How do you organize and display your music collection?

[ayevey]

Hello, friends in music,

I have recently moved, and my family and I are getting ourselves installed in our new abode. I have a portion of my massive music library here with me (the rest of it stored back East), and as I began thinking about the best way to arrange and display my collection, I thought it might be interesting to ask how other forum members do so.

It would be interesting to see some photos of how others shelve their collections, both in terms of balancing their affinity for music with their need to not have the locks changed by their significant others, as well as in terms of how to logistically arrange some of these non-standard size box sets. Cheers!

[dirkronk]

Unlike the days when my music collection was all on vinyl, my CDs are organized differently and stored differently. Right now, alas, "storage" is about 20 boxes out in the garage. In fact, I'm looking for inside-the-house storage options myself -- not to display but to hide (to mollify the SO), possibly in multi-drawer cabinets, if such things exist. I'm hoping some of the responses to this thread lead me to such options. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

FWIW, my remaining LPs are arranged alphabetically, by artist/group name (rock, folk, jazz) or composer (classical). Any compilation albums that aren't defined by said artist or group go after "Z" in the lineup. So pretty simple.

My CDs are arranged the same way for rock/folk/jazz. But for classical, I have them separated first by type of main instrument (piano, violin, cello, guitar, chamber group, orchestra/conductor), then alphabetically by artist, and then alphabetically by composer. So I have, say, all Richter recordings in one place, ranging from Bach to Zemlinsky (or whoever). Reason: this is how I collected and how I reorganized my thinking as I transitioned to CDs. I wanted to know that there would be one place to find all my Kapell or Richter CDs, all my Grumiaux or Heifetz CDs, all my Furtwangler or Mengelberg performances, and so on. So back in the day when Berkshire Record Outlet came out with new listings, it made it much easier to see if I already had a copy of artist X doing composer Y's preludes, etc. Much less risk of duplicate purchases that way.

Also, I find CDs much less interior-design-friendly...at least the way I've collected them. Most of my collection is stored in Jazz Loft sleeves or simple generic CDr/DVDr paper sleeves. Also, I have a LOT of CDr copies (burns of online downloads of live performances, etc.) that have no original sleeve or booklet, and these are filed with the commercial CDs. So it's t's easier to flip through them from front to back than have them lined up with their edges facing outward -- hence my desire for drawers rather than shelves.

However, I realize that I may well be the odd duck in this discussion thread, so I'll shut up now and let someone else pop in.

Dirk

[maestrob]

OK.

My layout is quite simple. I now have very few LPs, so most of the wall space in our sleeping area is taken up with CDs in alphabetical order by composer on custom built shelves with separate sections for opera and piano.

In the living area my new shelves are full of the latest acquisitions that have not been alphabetized yet, while the cabinets below hold the many recent complete box sets I've purchased this past year or two.

So much music so little time!

[Lance]

Hello, Ayevey. I understand your dilemma completely. If I had to move my LP and CD collection after all these years, it would be next to catastrophic, not to mention the same problem with books. We, apparently, think we are going to live forever, and so the collecting goes on unceasingly and the problems continue to heighten. So much for that.

Since the early days of collecting LPs, I immediately bought or had cabinets built strictly for LPs and filed every label by the manufacturer's catalogue number. It was the only way I could find everything efficiently and fast. When CDs came along in the mid-1980s, the LPs didn't "go away" and the CDs began coming in. By this time, being much older, I had cabinets made to accommodate them. Some of the cabinets were made to be two-sided so they could be set in the middle of a room and CDs could be drawn from either side. The cabinets were much more stable thus being wider. Once again, ALL CDs were filed by label and then by catalogue numbers.

Inasmuch as I have done classical music radio broadcasts since 1968, all programs usually by the performing artist, I had to have immediate access to all CDs/LPs pertaining to the featured artist.

In order to FIND each item, it became necessary to catalogue every CD on my computer using a database program. I could then call up the artist's name and have access to every label and catalogue number. Regarding LPs (before the era of home computers, I kept a written record in binders by ARTIST. For the LPs, it was more difficult to find repertoire in this manner.) But the CDs on the computer also showed the repertoire, ensemble, etc., (using major abbreviations for each line entry. That is: PC=piano concerto; Sta=sonata; NYP=New York Philharmonic, Sym=symphony; sop=soprano; cond=conductor; BBC Symphony Orchestra=BBCSO; piano=pf; mezzo-soprano=m/s; vln=violin; viola=vla, etc., et al. I never deviated from those abbreviations. It was very easy to add new additions anywhere and keep everything in numerical order.

Just now, I looked up the name of pianist Moiseiwitsch and found 63 line items where he appears on CDs. It took seconds, and I can print the listing as it illustrates the CD label and catalogue number and on the printed sheet I can encircle the items I wish to put together a radio program.

None of this regarding CDs can work unless you can create your own database. Inasmuch as I can type 120 words per minute with 99.9% accuracy, it doesn't take as long as you think. Once you start and do it an hour a day or more, you will have it all on record. Be sure to back up all your work should the computer's hard drive fail. Another feature is to find a CD you think you don't have and it takes just seconds to discover you already have it. If it has been reissued under another number, the line item will also tell you if have it. Most dyed-in-the-wool collectors I know have problems with duplicating CDs, books, etc.

Now, on to the mega sets. Due to their size, they generally do not fit on your CD-sized shelves. I mean, where do you put the new 120-CD Ormandy edition, or the Szell, or the Grumiaux, or Artur Rubinstein, etc.? I just "stack them" on a couple of tables in the furnace room! If I need to find the 107-CD Furtwangler edition, I can see it almost immediately. Same with either Rubinstein edition. I love Fricsay's DG recordings and have both volumes, and after a moment or two I find them. Just make sure your table will be strong enough to hold the weight of these huge sets. On this table rests the Perlman edition, the Reiner and Abbado, Bernstein, Munch, Menuhin, Heifetz and any other boxes that will not conveniently fit into a usual CD cabinet.

Whatever happens, if you love music you will buy it and will eventually run out of space. That is my current problem. So, here's a hint, my massive LP cabinets had added shelves to HALVE the cabinets. This allows you to use the full length of the LP space to house individual CDs one behind the the other thus doubling the usual space. But what of the LPs you ask? I had to have a deep cabinet made to put in the garage (with covers so nothing could get inside, moisture, a possible mouse, etc.) and inasmuch as I do not play LPs very often these days, I don't miss them.

This has gone on far too long, but I sympathize with your problem having been there, done that, and trying to find the most convenient way. If you are an apartment dweller in, say NYC, with limited space, all this might be causing serious storage and retrieval problems. Therefore, I could never live there unless I had the entire top floor of the Trump Tower! I can only add that it's a good thing I do not collect grand pianos, and with that, I'll end my story. Just remember one thing: the computer is going to help you enormously as recommended above. ♫

[barney]

I store mine alphabetically by composer, then alphabetically by performer (ie a Martha Argerich box follows Zemlinksy or whoever my last composer is). Within each composer I order by category. I follow the Gramophone system: orchestral (including concertos), chamber, instrumental, vocal/choral, opera. I note in my catalogue where I have filed them (eg a CD with a Schumann and a Tchaikovsky symphony could go under either).

Like many others I had CD bookcases made, but they ran out long ago, and now CDs (and books) are stacked in piles, mostly in the study, probably 2000 of them. I generally cannot find what I am looking for easily from this group, unless it is a recent arrival.

My cataloguing is at least 1000 CDs behind, and it seems too daunting.

[dirkronk]

I concur with Lance's comment that keeping track (of a larger collection) on computer is a must. In my case, I did it in a way that not everyone would find advisable: as a single Microsoft Word document (!). I'm not kidding. I do my rock/folk/jazz stuff on a separate document, but all of my classical is listed on one doc...153 pages long, and taking up 1.5 MB of memory. Crazy? Maybe a little. But while it takes a minute or two to load fully, once it does, I can quickly do a search for any name or word. Or I can scroll to the Mengelberg part of the list and quickly read what I have. I can still send it to a friend as an email attachment. And so on. Of course, it's not nearly as flexible as a data program, but it's simple and can cross the divide between Mac and PC machines easily. So it suits my needs.

And if you decide to do a listing on computer, whatever format you choose, yes...make that YES...do back up/save your typing multiple times per hour while you're transcribing. Much heartache will be prevented that way.

Dirk

[Holden Fourth]

My system is similar to Barney's (is it an Aussie thing?). I have section that is alphabetical by composer/genre so I know where to find most of my LvB piano sonata sets or the Walter LvB symphonies. I also know where to go to look for some Schubert leider. After that I have organised by performer so, like Dirk, I'll find nearly all of my Richter, including his Beethoven. Finally, I have a small genre section which includes CDs that have more than one composer/performer on them.

Like Dirk (he he gave me the idea), all of my CDs are stored in plain fabric sleeves with a front viewing window. and these sit in plastic containers that are about two thirds the height of a CD. All of these are on a bookshelf, the depth of which are about the length of the containers. This means that I can browse these quickly and easily.

This is an image of the containers I use ($1.96 each at Bunnings, an Australian hardware chain store).



I also have all my CDs digitally ripped in FLAC 5 to a 2Tb external HD and I have also made a back up on another 2Tb drive. Most of my listening is now via my iMAc but it's nice to put a CD into my HiFi system and let it rip.

[maestrob]

Wonderful posts here gentlemen. I've never had the patience or the time to put everything into a computer file so I ve had to rely on my memory and now on Amazon to remind me about what I own, so of course I have a few duplicates here and there, but not too many.

As for listening, I must hear a recording both through headphones and in my stereo system in order to form a fair opinion, especially of a new recording. I've also found that it's quite rewarding to revisit an old favorite after some time has gone by to approach it from a fresh perspective.

[slofstra]

A couple of notes on cataloguing. I have my own MS Access database, and my rule is that I don't play a CD until I've catalogued it. (Yes, some of the boxes do sit for a while.)
The main report I generate from the catalogue is this one.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSrafK ... sp=sharing

I can access this and other reports from my computers at work and home, as well as my tablets and smartphone.
Since it now runs over 500 pages, I put a code on each page in the form 'c.composername'. So, for example, I can do a Find (control-F) on 'c.beet' and that takes me to the first Beethoven section. Of course, the control-F function allows you to find anything at all.

[slofstra]

Regarding the CD storage.
In the course of the last 15 or so years, my wife and I downsized from a 2 storey in the country to a condo in town. We, mainly meaning she, didn't care for that, so about 8 years ago we moved to a small, downtown area detached house with 800 square feet on the main floor. Gotta say she won me over on the urban living. Great neighbours, traffic's not bad, and we are walking distance from 2 downtown areas. (Kitchener and Waterloo are twin cities.) And our grandkids live 3 blocks away.
Anyway, we did a major reno to the house. It was impractical to expand the footprint, could be done, but we wouldn't get the investment back on resale. Without going into all the detail, we opened up a large part of the house right to the roof line. I now have a study with bookshelves running up between 10 and 16 feet; there is a sloped top. And a skylight in the study as well. On the opposite wall I have 5 narrow IKEA columns to store most of my CDs. Incidentally, you can't buy CD shelves anymore at IKEA when they formerly had half a dozen options.
I purchased the Jazz Loft sleeves that dirkronk recommended and as I add single CDs, I move sections of the old CDs into the sleeves to make room. Boring job. I also have a shelf area in the middle of the bookcase for smaller boxes and to show off all the major pianist's CDs I have. Fun to see in alphabetical order.
My wife and I have a work area in the basement and with a large easement size window, so it feels like another main floor. I keep my large boxes on another shelf unit down there. Actually we have book cases tucked into various spots around the house. We're quite proud of the reno actually, and the small space is very liveable.
In my next post I'll offer some general advice based on our experience, regarding the CDs, I mean. But at the moment other duties beckon.

[slofstra]

My general advice would be to discard any objective of trying to accommodate everything one owns. Now that would not apply to someone like Lance, who has a collection that is singular in scope, and of some lasting significance to the general public.
For people whose collections of CDs or books are mainly of personal interest, I would design a space, or elements of space, that display a part of the collection to a pleasing general effect, and utility for playback.
I have a much larger problem with books than CDs. The total collection might be upwards of 5000 books. But much of this, like 40-50 years of National Geographics ... in leather bound slip cases, no less ... hog space and aren't much used. So, consider storage lockers, or, in my case, I have a business office with lots of wallspace, and keep less important items there.
As it is, our house can still accommodate 2-3000 books. I have made only cursory efforts at culling and disposing of items that are unimportant. This is a lot harder to do than it seems. Who wants to waste valuable leisure time sorting and prioritizing stuff.
So, what I suggest in downsizing is this approach:
1) Determine how much prime real estate you have in your new space, that would make for a pleasing and useful display.
2) Determine which items can or will go into that space.
3) Find somewhere else to put the rest: garage, basement, indoor storage locker. You may have to temporarily store some items this way until you can sort the wheat from the chaff.
Having performed those 3 tasks in the short term, down size the material over a longer period, not spending too much time at it.
Also think about how your kids, or estate trustee, might deal with your estate when you're gone. I know a major feature of dealing with our own parents' estate was a large industrial size disposal bin in the driveway. Sad to say, but that's the reality.

[mikealdren]

My CDs were organised like my old LP collection, divided into Violin music (lots of it), Symphonies, Concertos, other Orchestral, Instrumental, Chamber, Vocal and Misc. Within each section, most was by alphabetical by composer although Violin, and Instrumental was by soloist.

One major problem, no matter how you organise logically, was that adding new CDs meant moving everything along, an increasing issue as your collection grows!

My CDs are now ALL on the computer jukebox and the CDs are numbered and stored in the attic in plastic boxes (of about 200) in numerical order. Finding and adding CDs is very easy, just as well as there are always a few tracks that have not ripped properly.

[slofstra]

My CDs were organised like my old LP collection, divided into Violin music (lots of it), Symphonies, Concertos, other Orchestral, Instrumental, Chamber, Vocal and Misc. Within each section, most was by alphabetical by composer although Violin, and Instrumental was by soloist.

One major problem, no matter how you organise logically, was that adding new CDs meant moving everything along, an increasing issue as your collection grows!

My CDs are now ALL on the computer jukebox and the CDs are numbered and stored in the attic in plastic boxes (of about 200) in numerical order. Finding and adding CDs is very easy, just as well as there are always a few tracks that have not ripped properly.

Instead of sliding my CDs down as I add new ones, a job I dislike, I'll grab a batch where things are tight and move them into the JazzLoft sleeves, another job I dislike. However, the JazzLoft sleeves add capacity, sliding the CDs down does not.