cd/vinyl collections

marvda1
marvda1 Posts: 4,862
edited November 2021 in Music & Movies
For people with large cd or vinyl collections, how do you catalog and store your media so you know where each title is located for quick retrieval and re-filing ?

I used to try and put small labels on the spines, number them then enter the info in a database, but over time the adhesive dried out and the labels just fell to the floor.
Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
Puritan PSM156

Comments

  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    I don't catalog the CDs. I tried a long time ago, and gave up. Now I have two 10 shelf racks. One is for SACDs, classical, and non-rock recordings. The other is for rock. I also have a box of CDs in the garage.

    I have ripped a good number of the CDs, and for the last 2-3 years I have been downloading new music from HDTracks. The files are organized into different categories, Rock, Metal, Classical, etc. This sort of works, and it is a lot easier to find an online album than a physical CD.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,651
    edited November 2021
    I use Discogs. It helps with finding things and letting others browse my collection.

    Some complain about the way it orders some items but I just let it do what it does and it works good for me.

    It is also very helpful when I am out purchasing additional music. The app on my iPhone allows me to always know what I have.
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, AudioQuest Thunderbird Speaker and Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    tratliff wrote: »
    I use Discogs. It helps with finding things and letting others browse my collection.

    Some complain about the way it orders some items but I just let it do what it does and it works good for me.

    It is also very helpful when I am out purchasing additional music. The app on my iPhone allows me to always know what I have.

    how do you find a cd you want listen to out of all your cds?
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,651
    edited November 2021
    All my cds and records are arranged in the same order as the app. I use the app to manage the order.
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, AudioQuest Thunderbird Speaker and Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
  • displayname
    displayname Posts: 1,126
    I’m also a big fan of Discogs. Follow their artist sorting, and generally keep records in the release order
    Analog: MoFi MasterTracker > MoFi UltraDeck > Sutherland 20/20
    Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
    MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Arcam rHead > Hifiman HE4XX
    Discogs
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    For physical media I have kept them in order by format then artist name then album title for decades. I keep CD separate fro SACD and DVD-A.

    After several years of having my entire cd collection available for streaming and no longer using the CDs I took them out of their cases to store long term in containers in zip lock bags with the covers and inserts. I haven’t taken one out for more than a year now and save a ton of storage space. SACD and vinyl gets used routinely so those have dedicated storage.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    randomness rules here.
    As a student of thermodynamics, I do my best not to contribute to the heat death of the universe by
    maximizing entropy whenever possible.

    In seriousness: The LPs, tapes, and CDs here are in an order -- but there is no linear or Western logic that could explain that order.
    Other southpaws here may have some intuitive understanding of this. :)


  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    Alphabetically by artist and then by order of album release.
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    I'm with Mark on this...mine is pretty chaotic but I know where to find stuff. Half the fun is flipping though and, gee, haven't heard this in awhile.

    Of course, this is the guy who has a backlog of LP's, probably a hundred or so, that I've bought in the past few years that are in the "to be cleaned and put away" pile.

    My general organization is by genre.....and I have a subset of each of stuff that I listen to a lot. In the LP's I also separate out the audiophile (MFSL, Nautlius, Half Speed Master, Sheffields) from the rest of the herd as well...
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    TroyD wrote: »
    ...
    Of course, this is the guy who has a backlog of LP's, probably a hundred or so, that I've bought in the past few years that are in the "to be cleaned and put away" pile.
    ...

    It's on the order of 3k here :/ -- and, no, I am not proud of that.
    My goal in retirement had been to "clean, listen, and disburse/shelve, as indicated" but I have made very little progress since 2014. :(


  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,908
    Also alphabetically by artist.
    Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
  • displayname
    displayname Posts: 1,126
    TroyD wrote: »
    Half the fun is flipping though and, gee, haven't heard this in awhile

    This is another thing I enjoy about Discogs. Open your collection on the app, shake your phone and boom, a random selection comes up. Let’s you “dig” at random but you’ll know right where something is if you want it.
    Analog: MoFi MasterTracker > MoFi UltraDeck > Sutherland 20/20
    Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
    MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Arcam rHead > Hifiman HE4XX
    Discogs
  • jdjohn
    jdjohn Posts: 2,987
    edited November 2021
    I really only have a vinyl collection, and relative to many collectors, my collection is rather small.

    One (perhaps) odd thing I do, though, is sort alphabetically right-to-left instead of l-to-r. As I flip through, I want to see the front of the album cover - not the back - thus the reason for the r-to-l sorting.
    "This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
    "Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
    Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,963
    Alphabetical here. I hate trying to read the splines though so soon I plan to make a record/cd cabinet or 2 that allow flipping through them just like in a record store. It will be on wheels and stored out of the way under a shuffleboard table. Really looking forward to losing the current cabinets.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    i started out filing alphabetically but once the collection became quite large, i got tired of readjusting 3 or four shelves each time i added new cds to make room.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    marvda1 wrote: »
    i started out filing alphabetically but once the collection became quite large, i got tired of readjusting 3 or four shelves each time i added new cds to make room.

    The only defense against that is to leave some room on every shelf and/or use movable dividers.
    I've started out like that a few times, but never managed to keep some slack in the shelves. :(
  • indyhawg
    indyhawg Posts: 1,633
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Alphabetically by artist and then by order of album release.

    That is how I catalog as well.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    edited November 2021
    marvda1 wrote: »
    i started out filing alphabetically but once the collection became quite large, i got tired of readjusting 3 or four shelves each time i added new cds to make room.

    That is why you always leave room for 5 more on each shelf. That way you are only moving a few each time.
  • maxward
    maxward Posts: 1,490
    “My general organization is by genre.....and I have a subset of each of stuff that I listen to a lot. In the LP's I also separate out the audiophile (MFSL, Nautlius, Half Speed Master, Sheffields) from the rest of the herd as well...”

    Pretty much the same here, @TroyD .
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    With the classical....I also have it separated out by label. DG's, RCA's, Mercury LP, Columbia, London/Decca's.....
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    TroyD wrote: »
    ...
    Of course, this is the guy who has a backlog of LP's, probably a hundred or so, that I've bought in the past few years that are in the "to be cleaned and put away" pile.
    ...

    It's on the order of 3k here :/ -- and, no, I am not proud of that.
    My goal in retirement had been to "clean, listen, and disburse/shelve, as indicated" but I have made very little progress since 2014. :(


    Yeah, I had to quit buying vinyl....one because in the past few years, what you used to get for 25 cents, now everyone wants full retail so my days of lugging boxes of LP's home are long gone. Now, I only buy classical AND it has to be something that I either don't have or is in better shape than what I DO have. RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence I buy just because.....also true of Melodyia pressings (give the Communists their due in terms of performance value...)....but, man, just the whole cleaning, listening filing process? Not enough years left in my life!

    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • maxward wrote: »
    “My general organization is by genre.....and I have a subset of each of stuff that I listen to a lot. In the LP's I also separate out the audiophile (MFSL, Nautlius, Half Speed Master, Sheffields) from the rest of the herd as well...”

    Pretty much the same here, @TroyD .

    This is my method as well. One day I will get my records alphabetized within genre. I will also say that, among other reasons, it’s nice to have the audiophile titles broken out to have a guest pick from when doing a guest session/demonstration.
    Primary: Doshi V3.0 pre and phonostage, Vandersteen M5-HPA, Vandersteen Quatro CT, AMG viella, Goldfinger Statement, AQ Niagara 5000, AQ IC and power cords, Mapleshade Samson V.5

    Secondary: Nakamichi PA7, Nak CA5, Polk LS90, Sota Sapphire, Sumiko MDC800, Van den hul Crimson
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    Alphabetically by artist, SACD'S and Blu Ray Audio along with DVD A's together Alphabetically. I have been been slacking got about 100 or so new titles piled up waiting for the chore of moving stuff around again.
    Home Theater
    Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable

    2 Channel
    Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+

    Stuff for the Head
    JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365

    Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
    Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin B)