Record store style bins. Genre: Jazz, blues, indy, rock, folk, classical, broadway. Artists grouped together. No alpha.
How do you sort your LPs?
How do you sort your LPs?
By:
1. Alphabetical Genre
2. Alphabetical Artist
3. Most listened
4. Others
I have procrastinated in organizing my collection. No excuses now.
By:
1. Alphabetical Genre
2. Alphabetical Artist
3. Most listened
4. Others
I have procrastinated in organizing my collection. No excuses now.
80 responses Add your response
Genre, then alphabetical order....for example, jazz, blues, rock, disco, military marches, soundtracks, disco, easy listening, classical, country, folk, etc. Have MOFI separated on their own racks, as I do Nautilus, DCC, Simply Vinyl, Etc. It’s a long process and is still something I am trying to keep up with, but the occasional flea market, record store, or on line purchases are accumulating faster than I can sort. And, coworkers, family, and friends who have given me boxes of records, I am still sorting those as well. In Germany, my old neighbor gave me a box of classical Deutsche Grammophone records. |
From best to worst. ;-) I’m curious fellas: why the organization by genre? I suppose if you have a hankerin’ for some Blues (or any other style) it would be handy. I did it that way when I was 17, but then I got a Mose Allison album. Jazz, or Blues? At 18 I switched to alphabetical by artist (surname or group/band name), then chronological. Simple. Classical by composer, then alpha by title of work, and conductor/performer. |
Greg I took the time and trouble to catalog all my media into discogs over a couple month time period following my thread on how best to catalog music from a couple years back. However I did NOT know you could dl it as a csv file, interesting and thanks. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/how-do-you-store-and-catalog-your-vinyl?highlight=how%2Bdo%2B... |
Mostly by Classical vs. Everything Else. Classical by composer but only when it makes logical sense. Separate sections for boutique labels such as M.A. and Harmonia Mundi. Operas and gigantic box sets on the top shelf because they collectively weigh less than single disc releases. For aesthetic reasons, I sort the Opera box sets by record label. The different labels all have their own box styles and it just looks better that way. Oddball records, such as stereo test records and a single LP that is cut from the center outward toward the edge, have a single, special niche. |
Two divisions...classical and everything else. Classical is then alphabetical by composer. Then sub-divided, symphonies, concerti, ensemble and then solo performances by instrument. Everything else is alphabetical by artist. Then sub-divided oldest to newest. Otherwise, I can't find what I'm looking for. I'm trying to create a database using Readerware, but it is TEDIOUS work and will take years! |
Alphabetically starting with the first letter towards the side facing me. Could be the title of the album or the name of the artist. Therefore listening is completely random. I guess I could just put them all in randomly and would be the same effect but this way I feel there is a method to the madness. So if I know I want the listen to Selling England by the Pound by Genesis, I know it will either be in the “S” section or the “G” section. |
Last year I decided to finally organize my LPs and CDs. The LPs are organized alphabetically by band name or surname. The real job was taking it one step further by inputting these albums, same way, on an excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has these columns: Group / Artist, album title , Label, Label catalog # or UPC, year of pressing / release, LP condition, sleeve condition, size of media 10" or 12", # of discs and speed (33 or 45). My CDs are organized the same way and are done so on a separate storage rack system, except they currently are not logged into the excel spreadsheet (yet). Eventually, they will be on a slightly different list: Artist. album title, Label. Label catalog #, year, # discs, jewel case, digital or box set. I had to resort to cataloging my LPs because I was buying the same music that I already have. In some cases I wanted a variety of pressings of the same albums, but mostly settled on one favorite. It takes a lot of time cataloging your music, but it's nice to have these lists at your fingertips on your phone when music shopping! |
Firstly by genre, then alphabetically by artist. Then there’s the LP’s I’ve been listening to the most at the time. Just need to not let the latter pile get out of control, and remember to file them back, then repeat the the process again. I also like to catalog my collection on Discogs, but still have a couple thousand records to add, but that just sorts a list of em for you so you’ve got a list, of course. Also a cool way to figure out exactly which version or pressing you’ve got too and leave notes about grading or anything else. |
Not to be a pest, but I remain curious about the rationale for organization/separation by genre. When a collection becomes "large enough", it becomes necessary to organize the LP’s in some manner, to allow finding any particular title easy. For myself (and others), simple alphabetization is all that’s necessary to achieve that objective. What purpose does "genre-fication" serve? I’m not saying my question demands an answer, I’m just curious. Separating Classical makes perfect sense, as there is no single entity involved: composer, composition, conductor, orchestra, even record label. I understand separating out audiophile labels as well: Sheffield titles in particular don’t seem to belong mixed in with music. ;-) |
Homebuilt, mobile, vertical shelf unit, sorting alphabetically by artist's core name (i.e. "Who", not "The Who"). Also considering special cases, so; A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,Ktel,L,M,N,O,Polkas,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z Yes - I have been doing this for a while (1970's). We did some DJ work in the early 1980's with vinyl record albums, so my collection needed to be mobile and easily accessed. Our last job was for the Clear Lake Classic Car Club outdoors; our album covers and sleeves were blowing across the parking lot. Yikes. |
By coincidence I just sorted 750 albums by artist and title. I keep track of them on Discogs...I exported a csv file... opened in Excel....got rid of most of the columns...copied and pasted into Wordpad (Word and Notepad proved to not work well)....now cross checking and making sure they have been sorted correctly and adding ones that I hadn't entered into Discogs. Dana |
Thanks to all for your suggestions and opinions. I have a decent size (to me) collection of LPs. Most of them are originals, meaning I bought them new when they were first released, and are in great condition. I still buy LPs so the collection is still growing but at a reduced rate. I'm trying to enjoy what's here hence the quest for better organization. Now, they are loosely grouped by genre but not all in the same place. For example, there is the classical section on the right side of the room (the I don't listen to often side) and the classical section on the left side of the room (the most listened to section). I chose genre because that's how I usually select what to listen to. For example, if in the mood for jazz then I go to the jazz section and then narrow it down from there. I'm not good at remembering names but I remember cover art. I'm not obsessing, at least I don't I am. My goal is to spend less time searching and more time listening. Also, I want to weed out between 1000 to 1500 LPs that will never be used (by me) again. The "I listen to these LPs most often pile" seems to get out of control too often. Thanks for the suggestions of Discogs and similar. I will check it out. -Mike |
@bdp24 As a genre-sorter, may I offer my rationale? The most important aspect of my filing is that I use the record store method. Albums are easily flipped through in their relevant section. I remember with some accuracy where albums-by-artist live in each deck. I tend to browse rather than search for a specific artist. Admittedly, some go "missing" only to be found again! I could not stand the creaked-neck-album-spine filing method. |
@noromance (and other genre-ists ;-), I get it now. My Pop collection is almost all one genre anyway: Americana. Just kidding. I would love to be able to have my LP's cover-facing-out, but available room precludes that possibility. I spent a lot of time with my head cocked sideways! There is one record store I've been in that puts there entire inventory in alphabetical order only, no genrefication: Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas. I immediately realized that would make browsing by genre, as most people do (I think), impossible. |
I listen to vinyl 99% of the time. Separate storage for classical LP's (about 300) vs. everything else (about 1500). Alphabetically within each pile. For listening I just go through each collection in alphabetical order from Abba to ZZ Top and from Albinoni to Wagner. I was wasting too much time deciding "What should I listen to today?" I put a CD on when i need background music for a nap. |
