Less Music By Many Artists OR More Music By Fewer Artists? Which Are You?

[The Letter M]

I see a lot of "Recommendation" threads here, and I like that because it shows that many music fans are able to grow and appreciate a lot of music of various sounds, styles and genres... however, there are also many music fans who know what they like (and like what they know), and are often focused on a handful of artists/bands and tend to get EVERYTHING by them and their related releases.

I think many of us are one or the other since, I'm pretty sure, we're not all millionaires who could afford everything we wanted (GOD I wish...). Oh, and before there is any confusion, this isn't about the music you OWN, but rather the music you LISTEN to, on a regular basis, based on your listening patterns and habits. You may own over a couple thousand albums, but do you REALLY listen to most of them? Or is it just your favorites over and over? And while some of us may have meager or small collections, it may be a diverse collection that really showcases various tastes, and they are ALL listened to with some regularity.

So which kind of music fan are you?

For me, I'd say "More Music By Fewer Artists" as I really know what I like and love what I listen to. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a LOT of different bands, and lately I've been changing it up, but when I get into a phase, I really stick to a band for a month or two before phasing them out and going on to something else - it's just how I've listened to music for more than a decade. However, I'd say the "Fewer Artists" in this case revolves around about a dozen or so bands/artists, and many of them do have extensive discographies, so there's no shortage in music for me to listen to and pick out, but I really do love my favorites (and I'm actually listening to Spock's Beard's Snow as I type, definitely an all-time Top 10 for me).

I think part of my reasoning for being this way is because I only ever listen to albums as a whole, and I rarely listen to single tracks/songs when I listen to music. I just like to hit play and let it go for the next 40-140 minutes, and not have to worry about it. I think if I listened to singles more often, I'd be one of those people who gets just singles and listens to music on shuffle, and would be more likely to be the kind of fan that likes "Less Music By Many Artists", preferring a few singles by hundreds of bands each over hundreds of songs by a few bands each.

-Marc.

[True Death of Life]

Very interesting thread! I have near complete discographies of  Metallica, DT, Pearl Jam, Shinedown, the Indigo Girls, James Taylor, David Wilcox, etc. but I also have an extremely wide taste in music, so sometimes I'll pick and choose songs from bands whose music I don't like as a whole. (For example, I'm not hugely into Iced Earth, but I love their song Melancholy). I picked "other".

[sonatafanica]

I listen to a great number of artists, but there are only a few I go full-on discography for.

[ClairvoyantCat]

I've been more recently having trouble holding on to favorites as I used to.  I think that, even though I have a decent amount of favorite artists, I will sooner abandon them then hold on to them  My explanation for this is that there is always so much better music out there that there's no point in trying to force yourself to stick with a band you enjoy at the time and hear all their songs and buy all their albums.  I haven't held a steady set of favorite artists for over a few months except for maybe a select 5 artists.  Maybe it's just my ADD.

[Gorille85]

I listen to a great number of artists, but there are only a few I go full-on discography for.

[kári]

I listen to a great number of artists, but there are only a few I go full-on discography for.

Yup, this.

[SoundscapeMN]

I listen to over a 100..more like 150 NEW albums every year. I think the category I would fall under between the 2 is pretty clear.

However, I do love getting into specific artists or have my *moods* for certain artists over the course the year. Just last week I put on a couple of Dean Magraw albums. And over the last month I've been listening back catalogs from Cloud Cult and The Velvet Teen pretty regularly.

But my interest in listening to music is that of a Hunter. A Hunter that is looking for something great and something new. Naturally, with that mentality, I spend a lot of my time listening to different artists and their current album or maybe their best album from the past. Initially at least.

[Global Laziness]

I voted "Other". I have a lot of different bands and artists, but for a lot of them I have several albums or even complete discographies. Obviously there's some stuff I'll listen to more than others, but on the whole, I'd say "More Music by Many Artists".

[yeshaberto]

I've typically been the more music by fewer, but slowly migrating towards less music by many

[Perpetual Change]

I listen to a great number of artists, but there are only a few I go full-on discography for.

Yup, this.

Same. Lately I just get the newest release of whatever I'm interested in at the moment. Not sure if that's the best way to handle it but w/e.

[wolfking]

Other.

More music but many artists.

[SPNKr]

Other.

More music but many artists.

This and even though I voted Less From Many.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Oh, and before there is any confusion, this isn't about the music you OWN, but rather the music you LISTEN to, on a regular basis, based on your listening patterns and habits. You may own over a couple thousand albums, but do you REALLY listen to most of them? Or is it just your favorites over and over? And while some of us may have meager or small collections, it may be a diverse collection that really showcases various tastes, and they are ALL listened to with some regularity.

90% of the music I listen to is stuff I got in the last 6 months. All the other stuff does get listened to, but only occasionally because I spend most of my time on recently acquired music. A lot of my favourite albums, some of my favourite bands, I would only listen to once a year, if that.

I would be something of a 'less music by more artists' type, I guess. There are few artists where I actually have tons of their music - off the top of my head, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, Beethoven, Metallica, and Miles Davis is getting up there. I often don't bother with full discographies, even when I'm nuts about a band. And with a lot of artists, I just focus on what is considered their best albums and their strongest period and move on. This often means as few as one or two albums.

[jsem]

It's closer to the "less music by more artists."

But it's actually more music by more artists.

[Zantera]

I'm somewhere in between i'd say.
When it comes to music, i try to take in as much as possible, different genres, styles and everything, but out of all the music i listen to, even though i like all of it (since i keep listening), i do have a handful of bands/artists that i just love more, where i buy all their albums/DVDs and such.

[?]

I'm "more music by fewer artists" type. I don't listen to loads of bands but I usually get all or most albums by the ones I listen to.

[Sigz]

More music, fewer artists.

Edit: More artists, less music


LOLDYSLEXIA

[hefdaddy42]

I love hearing new music from all kinds of bands/artists, so in that sense I am "less music by many artists."

However, there are a decent amount of artists whom I really, really love, so I try to acquire their complete discographies.  So I guess I am a blend.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

Definitely more music from less artists. I don't like treading here and there. I want to broaden my taste, sure, but what I want more is that I want to fully appreciate a certain band, not only some of their songs. I like Oblivion by Mastodon, but since that's like the only song I like from them, when people ask me if I heard Mastodon, I just say no. I'll only say I know a certain band when I've appreciated at least one full album from them.

[MetalManiac666]

I love hearing new music from all kinds of bands/artists, so in that sense I am "less music by many artists."

However, there are a decent amount of artists whom I really, really love, so I try to acquire their complete discographies.  So I guess I am a blend.

This.

[ZBomber]

I like to balance new albums/music I hear. I'll have one or two a month usually and spend a lot of time getting familiar with them. I usually try to discover an artist's whole discography before moving on to another one.

[orcus116]

Definitely the first option, though I do have my share of discographies.