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How Do You Decide What to Listen To?

As with most things audio related what should be simple ends up being somewhat complex (or stupid, depending upon your POV).

I have approximately 2,500 discs (90/10 in favor of vinyl). The CDs are stored in the listening room, but the vinyl is stored in an adjacent room. The records are stored on two separate 4 level racks and are arranged alphabetically by artist.

To listen to music I first have to decide on CD vs. vinyl. If I'm lazy, I'll simply press play and listen to whatever is already in the CD player (a 5 disc changer). Odds are that it will be a number of discs that I really like, but it ignores and eliminates from consideration the vast majority of music that I have available. If I take the time to start searching through either the CD or vinyl collection, then I run into another problem. To physically scan through 2000 records is time consuming. Typically it takes 5 or 10 minutes to pick out a half dozen or so records from which I'll actually listen to 3 or 4. Since I only have a limited amount of quality listening time, I tend to select only those records that I know I already really like. To an extent I'm still ignoring a large part of my music collection. While I'm enjoying what I do select, the problem is there's alot of really good music that I'm not listening to.

I guess my question really is - HOW DO YOU LISTEN TO ALL OF THE GOOD MUSIC YOU HAVE? To select one record means you have not selected another. With only a limited amount of time, do you end up listening to only a fraction of your collection? The same 100 or 200 hundred disc over and over again. I have a good size record collection, but I know from these Forums that others have double or quadruple of what I possess. I would assume that others have this problem and I'm interested in how you have addressed the issue.
onhwy61
garfish
1,840 posts
 
'61; a thought provoking thread, and you have an incredible music organization/access system. I identify with those who select music by present mood or maybe desired mood, and BTW, it doesn't always work (for me), and it may take me some time to actually find music that fits my emotional state. And sometimes (not often) I can't find anything that "fits" and I have a lousy listening session.

I only have about 1,000 CDs (no LPs), but as I don't keep music that I don't like, I've listened to many more than this to accumulate 1,000. My modest collection is organized much like others above, ie alphabetical by category. I also keep 100 or so "favorite" CDs at hand and tend to play them a lot, but I make it a point to delve into archived CDs (or new ones) to have something new/different to hear.

I like Jond's approach to selecting music;>) A neat sense of humor!

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is; as the stereo system is changed-- especially significant changes, I've found that the character of many CDs change, and a result of this, some I like even more, but some I can no longer tolerate. Latest example of this is: I recently got new, pretty damn revealing speakers (Vand. 5s), and I'm now in the process of re-evaluating my whole CD collection. Actually, this phenomenon could be the subject of another thread.

The largest category of music in my collection is Blues, and I especially like acoustic blues. Cheers. Craig
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I'm old lazy and always tired. Yes years back I had everything set up great. Then I dig through;never putting them back where they belong.

Now I may have a title in mind ; but I just grab whatever strikes me ,as I'm looking for "it"-- Doesn't that remind you of the guy who marries a girl 'cause she is already pg??
kthomas
911 posts
 
Onhwy61 - I share your approach a lot of the time, though I'm not quite as organized about it. I have several Sony CD Changers controlled through a software front-end that allows for all the categorization you describe. Sometimes I use the software front-end, sometimes I just turn one of the changers on, hit Random and then play. It's like having my own radio station and I find that the "surprise" of what comes on next greatly adds to my enjoyment. I'm not sure why but if I consciously decide to listen to a song from the past it feels like being in a rut, whereas if it just "comes on" it feels great. It also mixes old and new which is great on many levels. It's probably not the last word in technical quality, but it sounds pretty darn good and it really puts me in the frame of mind that the music is everything.

I always have the choice, which I regularly exercise, of picking out a CD to play straight-through. I agree that there is something about the context of the "album" that is valuable and adds to the experience. After many organization schemes, I finally just put everything in alphabetic order. I usually choose based on style and instrument - I love music where the electric guitar is front and center but it's not always what I'm looking for. Sometimes I want vocals, sometimes I really don't.

I also share the technique of keeping the most recent purchases in a pile by the system to play more regularly until I'm familiar with them. Finally, I have a 12 CD changer in my car that I regularly change the contents of. My music collection (~1000 CDs) gets a lot of use. -Kirk

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