Catalog Completist?


How many of you out there are bent on getting an artist's complete catalog, even though the entirety of said catalog isn't always grand from first album to most recent?

I was struck by this as I was rearranging the CD collection, and noted I had all the AC/DC studio albums.  Some definitely resonate with me more than others, to say the least.  However, anything new they put out I will get.  Will it go in heavy rotation? Will it be "good"? Likely not at this point. But I will own the disc.

Some bands deliver throughout, some don't, but I still keep up with them. Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Cannibal Corpse, Green Day, are mixed examples of each for me.  I just can't seem to pass up a new release, even if I've been underwhelmed after streaming the record.  I just need to have it on the shelf.

Am I alone? What artists do you have all the physical copies of on your rack(s), regardless of individual release merit?


iron57
I was a Doc Watson collector until that silly 7 disc set this year. If Malcolm Holcomb released it I have it and will continue to do so. Dave Alvin, Richard Thompson (looking forward to Mofi's Rumor and Sigh), Mary Gauthier, Peter Case.
@jafant Definitely Metallica. Interesting dilemma though, you want a band to grow and not make the same record time and again, but damn it's hard to reach for some of the newer filler when the older stuff is so good.

Rush
Kate Rusby
Cassandra Wilson
The Yellowjackets
Phish

several others

There's a continuity in the complete catalog; an experience of the artist through all their brilliance and mediocity, that's essential to acceptance.