How Do You Organize Your Music?

Music goes on the shelves here organized into one of five major categories: Classical, Blues, Celtic, Jazz and Pop/Rock. Within each category LPs are sorted alphabetically (by composer for classical, by artist for jazz, folk, rock, blues, pop). Classical gets more complex due to the multiple composers who may be represented on a given LP; I generally choose by the composer whose work on that LP is most significant to me, sometimes by a category such as Renaissance Lute music. The ultimate tool is the PC database in which I've recorded each piece as acquired and which allows me to search/filter by composer, work, artist, genre, label, catalogue number, etc.
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By country of pressing, then alphabetically

But 50% are disorganized

I find that my listening moods tend to be divide into four categories and this is how I have my music filed:
1. Female vocals (alphabetically)
2. Male vocals (alphabetically)
3. Non vocal (50's to 70's mainly Jazz/Blues alphabetically)
4. Non vocal (80's to today all other alphabetically)

I've always wrestled with organizing music by genre. Record stores do this, but I often have artists whose work or particular albums cross genres. That's where it gets messy. Is Clapton "rock" or "blues"? Is Dylan "folk" or "rock"? Is Ry Cooder "world" or "blues" or "country"? I suppose one could do that an album-by-album basis, but that could be even more confusing. Even orchestral pieces can sometimes be quandaries. Should Bernstein's "West Side Story" be in "soundtracks" or "classical"? What about the operatic version? How about the London Symphony Orchestra playing Pink Floyd music?

Digital music players like WMP and iTunes certainly make things easier, but one still has to list an album by 'genre'. I've basically concluded that there's no one answer. Do what feels right to you. Even if that's "autobiographical" as Proghead referenced Rob from High Fidelity.

1) Genre.
2) Alphabetically.
3) Chronologically.

Cheers,
John