, it's coming up in the 100 active and this one, yep this very one - Bill Frisell - Gone, Just like a Train -  is going back on the shelve.

In 2-3-4 years from now, I will own more cd's but I'm quite sure I will download more especially if us, Canadians, can get fair choice of hi-res music. What a pity... 

Yip

I don't actually know and can't really be bothered to count. Very rough guess? 1500 plus/minus (Not counting the vinyl)

One thing I am fairly certain of is that I have more than I need but I have great difficulty in parting with any of them.

I don't have anything 'digital' (no iPod, etc, either) but I do have a pile of cassettes lovingly recorded over 30 or so years.

steve

Some people have 4000 5000 6000 albums here. Now, if you listen to music 3 hours a day every day, you would have to spend approx. 6 years to hear your collection JUST ONCE.

Surely, the majority of these collections just lie there collecting dust ?

Maybe people should donate their 'hardly ever played' CD's to charity ?

What the OP should have asked is how many CD's  do people play ON A REGULAR BASIS.  

Steve,

Don't you have your CDs & vinyl listed in books or on discs?

Worth doing man just incase of fire or theft.

Update as you buy or once a month and leave a disc or two round at a family members or friends just incase.

Stu.

Who among us has not heard the accusatory phrase "How many bl**dy CD's do you need"?

"All of them" is my heartfelt reply.

Have you never woken up in the middle of the night and said to yourself "I haven't heard Mott The Hoople's "All the way from Memphis" for ages". And then spent two hours looking for the CD in the attic?

No never.

There was only one classic ever written in a attic.

I often wake up in the morning with a tune in my head that can take a few hours or even days to work out what it is though.

Stu.

Just me, then.

Though I do also suffer from the UMFO syndrome - Unidentified Musical Fragment Overload.  

Laugh,

Its most mornings for me.

Because of this thread i have remembered the name of a tune and the album that has been bugging my head since last week.

It just comes when you don't think to hard about it.

Just going to post it on the what are you listening to now thread,If i can remember where the vinyl/CD/download is at.

Stu.