How do you sort your music collection?

[hard truth]

I personally file all my CDs, cassettes, MP3s and vinyl alphabetically by the artist's last name. Because I am attracted to music that combines or bends genres it would be nearly impossible to sort many titles by genre.

 

I own several compilation albums and I file those by genre/area of origin. When I feel like listening to a particular genre or mood I often go for a compilation album. My compilation sections include: India/Pakistan, Middle East, Africa, Spanish (speaking/singing) America, Rock, Jazz, Blues/R&B, Hip Hop, Jamaica/Reggae, Lounge, Louisiana, Balkan, Funk, Electronic and Misc. World/Other. Electronic is the biigest section and it is informally sectioned off (no dividers) into Jungle/Drum and Bass, Techno (includes most forms of electronic dance music), Ambient, Hardcore, EDM and Dubstep

 

There are also filing issues such as: do you file Captain Beefheart under C or B? I file their work under the letter C because it is a primarily a band name. Don Van Vliet credits himself by name on the albums.

 

What about Muddy Waters, file under M or W? I file Muddy Waters under W because it his stage name, not a band name.

 

If an album has the names of multiple artists, I file it under the name of the artist listed first. (ie. Medeski, Martin and Wood under M)

 

I usually file box sets by the artist's name, or by genre/area of origin if it is a compilation, but many of them have unusual shapes and can't fit on the shelves. I have a genre-less section for odd shaped box sets.

 

I highly recommend having the collection well organized so you can find what you want easily. But I think that whatever system makes sense to you is fine.

[spokenward]

There are also filing issues such as: do you file Captain Beefheart under C or B? I file their work under the letter C because it is a primarily a band name. Don Van Vliet credits himself by name on the albums.

 

What about Muddy Waters, file under M or W? I file Muddy Waters under W because it his stage name, not a band name.

 

Record retailers have used that name styling in the past.

 

I always separated classical by composer of the primary piece. I separated Soundtracks by title.

 

I break from your genre separation, but I can point to some lumpy areas like New Orleans and Brazil that naturally find a home together because of their titles.

 

Dance mixes and whitelabels found a place together by format (size and speed). I can see a reason why you might want to sort them by artist instead.

 

Are you working on metadata for your digital assortments?

[RABid]

When my collection was physical i sorted by genre and then alphabetically. Lots of crossover which presented problems but I stuck with it.

 

Now I pay for an Apple Music subscription and I don't sort at all.

[KuruPrionz]

I have a paper case box full of random CD's. They are sorted in that they are not mixed together with data CDs or other miscellaneous items.

I have a smaller box full of CDs near my CD player. Maybe 2-3 times a month I'll play part of a CD. A tribute to Curtis Mayfield is in the player right now, some great songs on there.

 

My digital accumulation on Music (the successor to iTunes) is random stuff including my own recordings. Maybe 2 or 3 times a month I might listen to 5-10 minutes of that.

 

I play one of my guitars just about every day. I organize those by keeping them in my condo, they are all here.

 

Everybody else can do whatever they like, I'm fine with that.

[Mike Rivers]

I've tried to sort all of my (physical) music collection several times and it never works. I just go over, pick out a record that I'd like to hear, and enjoy it. If I have a particular song running through my head that I'd like to hear, unless I just happen to know where it is on my shelves, I go to the Internet and take the low-fi MP3 version. After all, if it's a good song, sound quality, unless it's really horrid, shouldn't spoil it for you.

[Notes_Norton]

Four sections: Classical/Symphonic -- Jazz -- Pop -- Ethnic/Other.

 

Each alphabetically by artist's name except classical, which is by composer's name.

 

Pretty simplistic and I suppose standard.

 

Notes

[BMD]

After all, if it's a good song, sound quality, unless it's really horrid, shouldn't spoil it for you.

 

This is so true!

[Notes_Norton]

<...snip...> After all, if it's a good song, sound quality, unless it's really horrid, shouldn't spoil it for you.

 

I've listened to music on 45RPM records, car radios before that had a 6"x9" speaker in the middle of a steel dashboard, cassette tapes, tinny ear buds, and mp3s. You are correct, a good song holds its own even in low fidelity formats.

 

I've digitized some of my discontinued LPs, and they do sound better on vinyl than the digital rip, but unless I'm going to be seriously listening, I'll pop the ripped CD in so I can put 5 in the deck and not have to get up and flip sides and change records.

 

Of course, the songs/albums sound even better in Hi-fi, but there are times when convenience trumps fidelity.

 

Of course, that's just me. There is more than one right way to listen to music.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[Mike Rivers]

I've listened to music on 45RPM records, car radios before that had a 6"x9" speaker in the middle of a steel dashboard, cassette tapes, tinny ear buds, and mp3s. You are correct, a good song holds its own even in low fidelity formats.

 

I've digitized some of my discontinued LPs, and they do sound better on vinyl than the digital rip

 

I don't have a great turntable, so I don't find that LPs sound better than their digital copies. Generally the reason why I digitize an LP in my collection is because I want to share it with someone else. That's about it. I don't routinely digitize my LPs because I don't get the urge to listen to one all that often. If I listen to one when I'm digitizing it (and of course I always pay attention when I'm doing this sort of work) that's enough to satisfy my desire to hear it that will hold me for quite a while. And when I want to listen to it again a couple of years later, it's easier for me to find as an LP than as a file, since I don't really have a system for filing my digital music.

 

. . . unless I'm going to be seriously listening, I'll pop the ripped CD in so I can put 5 in the deck and not have to get up and flip sides and change records.

 

My equivalent to that is to go to the computer or Internet radio tuner and put on a station like WWOZ or Bluegrass Country (WAMU-2) that almost always plays music that I can listen to with one ear consistently. It keeps music coming in one ear and out the other, and occasionally something will stick in the middle long enough for me to take note of it. And, chances are, I'll forget about it before I have a chance to look it up and hear/learn more about the song or artist. I'm just that way about music.

 

Of course, that's just me. There is more than one right way to listen to music.

 

I think that in the end, that's how it is for most of us.

[Anderton]

I pretty much use the Hard Truth method. The one variation is that rock albums are alphabetized, but a lot of my genre music is difficult to classify, because there are so many compilations. So, when I listen to a CD, I put a small sticker on it with a rating from 1 to 5. 1 to 5 goes from left to right. The plan is to gather up the 5s at some point by taking them to a used record store. These tend to be recordings with one or two decent songs, so I'll record those to hard drive before getting rid of the CDs.

[Nowarezman]

It's pretty rare I listen to CDs. Even when I used to buy CDs, in the 2000s I started just ripping them and listening to the digital file. I did create CD copies for listening in the car before the streaming services got to be a thing. All my CDs have been in boxes in the garage for four or five years now. I'd kind of like to have a good turntable again, but don't have the money to buy something so indulgent at this point.

 

Streaming presents it's own organization problems. I subscribe to Qobuzz, mainly for the sound quality. But the playlist-creating and organizing features are minimal and clumsy. I do create LOTS of playlists. I create a Favorites playlist for all my favorite artists/bands. And I create a lot of "radio show" playlists based on moods or eras or for when cooking or for when computering or for when just sitting and listening close.

 

One of the more fun things I'll do is create playlists with music I've never heard, or hardly ever heard. Things like a jazz drummer playlist with random selections from big and/or respected names. Or soul music tracks from artists I'm not really familiar with. Or early House stuff - which can be famous and obscure at the same time, if you know what I mean. Just let it play while straightening the house or whatever.

 

At times I do tire of messing with streaming. There are outages, or times when Bluetooth is just not connecting, or Qobuzz for some reason is just not advancing to the next song in a list - streaming is not all the way there in some ways, yet. For these times, I have a whole bunch of USB drives with music on them. Same thing as the streaming playlists - favorites per artist, large variety of playlists, and for classical, high quality no-compression digital files organized by composer, by opus number.

 

Back when I had a couple hundred LPs (I never had a large collection) I tended to find albums by the color of the spine more often than not.

 

nat

[Mike Rivers]

 

What about Muddy Waters, file under M or W? I file Muddy Waters under W because it his stage name, not a band name.

 

A friend with an huge bluegrass music collection (78s and 45s as well as LPs) filed his Flatt and Scruggs records under L for Lester (Flatt). Go figure.

[spokenward]

I wouldn't like to see Howlin' Wolf under W, but that's just one person's opinion.

[Anderton]

I wouldn't like to see Howlin' Wolf under W, but that's just one person's opinion.

 

I think what's most important is to sort based on what your first impulse. The same applies to finding something you lost - think back to the first place you looked for it. After you find it, put it back in that first place, and you'll remember to check there first next time you think something is lost.

[KuruPrionz]

I wouldn't like to see Howlin' Wolf under W, but that's just one person's opinion.

 

I wouldn't want to see it under B either - Chester Burnett was Howlin' Wolf's given name. H it is!!!!

[KenElevenShadows]

First, a rough classification: rock/pop, international (this is over half my collection), electronic, jazz, classical, psychedelic.

 

Within those classifications, alphabetical order. "Captain Beefheart" would be under "C" for me.

 

EXCEPTION: I classify all international music by region because it would be insane to do otherwise, at least if you have over 500 CDs that are international. Try remembering the names. Yeah. Ain't gonna work.

 

Region, then I put similar music together. Within SE Asia, I group all the Javanese gamelan together, then group all the Balinese gamelan in a separate category, and maybe a few Malaysian or Cambodian pop/rock psychedelic stuff together, that kind of thing.