How do you store a whole lotta LP's?

I built shelves to hold about three thousand LPs for under $200. The only issue to worry about is the width of the shelves since LPs are much heavier than books.
If you are handy, homemade shelving is very cost effective and can be done to match any room finish.

www.rackittm.com

I concur with albert's idea, not only does it look good but if put in the right part of the room it will help acoustics. To see this set up in action wander over to the virtual systems here at audiogon and go to the all out assault catagory and view the system "Are you sirius?" one of the pictures shows a very nice looking and functional music storage system as per Albert's suggestion. Then again it depends what you call "a whole lotta LP's" one of my audiophile buddies has over 10k records and it takes up more room then any rack would ever accomodate- but a few thousand is no problem.

The Container Store sells a modular shelving system, Skandia, I believe its called. I picked this (somewhat overpriced) solution because the shelves are wooden (a soft wood, pine I think), but the shelf contacts are metal on metal. The shelves are rated to hold considerable weight (they let me jump on one in the store). So I got a 'furniture like' finished look with a seemingly sturdy and safe shelf. Additionally, they are really easy to put together and take apart, and as I move with some frequency, this was a concern. Finally, as long as they continue to produce them, I'll be able to add to the overall sytem to accomodate collection growth.

Oh, the Container Store has an annual shelving sale in which they discount the system by 25%. I waited for this and took a significant bite out of the final price (which was a little under $500 for storage for > 600 LP's, 400 CD's and a full foot high by 30" wide shelf for miscellaneous DVD's and VHS tapes.

If you want good old wooden bookshelves and you aren't sure if the shelf can support the load, you can reinforce the shelves with 1/2 inch square hollow metal bars, available from Home Depot. Just cut to length, drill and countersink 4 or 5 holes, and attach one to the bottom of each shelf. This worked for me on flimsy shelves that are 30 inches wide.