How to Organize CD Collection?

James wrote: So if you buy an album by an artist beginning with A, what do you do, Torodd?

I use the rules as adopted by public archives and libraries + ProgArchives when it comes to archives. A followeb by B. Abs followed by Abt.   I do not go by genre. It is alphabeth, strictly.  I am a bit of a slave when it comes to this rule. 

Edit: This is the same rule as Lenin once recommended when he ordered the removal of his enemies from this planet post October revolution. When that is good enough for him, it is good enough for me. 

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - August 31 2011 at 14:52

I do:

1. Go to IKEA and get some of those Billy book cases (I am a two decades long Billy fan).

2. Grab some packages of black coffee from IKEA too while I am there.

3. Drive the flatpacks home (well, a workmate does).

4. A two hours long swearing and prayer overdrive follows while working these flatpacks into book cases

5. Register the CDs in an alphabetical order on a spreadsheet. 

6. Put the CDs in an alphabetical order in the bookshelfs, no matter the genres

7. Have a mug of coffee while admiring the results

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - August 31 2011 at 11:08

I have a variety of music that all means different things to me because my tastes fluctuate, so I sort by context. I have one shelf of roughly pre-prog rock music, and on it, i first put in my collections by favorite artists. The order of artists from top to bottom is roughly how proud I am to own that artists discogaphy, so top shelf has Tears for Fears, Boomtown Rats, etc. Artists where I only have one release are mixed in where there was space.

Next two shelves are mostly prog, art rock, or avant garde, and are sorted similarly. I also had to find space for my growing collections of classical, jazz, metal, and musicals.

Meanwhile, I have a couple shelves of CDs I still need to listen to and an in-rotation section. When I listen to a new cd, it goes in rotation, when I no longer feel like listening it goes into the collection.


Some artists, like Joanna Newsom, Munly, and Venetian Snares don't really have a home, but they are currently in my "in-rotation" pile so I'll figure that out later.

I do re-organize my system constantly, always by esoteric rules and relations between albums/artists, so this system is new. It will be changing again soon because my collection no longer fits in the available shelf space so tonight I am acquiring a new shelf that spins and can hold over 800 CDs.

Edited by TheGazzardian - August 31 2011 at 11:12

Alphabetical order by artist and then by album title.  Newer purchases are kept haphazardly or by alphabetical order until such time that the desire to work them in to the main collection hits in which case there is a massive overhaul and everything gets shifted to make room for the new additions.  Everything is also burned to the computer for instant access and use on the iPod.  Generally, I seem to have a physical CD playing in the car and on occasion I will throw a physical CD in the CD player at home (usually a newer purchase) but I seem to have become more and more dependent on listening to music on either the computer or the iPod.

I use RYM for cataloguing my collection.

As I said previously, I catalogue them to genres first.  I'd much prefer to have all my jazz artists together and separate from other genres and that's exactly what I've done.

It makes life much easier.

Some artists/bands have large discographies, so everytime you purchase a new CD by them, you'd have to move a whole load of albums to slot that album in.  Leaving gaps at the end of Genres really makes things easier.  It's a whole lot less work to move 20 or 30 CDs across, compared to 100+.

Also a bit destructive for my taste Caio, I don't care for many material possessions but my CD's are one of em 

JJLehto wrote: I have it in release order for each artist. Like Opeth for example I have orchid first, then morningrise etc to Watershed. Though I have the artists in absolutely no order. One day when I'm bored enough I'll put em in artist order as well. Seems like the easiest way to me honestly

The easiest way is this:

EchidnasArf wrote: Autobiographical.

That's pretty similar to my way of sorting CD's ^

zappaholic wrote: alphabetically by artist, chronologically for each artist.

This is my method too, with the exception of my Henry Cow and Magma boxsets which are too chunky for my cheap CD storage thingies and have to sit on top of them instead. I even include VA compilations in the alphabetical mix, using the compilation title in lieu of an artist name. TBH, I can't understand why anyone with a lot of CDs to organise would use any other method. Surely it'd just be a bugger to find what you're looking for if you go with grouping by genre or label or just shoving the things wherever you find a space for them?