Spring Cleaning your Library

Posted by: Tam on 01 October 2006

Recently it has struck me that I have too many CDs. Okay - not recently, I have always known really, what I mean is that it has struck me that I ought to do something about it. Parly becuase I am running both out of shelves and (for now, at least) space for more.

This much is simple enough - but how to go about it is trickier - if there were discs present I really hated, it would be easy enough... There was a nice piece in the Gramophone a month or so back (something of a novelty these days) on the very subject where he said that such a process only ever seems to turff out the odd christmas album, unwanted gifts and anything conducted by Leonard Slatkin (apologies to any Slatkin fans).

So suggestions for how to go about it are welcome. One that has occured to me is that in the best (or, should that be worst) traditions of reality tv one might have a 'relegation shelf' where one put likely candidates that one never seems to listen to, gives them a final chance and then either looses or retains them. However, given my current backlog of unlistened to discs, I wonder how effective this would be.

Suggestions greatly appreciated.

regards, Tam
Posted on: 01 October 2006 by graham55
Tam, I'm grappling with the very same problem. I also have an awful lot of other unused junk in my house, which needs to go as well.

I've heard a suggestion - in relation to junk generally - that, if you haven't used something within the last two years, you're unlikely to use it again.

Might this be applied to CDs? I rather think so!

Graham
Posted on: 01 October 2006 by u5227470736789439
I part with as many CDs as I aquire! Over time my library has not grown in the last fiftenn year, but it gradually and continuously evolves. Somewhere here is a thread by me called, "Refiner Or Collector?"

I was considered somewhat hard on myself, but I think not. In the last ten years I have perhaps replaced ten discs, I wished I had not given to Oxfam! Not bad considering the total hovers around 1000 CDs most of the time!

Good to shake the dust of unsused things, in my view! Fredrik
Posted on: 01 October 2006 by Tam
Dear Fredrik,

Of course, you are far better at this than me - I'm something of a compulsive collector and terrible at throwing things away (though in the last year or so I have parted with one or two sets as you know - the Abbado Brahms and also Perahia's Mozart).


Dear Graham,

I think the two year rule is pretty apt. And certainly there are a number of things along those lines that I might consider.


regards, Tam
Posted on: 02 October 2006 by JamieWednesday
Same problem, kind of solved with a couple of these. Take up little space and gives easy access to the CDs too!

CD Storage
Posted on: 02 October 2006 by pe-zulu
Every devoted collector gets problems of this kind, I think, and I am no exception.
During the years I have for the same reason discarded (sold, given away or even thrown out) maybe all in all 2000 LPs and CDs, which I thought, I never would listen to again, but in a significant number of cases I got second thoughts and decided to reacquire the recordings. Unfortunately a number of the recordings, I wanted to reacquire, have been unavailable until now and still are. This is why I don´t discard many recordings any more.

Kindest regards,
Poul
Posted on: 03 October 2006 by Rasher
I turfed out all my vinyl a few years back and although it seems drastic, going through it at the time it all seemed to be such dross. I have replaced some of it on CD, but mostly it isn't missed. I now need to do the same thing with my CD's as it is getting out of hand. Selling on Amazon or Ebay is easy enough and if it means buying something back again later, well, it hasn't cost you anything.
I've got about 50 Playstation games to offload first though (mostly never played).
Posted on: 04 October 2006 by John M
I like the idea of going through and putting aside non-recent listening material on a separate shelf. Problem is I get home after work all jazzed up to get create an organized and zen-like space out of my 3000 cd/2000 vinyl/500 cassette clutter. So I feed, bath, put the kids to sleep and then start weeding out those items I haven't listened to forever - maybe once when I first bought it. So far so good. Hang on, maybe I better hear it on my new Naim set up that I did not have 10 years agon when I bought/was given this Inspiral Carpets/Kitchens of Distinction/Harvey Danger CD. OK lets have a listen, fall asleep, or what not, and decide it's not half bad - oh hell I guess I'll keep it. This, as you can tell, moves at a rate of 1 or 2 discs a night. So I just give up. Won't listen again for another 10 years at this rate....

I also have this huge fear of giving away/selling the next random collector's item that sells for idiotic prices (a la Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab discs)
Posted on: 04 October 2006 by Sloop John B
I'd be firmly in the never sell category. Recently I've picked up J.J. Cale's Oki and Closer to you s/h. What kind of people could sell a JJ Cale cd?

I sold 5 lp's once to buy Paul Brady's True for You. I've re-bought 3 of those on cd!

I have a Joan Jett lp, tastefully in the attic where I had to dust it down to hear the version of the Haloes "Nag" which was on a cd I had purchased. I would have been very niffed if I hadn't got it in the attic.

SJB
Posted on: 04 October 2006 by Allan Milne
SACRILIGE

Getting rid of albums is like writing in books!

There is nothing better than finding some album you forgot you had, playing it and being gobsmacked - especially on your new Naim kit that you didn't have when you first listened. I don't think of it as collecting - I am not trying to make some coherent collection, I am buying music that I think I like at the time. It is fun recollecting your tastes as time goes by.

Don't do it! Just make some more room on the floor - its also fun seeing how high you can stack CD's on top of one another.

Allan
Posted on: 04 October 2006 by Basil
quote:
Getting rid of albums is like writing in books!



I couldn't agree more, I'd rather sell a family member than one of my Records.
Posted on: 05 October 2006 by Rasher
Never had a problem selling family members either to be honest.