Getting organised...

ok,
so in light of my last thread about storage solutions i'd like to know how people organise their collections.
currently mine is alphabetical (or as near as damn it due to space issues) however i was thinking about re-organising by alphabetised genre so all the rock is together aphabetically then all the ambient is together, etc.
anyone else have any comments on this? suggestions for genres would be welcomed too. should alanis morrisette go in aor or female vocal, or what?

am i insane?
cheers


julian

 

My sections are:

1) Rock and Metal
2) Pop
3) Female Vocal (which overrides rock and pop)
4) Easy Listening/Ambient
5) Techno/Electronica
6) Dance/Trance
7) Classical/Odds'n'Sods

Within each section, they are alphabetic by band name or surname.

Chris :techno:

 

I use the Biblical system - "seek, and ye shall find".

 

I use the program Cdtrustee and that sorts it anyway you want
I have it currently set up as alphabetical for artist then by year for each album.

Check It out you don't need to type anything
just put the cd in your cdrom and it looks it up on the net for you

http://www.base40.com/cdtFrame.html

Robert

 

Mine's a bit more modern than tones and follows the Self-Adaptive Complex Systems Theory, but uses what is essentially the method.

Now where's that thread on Chaos Theory gone to again?

 

Mine are in straight alphabetical too much like hard work to figure out what genre they may or may not be considered ot be within.

Irrelevant really because no matter what order they are ostensibly in, my GF just shoves em' back in any old order anyway !!

It's also much more fun "discovering" stuff you'd forgotten you had !

 

I kinda order my Cd's by 'band title' - tho not in any specific order...when iwant to find a cd I kinda just browse through the list, but I spent so much time browsing I know ehere most of them are!
I've about 500 cds too...

 

I have mine sorted more or less alphabetically (by artist) allthough within each "letter" the ordering is not too strict (eg George Michael doesn't necessarily always come after Madonna ).

I have 3 general "sections" which are separate and sorted separately:

Classical (has its own rack)
Non-classical (pop/rock/jazz/dance/ambient/electronic etc)
Film Soundtracks (which I've had to move to the classical rack due to space issues)

I found that trying to separate non-classical into various sub-sections was way too complicated and I'd often have classification dilemmas so I lumped it all into one. Like the quote from a film who's name I can't remember: "there's only two types of music, good music, and bad music, and I like all good music"

Michael.

 

mine aren't organised in any way at all. They used to be A to Z'ed so I suppose some of the unplayed nether regoins still are.

John

 

Mine are fully alphabetical by artist, with each artist's work in chronological order. I currently have two sets of A-Z for CDs though as I moved two rooms' into one and couldn't be arsed to sort both shelves' sets together.

My vinyl is in Ali-phabetical order though - almost alphabetical, but Lhatkins' wife Ali's been through it so chances are it's not ALL in alphabetical order any more He he he

 

All of my vinyl is in alphabetical order. The CDs are stored together by artist, with the titles organised in order of when they came out, although the artists aren't grouped alphabetically, Neil Young is stored next to Love and the Oysterband, purely because that way a shelf is filled and relatively tidy... until I get more albums!

Eventually, it'd be nice to sort it out alphabetically but I really can't be bothered. I know where everything is (usually) and what should be in the gaps...

 

I feel your pain Dom My wife never puts CDs she's listened to back in the right place :inferno:

I'm also running really short on space now which means I have to periodically shift things around so that I can make a free "slot" in the right places for new stuff.

Most annoyingly, a lot of CDs now come in non-standard packaging which doesn't fit into my racks which are designed for jewel cases :inferno: :inferno: As a result they are piled on the floor in no particular order :cry:

btw Robert, that CDTrustee software you've got looks awesome. Will have to give it a try

Michael.

 

I split my cds between USA and the rest of the world oh and a section for compilations. Within that they are alphabetical.

Couldn't do genres because of bands that cross over or don't fit.
________
Vaporizer

 

I have my discs in alfabetical order, sort of, CDs separated from DVDs:

Classical
Rock/pop
Jazz
Other
Movies
Animated

 

music sorted by catogary ,vynal,cd ,tape,other

 

I don't imagine he would!

I've recently put mine into alphabetical by artist, then into release date.

It wont last though

On the subject of non-standard case sizes! Being "in the industry" as I am I've seen a rediculous veriety of packaging! Not sure what SACD is using (think it's standard cd jewel cases), but DVD-A and DTS Audio discs come in another size/shape altogeather. Can only think that the people who make the cases also have a finger in the storage pie too!

DVD-A cases are the devil!!!

 

My system is completely alphabetical, firstly by artist/composer, and then by title of album/work. I prefer sorting by the albums by title instead of chronolgically or by release date because it's more natural to how I think about a piece of music when I when to listen to it.

All my stuff, all genres are rubbing shoulders side-by-side, in perfect harmony sort of like Ebony and Ivory ( ). I guess for you guess who like to split into genres, it's to do with the "what style/mood of music would I like to listen to now". Whereas I usually have a specific artist/composer or even a particular piece of music that I'd listen to listen to, hence the all inclusive A-Z system.

Oh, I also have my various artists albums seperated out too, like some have already mentioned, simply because I have so many (all those Now albums for starters ).

I actually have 2 racks. One rack is sorted, and the other isn't, but one days I'll get around to sorting that out. There's a bit of inconsistency like flim soundtrack. The Commitments is filed in various artists under T (maybe is should be C), but Titanic is filled under H for the composer Horner (James Horner).

What about those with classical items in their collection, I believe there's a whole mine field there too, one that I don't need to worry about just yet as even my classical collection is quite small in comparison to some. Examples: chronolgical by composition date, by publishing date (i.e. when the composer originally had their piece published), by ensemble size, instruments featured, etc.

George Micheal, Elton John - yep good examples which confuse those not familar with standard record store layouts when they try and find those in my collection.

 

The only SACD I have is in a standard CD case. Their called "jewel" cases btw, not dual (No idea why )

Michael.

 

Jazz LPs in their own section, alphabetically. Other LPs alphabetical, regardless of genre.

Jazz CDs by artist but with no particular sequence. I know where they all are however.

Bulk of other CDs are alphabetical, in PVC sleeves so the spines aren't readable, so they have to in order to be able to find anything. Anything in a jewel case can be in one of several locations, pretty much at random, until I get some more PVC sleeves...

I have experimented with, ahem, "interesting" filing methods in the past but as a result could never find anything.

I know someone who has covered the label side of all of his CDs with black marker pen, and thrown away the artwork, so he plays stuff entirely at random. I've thought about trying this myself.

-- Ian

 

I can recommend a good psychiatrist for you and your friend

Michael.