How many albums is too many?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
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Forum Name: General Music Discussions
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=124175
Printed Date: November 26 2024 at 08:10
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Topic: How many albums is too many?
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Subject: How many albums is too many?
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 15:25
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A side conversation in one of the threads recently got me to thinking about this. How many albums or cds is too many? Does anyone really have enough time to listen to their collection if they have a lot of albums? The way I see it is unless you are really old you have the rest of your life to listen to whatever you have and you have less chance of getting burned out on stuff. For me personally though I have decided that a collection of between 4-5,000 is good enough for the big music fan. I'm not there yet but plan on stopping at around 5,000(I might even stop at 3 or 4,000 but haven't decided yet). A good chunk will be prog(and already is)since I like other stuff. I do admit there are factors in how much you listen to such as work or social acitivites you might have including marriage and or family life, etc. I don't think it's that difficult to fit music in there though but how much would obviously would depend on those factors. Any opinions on any of this? |
Replies:
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 15:46
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I can't quantify this. Frankly, with streaming I don't feel the need to own as many as I once did, and I would rather buy mp3s than CDs now, although I still like to collect vinyl (used). My tastes shift, so I want to hear new-to-me things, and I will get very into a style that I wasn't before (often one thing leads to another and other). What I most listen to now I wasn't listening to a couple of years ago (not just the acts, but the styles). I don't want or feel the need to buy physical copies of everything that I like. I have a big music collection, but as big as it is, it would not suffice as I explore and get into related music and other styles. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcp9fYc6K4IKuxIZkenfvukL_Y8VBqzK" rel="nofollow - Duos for fave acts |
Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 15:47
In my case, I don't think I can ever have too many CD's. Whenever I buy another bundle of CD's, it's always a question of where I'm going to store them, instead of whether I'll have time to listen to them all. Five thousand albums sounds like a good figure to aim for, and I'm currently three-fifths of the way there. 
By the way, I've never downloaded any music from the Internet because I prefer to buy music the old-fashioned way on CD.
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Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 15:55
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Since I'm picky, I usually listen to everything before I buy (with some exceptions), and I don't feel a need to be a completionist, I can't imagine I'll ever reach a number like 5000. I'm between 1700 and 1800 at the moment. Honestly, I don't know what number I'll max out at. Maybe 3000? ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:09
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Too much is never enough. ------------- 
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:23
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It's not about being a completist, although I do own a lot of artist catalogs and with CDs and LPs I have multiple copies. I have gotten rid (sold/traded) a major chunk of my CDs to my local record store, he gives me in store credit which is perfect. I might have 300 CDs today, and I rarely play them since I have them all ripped to digital files that I keep on endless loop on my main system, which I listen to all day long as I work from home. Its a good question that really has no answer, at least a correct answer. On another music forum the same question has been posed a gazillion times and one recent one took math/age into consideration and about 1,200 was what everybody agreed was a "good" number. I used to be in that range, with LPs.... Henry Rollins is a very well known audiophile and record junkie, his audio system is pretty dang sweet, of course he can afford $30K speakers....  He also has a boat load of records, I have read it ranges in the 5,000 range which is massive, CDs probably dbl that. Whether you think 100 is enough or 10,000, is really insignificant, at the end of the day its about sitting down on a sofa putting on a record and sitting back and enjoying that to the fullest extent, many evenings that's me...don't call me on Friday or Saturday nights!!What I found was we still only listen to about 30-40% of what we own, because that's what we like to listen to over and over.......some of these guys played an album once and never again.  Henry's explanation is pretty much where I am at, if anything space is the answer. -------------   
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:43
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It's rumoured that Elton John has the largest private record collection in England with well over 25,000 albums, although I very much doubt if he's listened to them all.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:47
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Questlove of the roots has a huge record collection too with over 100,000(over 80,000 at the time of this video). http://thevinylfactory.com/news/questlove-reveals-the-roots-of-his-record-collection-in-new-memoir/" rel="nofollow - https://thevinylfactory.com/news/questlove-reveals-the-roots-of-his-record-collection-in-new-memoir/
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:48
I've heard same...He is featured in the Tower Records documentary as having special access to the store on Sunset Blvd, they would open the store for him to look and buy records and yea I think he would buy box loads of LPS. Probably never heard them all, I agree.......All that touring and drugin and foolin around left no time to sit and spin records. -------------
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Psychedelic Paul wrote:Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:48
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Questlove, the drummer for The Roots, is reknowned for having a large and eclectic record collection. %3ca%20href=" rel="nofollow - https://www.okayplayer.com/news/questlove-shows-massive-vinyl-collection-latest-installment-dust-grooves.html "> https://www.okayplayer.com/news/questlove-shows-massive-vinyl-collection-latest-installment-dust-grooves.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.okayplayer.com/news/questlove-shows-massive-vinyl-collection-latest-installment-dust-grooves.html -------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:54
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Also to note, most of these "newer" collectors did not do this 3-4-5 records at a time.......They bought existing collections at estate sales or private sales. At a Steven Wilson concert about 6-7yrs ago I was talking to this older man about his jazz collection which numbers in the 1,000s, he was willing to let me come over and browse and possibly give me some and sell some. We could never make the time work but he got 80% of the collection from a jazz radio station in NYC that shutdown. These type of sales are very hard to come by now as most are sold thru private sellers and auction houses, plus all the big chain record stores like Amoeba in CA buy a ton of these collections. -------------
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:54
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^Yeah, I just said that. I like how his sister mentioned David Axlerod. :)
For the record I'm ok with having stuff that I only play 2 or 3 times and never play again. I may want to get rid of them or not. Lot's of people have open your eyes or union in their collection or calling all stations or from genesis to revelation. How often do you play those?
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Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 16:56
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I may have some 3000 albums. Let's say 50 minutes per album, that's 2500 hours, or 104 days if I listen 24h/day. That's not even anywhere near half a year! Gimme the next 3000! (Also I'm with Logan, I need fresh things to come in regularly.) By the way I have listened to everything. I'm curious. I can't buy music and not give it at least one spin. Maybe some 200-500 or so haven't survived the first play, but to most stuff I listen more. Oh, I should say I'm for some time only expanding the digital collection with the odd LP or CD coming in from time to time, so space is not the thing, I think I'm counting maybe 1000-1500 material discs, and that's not going to grow much anymore. PS: "How many is too many?" Well, if you spend more time buying looking for stuff than listening, that's very wrong. If you have difficulties leaving your room or put your books anywhere, that's too much. On pure musical criteria, more is always better and be it only for more variety in the random play.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:05
| ^Yep, what some don't realize is that you can always give them away, sell them or donate them to a thrift store(or library)or if you are really desperate just throw them in the trash. Or just not play them. I have one cd by a Marillion clone called Credo which I may play one more time and then that's it. I'll either give it away or try to sell it. I can't see myself listening to it much especially with all that's out there. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:08
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Between CDs, vinyl, and albums that I have digitally downloaded I probably have between 7,500 - 10,000 albums. Mostly CDs. I might have 200 vinyl records, which were mostly bought back through record clubs in the 80's and 90's before I switched to CDs. I have a used record store that I will buy used vinyl from once in a while, but mostly things that I haven't been able to find on CD. I also frequent their used CD bin where they generally charge $4 per cd if you buy 10 CDs or more, which I usually oblige a few times per year. Most of this stuff is general rock or jazz, but once in a while I find a prog gem within. :) I have been purchasing music for close to 40 years now and have managed to accumulate lots of it. My problem is that I am very rarely willing to part with CDs by selling them back. I figure for as little as they will give me for them, I might as well keep them. I listen to my music alphabetically and I'm on my 2nd time through my collection. It takes me between 7 and 10 years to listen to everything....but that is mostly because I try and listen to as much new music as I can every year too. It is my vice, obsession, and addiction, which I justify to myself by figuring I can afford it with the monies that I might otherwise spend on cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs; other vices from which I don't partake. I have music playing from the time I get up in the morning almost until the time I go to bed at night...sadly much of the time it is just background music while I am working or doing other things, but I need to have music going. I can't stand being in silence.
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:10
I've seen that same Tower Records documentary too, where Elton John is going 'round the store filling his shopping basket up with CD's. The most CD's I ever bought from a record store in one visit was the time I filled a shopping basket up with 30 Soul CD's from FOPP records in Nottingham, which cost me £120 in total.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:10
Only if you are ok with buying a 25 dollar album or 15 dollar cd and only playing it once or twice.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:12
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:13
From Genesis to Revelation is one of my favourite Genesis albums, so I play that quite a lot.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:16
Lately I've been ok with silence except after 8 o clock or so. Usually I put the tv on. I don't typically listen to music late at night partly because I live in an apartment and have neighbors so even I did I would turn it off by 9 but I prefer to watch tv or read in the evenings anyway. I used to listen to music before going to bed before I had sleep issues. I would actually fall asleep with the headphones on. By the way "rite time" by Can is a great one to fall asleep to.  It sounds like you have a lot. Initially 6,000 was going to be my limit and then I said to myself 5,000. Now I think maybe 4,000 is more realistic. I probably currently have over 2,000(I haven't counted yet)and know there's quite a bit more I still want.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:25
Or spending money on food that you will never taste again.
Yeah, you kind of got me there. Nonetheless I do think there is such a thing as too many. I have a lot of books also with 99 percent of them I've never read. Still, I don't think I would get rid of them even after I read them in case I wanted to read them again(it depends on the book though). I have a problem with collecting stuff in general and keeping stuff though. I'm not saying it's an issue for everyone but for me personally it's something I have to be aware of and be at least somewhat careful with. |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:29
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I'm in the never camp as well. Although I suppose a more logical answer would be having too many to listen to within the lifetime you have remaining. This is obviously vary from person to person. And maybe when I get older I will slow down as well, but it's hard to think that far ahead, especially in 2020. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:30
I'm well past this point and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. :p ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:31
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:36
Being that you joined in 05 I'm guessing you are at least 30 but probably not over 40.
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 17:50
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My physical collection is not in any order.......Back in the day I used to file alphabetically, by release year, I was meticulous about it in my bedroom. Now I don't care, this way I just go to a row and pull something out and play it....nilly willy!! This classic scene is great! Daniel Stern's argument is a kin to some people here arguing prog categories...."It's psychedelic prog, its not symphonic prog...jeez!!" -------------
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Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 18:00
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Is this like one of those "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop" questions? Because the answer would be "the world may never know." Might as well ask, how many guitars is too many? ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 18:08
| I think that video Catcher posted sums up why most prog heads and music collectors are not only male but also single. Lol. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 18:10
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Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 18:27
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Sometimes I buy music much faster than I can possibly listen to all of it, makes me a little sad sometimes 4 DVDs/Blu Rays Probably around 60-70 CDS Around 250-275 LPS Probably rookie numbers to most the users here but when i'm busy 10-12 hours out of a day I usually only can squeeze in one album at the end of the night, 2 CDS during my commute to and from school. ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 18:28
My wife buys me more records than I buy myself........She's always hitting the antique stores and garage/estate sales, she'll always bring back 3-4 records. Most of it is jazz or straight rock albums, she knows what to look for condition wise. -------------
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 19:11
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Hi, I think it depends on what your "collection" is all about ... if you are just into "jazz", for example, the number of things that you end up getting is limited, and taking it into the very large numbers would be difficult ... I believe it was Kareem Abdul Jabbar that was known to have one of the largest collection of jazz albums, but lost most of it in a fire. Rock music, collecting, is a tough go ... because there are so many varied tastes and if you want Beatles and Rolling Stones, I bet you won't have something else from the 2000 and 2010 or 2020 in it ... you'll have a thorough English scene (likely) with Kinks, Small Faces and all that early stuff ... but those folks that I know don't even seem to like the same scene in the 1970's which in GB was fabulous and had so much different music. My collection is in 4 parts ... English/GB is one. World artists is the other. American is the other, and then there is a section with Soundtracks and off ball stuff that folks here will cringe to! I seriously doubt that ANYONE here can sit and listen to Carl Stalling ... without seeing the cartoon ... it will drive you nuts, and the funny thing is ... that stuff is so progressive and experimental as to be totally insane ... and it was a visual "gag" that created it! Oh ... and some classical, too! My own family's house in SB has 3K LP's of classical music with over 100 operas. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 19:36
That's the most beautiful thing I've read all day. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 20:06
I guess she knows your taste very well or maybe you give her a list. ;) If not does she ever buy you stuff you don't like or maybe already have?
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 22:17
I don't give her any lists, as long as we have been together she knows what I like. She is my concert partner, as many times as we have seen Steven Wilson she still calls him "barefoot guy"....Of course Rush is her fav band to see live and for some reason she likes Portnoy, she likes drummers. She really enjoyed Gavin Harrison when we saw Pineapple Thief and King Crimson. The pics in my signature of Rush, Portnoy and Iron Maiden she took... She has bought me stuff I don't listen to sure, usually easy listening or dixieland jazz (she is Cajun), I'll spin it on occasion but she knows if its not in good condition I won't play it on my system due to my cartridge is pretty high end. She has bought me 3 copies of Peter Gabriel IV-Security, she keeps forgetting
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Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: October 01 2020 at 23:09
I am indeed between 30 and 40 in age. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 02:19
Try some of this out in an interactive poll where it fits!
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Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 03:09
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Havong moved a lot (5 countries and countless appartments since I started buying records), I've always been careful of weeding my collection and cutting the dead branches (usually by making Maxell tapes or CDr compilations of a few lesser albums of a given artiste). But there is such a thing as "too much albums" for me, but I couldn't possibly quantify it if my life depended on it...
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 03:23
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There isn't one album I'd want to part with out of my entire 3000+ CD collection. Well, maybe one album by Mike Oldfield. You know which one.
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Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 03:30
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I've probably cut down a bit on the number of CDs I buy, but now I tend to buy box sets and then never find the time to get round to listening to them. I have a box set of Flower Kings CDs which I still haven't got through. I have some CDs I've not even opened yet. My problem is trying to resist the urge to listen to everything I've not heard before, because there's obviously far too much.
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Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 04:14
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This year I realized the incovenience of having too many records when I
had to move the entire collection from one room to another and the
possibility of moving out of the house also emerged. It's still a bit
over 1000 records (600 CDs/400 LPs) but I'm thinking about the future. I ended up selling almost as many albums as I bought this year, I got rid of albums that don't mean much to me or don't represent a quality listen. I'm fine with streaming the albums I kept for the curiosity value alone. |
Posted By: Woon Deadn
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 05:08
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At first, looking at the topic, I thought it was about how many albums are great & enough for one band/performer... And I had a ready answer to it that I used to model the situation of legendarity, stardom, cultness by three examples, namely The Beatles, Queen and Gentle Giant. I think that 10-15 years is the limit for band's existence. When some members go solo time to time, I think 18-19 years is the ultimate border. Reckoning that it is fairly rational to make 1-1.5 studio albums a year, 18-19 albums are the limit. That's how I perceive it all. Speaking of the actual topic of this thread, I used to listen to any music including progressive rock (including my favourite Gentle Giant) in 128/44 tagless mp3. I think this exact format ought to be considered legally free for any music by any authors (like I think that 320*240 800 Kbps videos of any movies ought to be considered legally free for anyone, too). To my humble mind, DVD and nice quality Audio CD are two final columns that need no improvement. Hyper 2234-channel Flu-Ray et al is not for me. Just a personal opinion. And so, my personal decision and solution is: free low-quality audio or possibly rather expensive good quality SHM-CD or whatever else. Then, how many albums depends on the way of thinking, way of listening, way of processing of what you've just listened to. I'd say that 2,000-3,000 LPs (perhaps including the individually made compilations) is the total summit covering practically everything I need to know and listen to. Again, thoughts may differ. And that's great! ------------- Favourite Band: Gentle Giant Favourite Writer: Robert Sheckley Favourite Horror Writer: Jean Ray Favourite Computer Game: Tiny Toon - Buster's Hidden Treasure (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis) |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 05:19
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That is a difficult question and depends on the individual. I have many albums/recordings that I use strictly for reference purposes, be it for recording techniques, the musical development of an artist or just to support a favorite artist that has put out a new album, even if I don't particularly like the direction that the music is going in. Needless to say, I rarely listen to these albums but I'm glad that I have them. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 05:56
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I've probably owned MAYBE 1,000 discs in my entire 32 year life, lmao. My current collection is at about 200 discs. Nothing compared to some! I enjoy 100% of those 200, though . ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 08:15
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I’ve stopped thinking of my collection as a collection and started thinking of it as a library. Libraries have a ton of books no one checks out, but the fact that they’re available anyway has value too. I’m not a hoarder either - I don’t buy stuffI don’t expect I’ll want to hear, but I do like the “library” to be fairly comprehensive within certain bounds. Now that I’m staying home a lot more, I am finding time to dig fairly deep. So it may seem wasteful to some, but it’s been a fulfilling hobby my whole life. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 08:30
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 08:35
Works for me, good definition, I'll use that, mines around 2000 albums but 1/3 is on hard drives. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 09:35
I'm curious what people consider a lot though. To some over 500 is a lot. To others over 5,000 is but some might think that's not that much. For me personally it's up to the individual. If you don't intend to play a good chunk of what you have then you have to much but as was stated if you want to look at it as a collector or as a library then I guess it doesn't really matter. As long as no one feels their collection is just taking up space then it's probably not a big deal.
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Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 09:49
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^ I guess it depends on how much time you can dedicate to listen to
music or if you don't mind having unplayed records in your collection
(which I do). For me 500 wasn't enough, I could easily listen to my
whole collection in less than a year. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 11:14
How about 5,000?
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Posted By: Psychedelic Paul
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 12:54
Yep! 5,000 sounds about right.
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 16:01
HolyMoly, good post . My kids call it my music library, never thought about it.......But I like it. I have many genres in my collection/library, as I too want a broad range of material to listen to. I can't just listen to rock based music 100% of the time and prog is so damn boring at times!! I grew up with R&B and Funk, I love them both! I have a growing love of jazz, especially modal jazz and some hard bop and have a small collection of blues. As well from 70's Disco and Rap (the garbage from today, is garbage) Grandmaster Flash and the like.I don't generally count the digital downloads I have bought as my collection, I do buy albums in mp3, FLAC, WMA, 24bit hi-rez and super hi-rez DSD files (spendy buggars)....All these number to about 2,300 albums, all of this is what I play during the working day. -------------
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Posted By: projeKct
Date Posted: October 02 2020 at 19:03
https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4913" rel="nofollow - Tr3s Lunas ?
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