Physical Media

[Samsara]

While we're measuring cabinet sizes, how many is that?      I have quite a lot, but not centrally located like that, so it's harder to tell.

I'm probably around 1,500 albums on CD. A tick more if you count my wife's collection (that repeats mine quite a bit, but she also has a lot of things I don't). I probably have a couple hundred albums on vinyl.

CD, to me, is the best format. I prefer the sound of vinyl. But CDs will always be the perfect "best of both worlds" music format to me. Digital is helpful in the office or in the car. But when I'm home, it's always vinyl or CD.

[Stadler]

While we're measuring cabinet sizes, how many is that?      I have quite a lot, but not centrally located like that, so it's harder to tell.

Looks like 15 per shelf, 12 shelves per cabinet and 11 cabinets.  That makes for 121 total shelves, but at least 3 are empty and 5 have what appear to be something other than CDs, so let's say 113 total shelves x 15 per shelf = 1,695 (and maybe reduce for some shelves that don't have the full 15, so I'm guessing somewhere in the 1,600-1,650 range).

There are only CDs in that arrangement.  The empty shelves are so I don't have to reorder the entire lot if I get a couple new CDs.    I have about half again as many CDs in another bookshelf (that includes those box sets that aren't already in that one).   

[Samsara]

While we're measuring cabinet sizes, how many is that?      I have quite a lot, but not centrally located like that, so it's harder to tell.

Looks like 15 per shelf, 12 shelves per cabinet and 11 cabinets.  That makes for 121 total shelves, but at least 3 are empty and 5 have what appear to be something other than CDs, so let's say 113 total shelves x 15 per shelf = 1,695 (and maybe reduce for some shelves that don't have the full 15, so I'm guessing somewhere in the 1,600-1,650 range).

There are only CDs in that arrangement.  The empty shelves are so I don't have to reorder the entire lot if I get a couple new CDs.    I have about half again as many CDs in another bookshelf (that includes those box sets that aren't already in that one).

Leave some for the rest of us! 

[ZirconBlue]

I still have a good number of CDs, but I have WAY reduced my purchases, limited mostly to DT and related packages in recent years.  I also have some vinyl, but 99% of my listening is via streaming these days.  Instant access to virtually anything, and no physical things to carry around.

Roughly the same for me.  If I'm going to buy music, I want physical copies.  I just don't trust digital-only stuff, and I can get a disc from Amazon with AutoRip and have both.  But I do use spotify a lot, especially to try out new music.

[Samsara]

Stads - What's with the blonde then black cabinets?

I mean, I know it's said once you go black, you never go back, but c'mon man. Gotta match that shit. 

[Grappler]

Stads - What's with the blonde then black cabinets?

I mean, I know it's said once you go black, you never go back, but c'mon man. Gotta match that shit. 

Those look like IKEA Billy cd towers.  I original bought 2 black ones years and years ago.  When my collection outgrew them, I could only find grey ones in the store.  So I bought those, as I'd rather have the storage then sit around and wait for matching ones.

Funnily enough, after I went digital with music, the cd towers sat in my basement for 5 years and I never touched them again.  When we put our house on the market last spring, I duct-taped two of them together each week and threw them out in the trash to help make the basement look bigger.   

[Samsara]

My OCD won't allow for it. 

[DTwwbwMP]

 

[DTwwbwMP]

You know what I've been thinking about lately...morbid I know but, after I'm gone, what will become of a lifetime of me collecting physical music? Nobody, including my daughter will want it. The whole collection will probably be given to Goodwill or thrown out.

This exactly is me! Once I turned 60 (2020) I thought this exact thing and in the last few years have sold off my ENTIRE collection (well over 2K) of physical cd's & DVD's. Some, REALLY killed me to part with...(probably a quarter of my collection) but the thought of most of it going to the dump REALLY STRESSED me out! My boys (both in their early 30's) had no use for them, and while my wife told me I didn't have to, she was quite happy with the money brought in! I saved every dime of the constant sale's and put it away for a vacation, which we went on this year. Travel, hotel, and all inclusives, paid with the sale of my collection. At times I often think about the collection which meant so much to me, but as they say "you can't take it with you" EVERYTHING I owned was transferred to digital, and while it just isn't the same, I still feel good about my decision. Everything I buy now is also digital, and even though it feels kind of emotionless, not having a physical thing to hold and look at, I compensate by researching all the album or DVD information online.

[DTwwbwMP]

 

Damn you Stads, just looking at this makes me sad! LOL

[gazinwales]

Yup still love the CD and vinyl format...

[Samsara]

Great pics. Now I'm gonna have to post mine. This weekend.

[DTwwbwMP]

 

LOVE seeing these pics! Bring 'em on!

[TAC]

Pete Pardo just did an episode on this subject on his Sea Of Tranquility youtube show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQPMY4aQ4cQ

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I wish we could get him on here, but unfortunately he's way too busy to be involved.  In The Prog Seat is basically a video version of this forum, complete with the mega KISS fans and all, to the bewilderment of others. 

[PetFish]

I've rediscovered tapes and my Walkman.  The kids (under 35) at my work go crazy over it and I've been making new mixtapes with modern music as well using the line-out from my PC into a cassette deck.

I'm forced to listen to the music instead of shuffle > skip > skip > 30secondsboredskip > skip... and especially with older albums that I've really only listened to 25% of the tracks for the last 20 years have some amazing music on them that I'd forgotten.

So fun.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Listening to music in different formats can certainly elicit different feelings.  I occasionally did out my cassettes, mini-discs, and VHS tapes for that reason. 

[The Letter M]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KW0B7Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I bought this media tower in April of 2012, and since then, it's become VERY full. I have about 30 CDs on each shelf, so probably about 1200 total on that tower, plus some boxsets sitting on top (the four Genesis CD box sets, three Queen box sets of their discography), and some under-the-bed bins filled with my artbooks/earbooks/deluxe sets (at least 30 of those I'm sure). So over-all, if we're counting pure discs, I probably have over 1400 (because as my collection has grown, I've had to remove some stuff from the tower to make room for expanding discographies for bands still releasing music).

Then I also have another smaller tower filled with music DVDs (concerts and documentaries), but that's only about 70 DVD sets. I also have some vinyl but I don't own a record player. I've only gotten some purely as a collector and lover of those bands, or they happened to come in the deluxe box sets of albums that included CDs as well.

If I can show off some pics, I'll try to post them later. I've been collecting music for almost 20 years now, starting back when I got Rush CDs, I think, from the Columbia House music club with a deal they had (at least I think it was CH, I just remember ordering from a catalog and getting them in the mail for dirt cheap). From then on, there was no looking back...

Edit - let me know if this picture doesn't pop up!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bh9klPxsfQj8i-F8sK63xXbPI5ZBbdh0/view

-Marc.

[Samsara]

Nice tower, M. I wanted to say "rack," but was cognizant of TAC monitoring the thread. 

re: cassette tapes - I still have about a dozen. The QR catalog from EP-HITNF, Fifth Angel, and a couple of others. But that's it. That format was basically my "start" in music, but it is my least favorite by far. I'm a huge sucker for a nostalgia trip, but I so much prefer CDs. No tapes getting eaten or warped, no flipping needed.

I've been pretty busy at work and the family and I have been under the weather. As soon as we're feeling better, I'll take a pic of our CD racks at home. I'm a huge proponent of CDs as the best form of physical media for music. For my money, they are the most durable, hold the most music, and while smaller artwork-wise than LPs, they are larger than cassettes. I really feel like CDS will make a comeback of sorts down the line. I love my LPs, but due to size and storage, I pretty much only buy LPs from my favorite established artists that I know I'll want...Alter Bridge, Armored Saint, etc. But everyone else is a CD when available.