Will you listen to your whole collection?

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by shipsupt, Jan 9, 2017.

  1. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Oh man, sometimes a song comes up on random shuffle and I have utterly no idea how it got in there. I'll look up the album in my library... not a genre I usually have, there isn't a song in there that even sorta fits with what I listen to, so where the fluffernutter did it come from?
     
  2. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    I have about 900 albums. I listen to them till I don't want to hear them anymore when I first buy them. This can be one or two listens for a bad CD or upwards of 50 times for a good one within a few weeks. The frequency gradually decreases over time though the ones I listen to more initially generally are listened to more years on. The ones I can only stand for a few listens initially are often rarely heard again. There are some exceptions with more challenging music that I've returned to later and "gotten" and thereafter loved. There are also some embarrassing relics from my musical youth that I don't listen to any longer because adulthood.

    There's some risk in finding good music, especially the more obscure stuff. Barely listened to albums seems a small price to price to pay for uncovering a hidden gem that gives you hours of pleasure year after year.
     
  3. numbersixx

    numbersixx Friend

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    I should say that's cds, vinyl and digital. The vinyl I buy is like the 'best of' the rest. If I really like an album then I'll get a vinyl version.

    Edit: Apologies, I should have been clearer in my original post, (drunk-posting).
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2017
  4. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    I always can tell when a person is into it for the music vs. the hardware. The ones in it for music always have records left behind somewhere, pining to bring it in. The ones for the hardware have like twenty albums :)
     
  5. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    My vinyl collection is completely unorganized, but I can usually find the record I'm looking for in a few seconds. I still like to thumb through my own stacks and find something I haven't listened to yet. I have, generally, moved on to buying albums that I have digitally and like a lot as well. I still tend to pick up a few bargains here or there when I see them and can't resist because they look interesting.

    My real treasures are from the small collection I got from my Dad when he passed. I love the music he picked so carefully.

    Those and the few albums that are left over from my collection as a kid. They are in rough shape, but I have such a great connection with the music on those albums. I could rarely afford new music, so every album was carefully picked and purchased with hard earned money.


    I'm sort of in favor of collectors who "save" vinyl from being stored in someone basement or worse. Even if those records don't get used for years, if they are preserved they can hopefully be properly enjoyed some day. I also like the idea of digitizing some of the obscure stuff that is still stuck on analog. Again, saving the music.


    And then, of course, there is Zero!
    https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/...ing-up-all-the-worlds-vinyl-records.html?_r=0
    https://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/choice-cuts-zero-freitass-rarest-records/
     
  6. anetode

    anetode Friend

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    And yes, I have probably hundreds of albums I'll never listen to because of a compulsive completionist collector streak. I've made peace with that and made provisions in my will to distribute all unopened albums in my possession to the homeless in hopes of one day indirectly helping in the erection of a truly rad shanty town.
     
  7. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    See, I can't get behind using good albums for dwellings! ;) Give them to music lovers!

    I cringe when I see stuff like this even if I know the records were probably already destroyed before they were "recycled".

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    I've solved this for myself. I've transformed my collection into something I really want/need/have to have. The rest I've sold or given away.
    Of course ones taste changes over time, but I feel that in the last 4-5 years I can clearly see the trend in what music I listen to so I'm taking the risk that CD's sold/given away might have to be bought back at one point.

    Anyway I've condensed my collection allowing me to actually listen to it all in a reasonable amount of time and finally stopped all streaming services except for the Berliner Philharmonikers digital concert hall.

    My collection has three themes.

    1. The music from my youth; from the first radio experience I can remember at around 5-6 until at 17 when I sold / gave the whole collection away. Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I decided to buy back the albums that had meant the most to me.
    2. The jazz. I try to buy cheap, very specific and step by step. That keeps the collection from growing too fast. I've done auditioning with the various streaming services over the last 2 years and built a list with planned purchases spread out over the upcoming 4-5 years. Patience is a virtue they say...
    3. The classical. I'm very picky on performer, conductor and orchestra. Lots of auditioning over the years has created a list of purchases that I check off similar as to the jazz.

    Anyway, the collection grows steadily, but not too fast. I listen to between 4-8 albums in an office day which means 20-40 albums á week for maybe 20 weeks per year, excluding holidays and the travel I do for work.
    During evening sessions there's another 1-2 albums + streaming classical video concerts.

    All in all I easily listen through my complete collection once a year. I haven't done a final count, but I'm well under 500 albums.
     
  9. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    For me, life has always been change. My preferences in nearly everything have changed through my life. I have also moved a lot. So while I definitely have hoarder/collector instincts and have started collections of various things, including music at times, I find myself purging quite a bit on a regular basis. I might have over-purged at times and had to re-acquire stuff, especially if I want a high quality version of it, but it keeps me honest about what I truly want and need. So, as for listening to my whole collection, I don't know if it would even take a month.
     
  10. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    Life is too full of uncertainty. I have often listened to albums and find myself deeply moved, or tapping my toes, and ones that I may have otherwise given away or traded. I will die not having listened to 60% of what I have, but the 40% will have made it worth it.

    That's the story I tell my wife.
     
  11. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    Or this http://www.instructables.com/id/Vinyl-Record-Bowl-1/
     
  12. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    I started out the same way. And that's the same advice I generally gave to anyone starting out, and still do where someone is getting into vinyl for the first time. But, yes, streaming makes things quite a bit different. Though I know a good few folks (as opposed to a few good folks) that have some very expensive gear and literally only use Pandora and Spotify as their source.
     
  13. Chris F

    Chris F Boyz 4 Now Fanatic - Friend

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    I have listened to about 95% of the stuff on my shelf however my record collection (~1000 records) by virtue of my location (Canada) and primary musical taste (80%+ Latin) is entirely curated (mostly eBay) with very few random impulse purchases.

    I totally agree that I would rather have 1000 records I really love and connect with vs 10000 random records just to fill out discographies and for genre completeness. To be totally honest I could probably cut my own collection in half and be totally happy.

    As for cost of equipment vs size of collection.... My vinyl front end is probably similar in value to my record collection however I don't think a really expensive front end is at all out of place if you only own say 100 records. It really depends on WHICH 100 records.
     
  14. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    I listen to everything as it comes into the house, but there are probably hundreds of albums I'll never listen to again.
     

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