The object of this thread is twofold:

first, I'd like to find how many records and CDs you guys got. I have about 2,700 records and 400 Cds or so.

More importantly, how many albums do you think one should have?

I talked to my friendly record dealer (who does his utmost to get me vinyl where possible) recently, explaining that I feel I have too many records. They take up too much space. I have them in a purpose-built rack which is about 8' high. I can't pull albums on the top shelf without climbing on a chasir or something, which bugs me.

My record buying has diminished partly because I have many classic albums already and don't want/need to duplicate them in another format, and partly because I hesitate to add to my already-too-large-collection. I'm seriously thinking of downsizing it.

My dealer said nobody needed more than about a 1,000 records.

What do you think?

I can't pull albums on the top shelf without climbing on a chasir or something


Chasir is Arabic for pig, I believe. Can't you just use a chair instead?

I have lots of records and CDs and feel no need to stop acquiring even more. I like having so many records that I can pull stuff out at random and find great things I haven't listened to for a while. It's great provided you don't spend all your time playing only a small percentage of what you have, which we're all prone to, I suspect.

-- Ian

I’m probably at about 3000+ 12” bits of vinyl, 100 bits of vinyl of different sizes, and 1000 CDs comprising both albums and singles.

My record buying has diminished partly because I have many classic albums already and don't want/need to duplicate them in another format, and partly because I hesitate to add to my already-too-large-collection. I'm seriously thinking of downsizing it.

I try to keep to one copy per album – I always aim at finding a mint vinyl first pressing of any given work. Once I have a good vinyl copy I will sell the CD or later vinyl pressing, I don’t like having duplicates around taking up space. I sell a lot of records, and always pick stuff up at shops if I think I can make on it. As such I see my collection as being pretty fluid, there is a core of about 35-40% that you would have to threaten me at gunpoint to get, but the rest has a price over which I let it go.

Buying music for me is an act of discovery – I’d say 50% of what I buy is stuff I have heard nothing of previously. There are certain rules though, I will for instance buy any Blue Note or Impulse album recorded between about 1958 and 1965 and any Krautrock album recorded before 75 or so assuming I see them at a good price. Similar rules apply to a lot of leftfield 70s and early 80s music. The remaining 50% tend to be gap fillers that I stumble across whilst searching for gems in bargain bins – stuff I liked but never bothered buying new at full price.

Currently I buy very little new stuff; all I have bought this year is The White Stripes, The Coral, Kraftwerk and a couple of singles by local bands. The rest can wait until I meet it in a bargain bin.

Tony.

man I thought I had a few but compared to you guys gee, I've got if I'm lucky 500 CDs and no LP though. Will have to visit HMV more often I think.

Dru

I don't know the exact numbers - gave up counting long ago. However, I can give you approximate dimensions:

20-odd feet of vinyl, plus perhaps 4 feet of 78s in various attics. Mostly secondhand.

Around 800 cds, maybe more. It used to be around 500 but then I obtained a wife and added her occasionally questionable collection to mine. I think she had around 4 feet of vinyl, which took me up to the 20 feet mark.

I think that's too much. I will try to thin the vinyl and cds down later this year, as I'd rather have half as many albums that I really love than the amount I do have which contains a lot of stuff I never listen to.

Put another way, I reckon there's 1500-2000 lps. Maybe less, as I said I don't know. Assuming 1500 lps, and given that due to the fact I've not got as much listening time as I'd like, I reckon I listen to an average of half to an hour worth of music per day (on the stereogram, not in the horseless carriage). By that token, and ignoring CDs, that's roughly an LP to two LPs a day - which would take me almost two years to listen to everything.

I'd love to say that I listen more, and frequently I do, but working 9-5 and also running a web company in my free time doesn't leave nearly as much freetime as I'd like...

:(

jtc

My dealer said nobody needed more than about a 1,000 records.

Your dealer be a wise man! Nobody even needs that much. I'd say that in all honesty I listen to a hard-core of around 100 albums and cds on a regular basis, and maybe another 100 on an occasional basis. The rest are listened to only rarely.

Hopefully I'll have more time to rationalise what I have soon, and trim the numbers down whilst increasing the 'hard-core' to maybe 200 and the occasionals to another 200...

jtc

You can never have too much music, as long as you have space for it and the money to pay the insurance premium for it. Was it Rob in "high fidelity" that said you're not a music lover unless you have >500 unique musical items - fair point - so most "normal" people are, by definition, not music lovers - well, they listen to naff systems so not surprised they don't have more than they do!

I have duplicates of many of my items that I've upgraded from CD to LP, but will keep the CDs for Discman usage/at mates' etc.

I have approximately:
700 CD Albums
100 CD singles
80 7inchers
3 10inchers
50 12inchers
460 LPs (not bad considering about 350 of those were acquired in the last 4 years, since I discovered Notting Hill's MVE and charity shops)
7 prerecorded MDs
100ish 8tracks (mostly crap)
100 Cassingles
40ish remaining prerecorded tapes
2 prerecorded reel-reel tapes (I'm NOT saying what THESE are!)
1 prerecorded DAT tape (Technique - New Order - bought for weirdness - mate dubbed it to MD for me)

I have 8tracks in place of 78s, as I've not seen a gramophone at the right price. I'd give my left nad for a wax cylinder player though.

I've actually got one title on 4 formats - Double Fantasy by Lennon/Ono on cassette/8track/cd/vinyl (in order of sound quality) - a weird situation but it's one of those things.

I DO have a few LPs on duplicate, but I need to get off my fat butt and decide which to ditch/sell - I mean, how many copies of Love Over Gold does one man need (a lot, judging by how hard it is to get on decent condition vinyl - even my Simply Vinyl recent audiophile version isn't perfect - and for 17 quid - I expect perfection...)

Originally posted by domfjbrown
...I'd give my left nad for a wax cylinder player though. I wasn't aware NAD ever made monoblocks - or did you mean a monobollock?

Your dealer be a wise man! Nobody even needs that much. I'd say that in all honesty I listen to a hard-core of around 100 albums and cds on a regular basis, and maybe another 100 on an occasional basis. The rest are listened to only rarely.

The purpose of a music collection needs to be defined further. If it is purely a handful of favourite recordings then your definition is possibly accurate. For me it is something very different and has many uses. As I mentioned earlier I see my collection very much as an educational tool, I am absolutely fascinated by music of all kinds, and very often the only way I can get to hear a piece is to buy it. Secondly it acts as a point of reference that I can refer back to and this is a valuable tool to help understand music history, structure and composition better. Thirdly its an investment – I am a pretty shrewd and knowledgeable second hand record buyer and my collection reflects this, it is worth at least 4-6 times what I paid for it. A far better return than having the money earning 3.5% in a savings account, and useful too!

Tony.

Originally posted by Tony L
Thirdly its an investment – I am a pretty shrewd and knowledgeable second hand record buyer and my collection reflects this, it is worth at least 4-6 times what I paid for it. A far better return than having the money earning 3.5% in a savings account, and useful too!

He he he - that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase coined by Nakamichi - "Music bank" :)

What's your rarest item then Tony? Mine's nothing too special but I think it would be Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms on CD single - one of only 600. Not so expensive as the almost 100 quid it would have fetched in the late 80s though :(

If I could get NOW 4 on CD though - they go for a whopping >£200 on Ebay - oh well, my NOW 8 and 9 together would get around £160 between them there ;)

I also have this weird promo thing - Black's Comedy on 3x3inch CD singles in a little gatefold box set - really really cute - probably worthless, but a nice little item.

around 300 LP's
120 7" singles
200 CD's
80 tapes

A lot of it i dont listen to, but i'd never get rid of it.
To me my music is part of my life, so even if i dont listen to some of the stuff i bought in younger years it was a part of my growing up.
Still buying, try to get mostly LP's but well recorded CD will suffice

Originally posted by SteveC
I wasn't aware NAD ever made monoblocks - or did you mean a monobollock?

Oh ha ha! :D :cool: :p

Seriously though - I thought NAD *had* made monoblocks once - or was I just thinking 2 stereo amps bridged? Early 90s?

What's your rarest item then Tony?

I’ve got some good Krautrock – all my Can LPs are UK originals as are the likes of Amon Düül II, Kraftwerk (full set) etc. Other good stuff includes a fully signed 1st Smiths LP (I’ve got some other signed stuff, but that’s the best), the JAMMS ‘1987 what the fuck is going on’ and a lot of other rare new wave, indie and weird 70s rock, plus a full set of T,Rex, Bowie etc. I’ve also got some really good jazz too, probably over 60 mint 1950s-60s original pressings on Verve, Impulse, Atlantic etc plus a good number of crazy late 50s early 60s exotica. Never concentrated on 7” singles much, but I have got Floyd’s Arnold Layne and See Emily play.

There is some really unlikely stuff in there too just because I stumbled across it for peanuts – examples include the metal acetates for both Babylon Zoo’s Spaceman and some Nina Cherry 12” both found for 20p each, both obviously a one off. Must eBay them at some point… Got a fair few white label test pressings as well, both of indie and dance stuff and a lot of promos with press releases etc.

I tend not to keep reallyt valuable stuff unless I really love it (i.e. Kraut and jazz), but I’ve a hell of a lot of 20-40 quid stuff.

Tony.

If I could get NOW 4 on CD though - they go for a whopping >£200 on Ebay - oh well, my NOW 8 and 9 together would get around £160 between them there

Seriously? Wow, I better start looking for them… Which numbers make any money? I’ve always thought that stuff was < £2! Time to do some research as I frequently ignore loads of it!

Tony.

Originally posted by Tony L
the metal acetate for Babylon Zoo’s Spaceman

Let me know first - I love that track and would be curious to know how much you'd want for it - if you ever decide to punt it.

As for NOWs, well, muppets on Epay pay LOTS for anything <20 on CD (the tape/vinyl sets aren't worth much) - NOW 4 is one of the rarest EVER CDs (it's unbarcoded and has 15 tracks - NOT to be mistaken with the Hong Kong/US new NOW 4) and Now The Christmas Compact Disc is also fairly rare (I'm on the hunt for both). I have the Xmas one and 4 on vinyl anyway, so in no rush, but have a CDR of NOW 4 the CD....

When I was about 17 I made the mistake of selling off a lot of vinyl that I didn't listen to anymore for beer money.

Some of the stuff I have not seen anywhere since and would snap hands off to get.

The whole point is your record collection defines your life. Things you did, places you went, people you saw and just what you were into at the time.

Every now and then I look through my collection and think I you should get rid of some of it, but I can't bring myself to do it.

So more shelving required then (I like it all on show...).

Gary

Let me know first - I love that track and would be curious to know how much you'd want for it - if you ever decide to punt it.

I’m open to fairly substantial offers! It is a two sided metal lacquer, i.e. a thin disk of perfectly flat metal covered in wax that is made on the cutting lathe as the first stage of the record manufacturing process. It is a very early version of the song, none of the three tracks have the characteristic speeded up bit at the beginning that made the track famous. The cutting date is Jul 13th 1995.

The tracks are:
Side A Spaceman (edit) 4:41
Side B Spaceman (metal version) 3:48 & Spaceman (blue nude) 2:09.

I’d grade it as EX – there is the odd finger-mark (I haven’t cleaned it as lacquers are notoriously soft). It is in a stock white card sleeve and poly inner.

Tony.

http://freespace.virgin.net/tony.lonorgan/pics/b-zoo.jpg

"My dealer said nobody needed more than about a 1,000 records.

What do you think?"

One thousand albums? That's all? What are you suppose to do once you reach that number, stop buying records? :confused:

Your record dealer doesn't sell used vinyl does he? Sounds like he wants you to part with some of your collection. :D

I've got somewhere around 3,500 records and try to shop once a week for more, looking mostly for new release vinyl. A few years ago I got rid of about 200+ records, sold them to my local used record store and got probably $300 for the whole batch. I have probably spent $50 buying back those same titles that I realized I shouldn't have sold in the first place. :mad:

Hi,


I have a fair number of software items. I never get round to counting them.

I have over 20,000 pieces of vinyl (12" singles, 7" singles, 10" singles, LPs etc). I would say that there are at least 6000 LPs. I have in the region of over 7000 CDs (albums & singles). I do have quite a few box sets ( both vinyl & cd). I have a box full of cassettes. (not sure how many.) I do have the odd 78 records knocking around as well.

I have to point out that I have been a DJ for last 14 years but I have been buying vinyl since 1975.

I buy stuff that I may find interesting for my personal pleasure or my DJ work. I also get (most weeks) a fair amount of promos/white labels sent free. Over the last few years, I bought a number of record collections which has put me in touch with items that I don't see that often. This has given me more artists to listen to and enjoy (or not, depending on the tune).

Having a big collection has helped & increased my musical knowledge. It has given me a hell of a lot of pleasure over the years. I agree with Tony L, it has been a act of discovery at times.

Like Ian has mentioned, I can pull something out at random & find some thing that will entertain me. I try not to listen to the same few records (& CDs) over & over again.

The major downside for me (apart from storage & cost) is the lack of time to listen to it all but I make the most of it.

My first loves are Funk, Soul, Disco & Ska (1st wave)/ early reggae. James Brown is a big favourite of mine so he pops up the most in my collection. These are the styles I collect the most of.

I also have a fair house & dance collection & done well with 70s & 80s stuff. I have dipped my toes into most styles & have ended up with a increasing snap shot of popular music. This is mainly from the late 40s/early 50s to the present.


I still buy & listen to current music. I do need to do this for some of my DJ gigs. I also like a number of new & recent artists & tunes.
But having some that, most of my gigs these days are for retro stuff.


I must admit, I too have sold records & CDs and made a few bob. I agree records & CDs can give you a better return than a saving account. I have a large number of items which are worth more than, say, £20 which I paid nothing or next to nothing for.

I'm not sure what is the rarest item in my collection. I do have some Ska items that would fetch over £70. I have a David Bowie tour promo which has a book price of £70. (I was given a box of these by the tour manager). I did have an Oasis promo that was worth £300. I didn't get my act into gear & ending selling it for a lot less. :( I do have some interesting funk, soul & Northern soul items that may go for a few pennies. :cool:


To the question of the number of items in your collection, you should have a collection that you are happy with. If you like to explore different styles & various artists then your collection will grow. If you are happy with a smaller snap shot of music than you don't need as many items.

So I don't fully agree with that dealer. You should have what you are happy with & enjoy your music.

My record collection is my life.


Dean

My record collection is my life.

And sadly that means that it shows I am

a) relativley poorer than when I was a student, and
b) worrying myself that my taste may become middle aged.

I'd be interested to know what people spend on average every week/approx how many items that buys/where they shop.

For me, lack of time and the consequent need for convenience often means shopping on the high street where choice is more limited and prices higher.

Any thoughts?

I probably spend something like 100 quid a week, this buys 10 to 20 LPs depending on the mix of new/old/rare stuff. Much more than that and I have trouble listening to them all at least once. We’ve got a reasonable S/H vinyl shop in town and a Fopp, these get most of my custom.

Simon

Simon

Is much of that a planned or whim purchase?

Would love to devote so much to music buying/listening. Hope you enjoy all of them!

Some planed, but mostly I grab anything that looks interesting. Most of the stuff I buy is 70s/80s indie and 50s/60s jazz along with more classic rock Neil Young, Led Zep etc (although I seem to have acquired a good Krautrock collection along the way– thanks Tony).
In the last week or so I’ve got (all vinyl):
Miles Davis “Round about midnight” – nice UK 6 eye
Herbie Hancock “Maiden Voyage”
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane – new Bluenote reissue
Bob Mould “Workbook”
Nova Mob “Last Days of Pompeii”
The Coral “Magic and Medicine”
Rage Against the Machine “RATM”
The Pop Group “Y”
Mazzy Star “Fade into you” EP
Joni Mitchell “Ladies of the Canyon”
Black Crows “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion”
Joy Division “J.D. Warsaw”
Bleach “Snag”
Plus a couple of others I can’t remember

This is nothing compared to the big hitters round here.

Simon

I can never get enough records, I love buying music, especially mail order. Waiting for a bunch of records, not quite knowing what the're going to look or sound like is all part of the joy of music. I will nearly always sell a valuable if I can get the same music cheaper elsewhere though. Prime example is Stereolab, whose early singles I sold for a small fortune and bought back on single compilation cds. I just ask myself if I would pay that much for it, if the answer is no, the record can go!
I can't be bothered to count them all, but they measure up to appr.
3m of 7"
4m of 12"/10"
7m of cds

It helped marrying a record collecting woman! My wife used to have Creation 1-100 some which I bought off her before we met up and I moved over to the UK...

Space Cadet's got it right, you should be able to measure your collection by the meter!

I personally think the answer to the original question is that your collection should always be growing/expanding. If someone has 2000 albums, but hasn't bought any in 5 years, then I'd say something's wrong. Someone else may have 500 records yet actively buy one a week. I'd say the latter is a bigger music fan.

To me, any music fan is consistantly buying music.

Thirdly its an investment – I am a pretty shrewd and knowledgeable second hand record buyer and my collection reflects this, it is worth at least 4-6 times what I paid for it. A far better return than having the money earning 3.5% in a savings account, and useful too!

This is only true if you have your records properly insured! About ten years back, a friend of mine had his entire record collection destroyed. His sister was over doing laundry when she "accidently" left an item of clothing in the tub and all the water from the washing machine overflowed on his entire collection in the next room. It wasn't discovered until the next day and every record and jacket were ruined.

Fortunately, his insurance company reimbursed him for all the records at face value. However, he had many albums worth far more to collectors. Unfortunately, the many albums purchased as an investment were worthless.

Learning from that experience, I contacted my insurance agent and found that people who have record collections (or any collection for that matter) are subject to waivers. It doesn't cost any more on my policy, but I had to document every record I have of value. It took me several hours writing down the items of most value. My agent also suggested video-taping my collection as well as my entire belongings.

The biggest problem with verifing that you have music of high value is that most is bought second hand and there is little in the way of receipts.

I also now keep my collection in different parts of the home, so in case of a roof leak, fire, etc., only part of the collection is destroyed. Even though I know I'd be reimbursed by my insurance company, I'd be devastated emotionally if everything was lost in one shot.

Ron The Mon

That's a good point - I have 40k of cover in a rented flat to cover ~12k of high risk stuff - the hifi is exempt from this as each item is under £1500 (I'm skint!) but the records - man oh man, I hate my sister enough to (almost literally) kill her as it is - if she even LOOKED at one of my records wrong - god - that's a nightmare story man - I had a nightmare once where all my flat got nicked - I literally woke up in a puddle of sweat - very very scary dream (I know that's sad to admit, but I would probably have a breakdown if I lost all my music - it's the only thing that keeps me (in)sane)....

I have about 10 feet of vinyl almost all albums bar about 200 house records from 88-89.

I have no idea how many that is but it's seems alot.. I am buying about 4-5 a month currently although four are normally older jazz and funk records.
I also do a montly trip to few local charity shops to build my classical collection up I just buy them on labels really, Decca, Phillips and the like and at a quid or so each no worries if they are not great.


I think a limit is not practical, I really like finding old tunes I forgot I had, dug out a copy of "Visit Venus - music for space tourism" on Sunday and had an excellent mellow hour or so....

I was converted to music from Cycling - (cue for Kraftwerk) after being taken to my first ever live gig - The Groundhogs at Croydon Greyhound - must have been 1970. Since then music has been hugely important to me and buying and collecting records/cd's an experience I treasure.

Like most long term collectors (I suspect) we have all fallen on hard times at some point or another and the thirst for new music has required a trade-in of albums that, although loved once, had temporarily lost their appeal given the need to satisfy the appetite for new stuff. Gone therefore are all my original Led Zep, Purple, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Genesis vinyl, which were traded for mid 70's jazz fusion that I got into for a while. Still love anything by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, though - and Miles is still the king).

Even worse, but what I wanted at the time, was trading my collection of nearly 200 punk and new wave singles for the complete collection of Mozart piano concertos on CD. Should never have done that - I could still buy the Mozart for less money but there's no way to replace the singles for less that a kings ransom.

My collection is now pretty huge - I know exactly how many I've got because every one is catalogued - I listen to music seriously for at least 2/3 hours a day, and have the CD player on in the background whilst working. When listening on my own, I generally play more recent releases just to hear them, but I love it when mates come round and we reminisce about albums of old that we love and it's great just to go to the rack, pull out the disk and play it.

There are many albums I have which don't get played often now, but would I sell any - no way.

Because I'm a sad bugger who keeps a record of all my purchases, I know that I have bought 55 full price albums since 1st June. More money than sense - possibly, but I am an addict and I can't help it.

Happy collecting everyone.

BTW - anybody know the value of a Bob Marley Limited Edition vinyl box set of all his albums, except Babylon by Bus, released in the mid 80's? It's in a burgundy coloured box and each album is individually enclosed in a gold sleeve with a black and white photo of Bob.

I don't count them up, but it is well past 10,000 items, growing by c. 200 per month on average, sometimes more.

[See Naim forum->music room -> What is the last album you bought]

A lot of Non-Pink fish / naim people don't seem to realise that you can still buy most new release non classical & jazz on vinyl, and that with a bit of effort nearly anything can be tracked down.

I have always been interested in the new styles of music, being a neophile, and am interested to see the fusion of styles throwing up new areas like electroclash and the next new thing, glam rock / techno interface.

I am addicted to collecting, but do play the music all the time as well.

DS

OTD - Jurgen Paape - Ballroom Blitz

Originally posted by sideshowbob
Chasir is Arabic for pig, I believe. Ah shit I can't see the screen for laughter. I'll get a bear and come back.

Mick

That's better. I've recovered. The image of standing on a pig to reach a high shelf gave me the fits. Hence the need for a BEER.

I have roughly 300 LPs, 100 CDs, and 100 minidisks recorded from the same number of cassettes which are in the garage to save space. I'll admit it's small in comparison with some, but I could not possibly imagine living without them.

It is my history and a pleasure. I love music.

My first album was Fill Your Head With Rock. During my teens and early twenties I bought loads of LPs but slowed down dramatically with marriage, children, mortgage etc.

Now, I buy albums when I see them but don't go shopping nearly enough. Mainly it's albums I didn't buy when I was younger from the same period, the 70's. CDs were only bought in the first place because I couldn't get LPs any more. Now, I won't by a CD if I can possibly get the LP.

In answer to the question, you can't have too many.

Mick

After reading and responding to this last week, I decided to go shopping at the weekend, armed with £25. I bought 7 more LPs, 6 of which would only have cost £1 each except David's Records in Letchworth is doing a 3 for 2 on second hand albums this month so they cost £4 total. All in great condition, only needing a clean and new inner sleeves.

The 7th was a new album: The White Stripes - Elephant. I had a choice of the UK release or the import on coloured vinyl (one LP white, the other, red). I figured if the coloured vinyl sounded bad I could give it to my 10 year old who introduced me to the album on CD a couple of months ago. Actually, there's no more noise on it than a lot of '70s pressings so I can live with it. In addition, it's a very high level cut; which it can be with an average of 3 tracks on each side, so you can't hear the surface whilst the music is playing.

So now, roughly 307 LPs.

Mick

About 700 lps and 700 cds. Mixture of old fart music and dancy trancy stuff.

About 500 silver discs and 300 black ones. About 10 years ago I lost a whole load of the black ones to my sister and her friends when I made the mistake of storing them at my mum's place. It's still something we can't really talk about.

Originally posted by Mekon
sister Have you tried blackmail? You know the sort of thing. "When you were little you used to ... and I'll tell if I don't get my albums back."

About 10 years ago I lost a whole load of the black ones to my sister and her friends

In my case it was my mother -- although it was about 25 years ago and she objected to the content. I guess I should thank her for giving me something to rebel against :) .

I've about 20 linear feet of LPs and close to 1000 cds. Like others here I've tended to regret selling things in the past and as a result have become more of a packrat with respect to music.

Although I love my collection, parts of it have gotten pretty out-of-whack with my current listening. For instance, I have a good 40 Beethoven titles, and many of these are themselves big sets (of complete concerti, e.g.). Yet anymore I don't listen to B. more than maybe once/twice a year.

Still buy maybe 20 titles a month, mostly LP, about half used.

If only.

She stole a load of them, left them with a bunch of with her traveller type mates, who then added them to the boxes of records they used for deejaying. Took me a couple of month of constant hassle to get any of them back. When I finally got some back, they were so damaged as to be unplayable. Loads of +8, Warp, Novamute, Tresor, etc.