How much of your albums lists do you own in physical format? - Music

rkm

60's: hardly any, a fair bit of jazz on CD and box sets.
70's: maybe half of my lists in vinyl, and 10% on CDs
80's: maybe 80% on vinyl, 80% on CD
90's: 95% on CD, 5% on vinyl
00's: 60% on CD, and the odd vinyl
10's: 20% on CD, and the odd vinyl

I started out trying to limit my year lists to less than 20 albums per year, precisely because my intention is to own the stuff that's important to me on CD and/or vinyl. Limitations are also necessary, if you intend on forming any attachment to the music. 20 albums a year, over 50 years, is 1,000 albums. It might take a whole year to give each of those albums a listen again.

My lists are blowing out to 30+, and while my intentions haven't changed, I currently own more music than I'm realistically going to listen to regularly, and I'm starting to think about what I'm going to do going forward. I do use Apple Music already, and maybe I'll draw a line in the sand and not collect anything released after 2017?

Maybe my relationship with music will change? I could never check out any new music again (not likely) and still have a larger range of music at my disposal than the average Joe. The alternative however, is to change my habits, and make listening about novelty (and streaming is excellent for this), and have no expectation of forming an attachment to the music.

I guess this ties into the thread about music and staying power. In my view, the reason some older music has had better staying power is due to the sheer number of times we've listened to it, and therefore invested our life memories in it. The reason newer music has less staying power is simply that we invest less of ourselves in it. We're faced with too much choice.

So, how much of your music do you own?

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

At one time, I could have said I own physical copies of most of my lists. But not anymore. I used to have thousands of each of CD and vinyl, but every time I move I get rid of a big chunk of them. You get tired of lugging the shit around. So only the 90s I would say I have more than half as physical copies. Everything else, not so much.

rkm

bobbyb5 wrote:

At one time, I could have said I own physical copies of most of my lists. But not anymore. I used to have thousands of each of CD and vinyl, but every time I move I get rid of a big chunk of them. You get tired of lugging the shit around. So only the 90s I would say I have more than half as physical copies. Everything else, not so much.

Do you maintain a digital library of stuff, or just stream everything?

craola
crayon master

Location: pdx

this exercise makes me sad. even looking at my top 100, the vast majority are albums i have only digital copies of. i own physically maybe a third.
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Patman360
Serenity Now

Gender: Male
Age: 31
Location: Cork, Ireland

Moderator

Like 25% if I was to hazard a guess...
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

rkm wrote:

Do you maintain a digital library of stuff, or just stream everything?

Up until a few years ago, I downloaded a lot of albums. But now the only thing I download is brand new albums that I want. I've really gotten over my need to own a physical copy of every single album that I liked. I was one of those people who if I like something I just had to own it. But I've gotten over that. I mostly just use music services now to stream music.

rkm

bobbyb5 wrote:

Up until a few years ago, I downloaded a lot of albums. But now the only thing I download is brand new albums that I want. I've really gotten over my need to own a physical copy of every single album that I liked. I was one of those people who if I like something I just had to own it. But I've gotten over that. I mostly just use music services now to stream music.

I haven't gotten over that need, yet. But I look around sometimes, and imagine myself ending up on one of those hoarders TV shows, and the presenter is asking me if I really need 5 copies of Steely Dan's "Aja", and could I bare to put just one in the skip bin?

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

rkm wrote:

I haven't gotten over that need, yet. But I look around sometimes, and imagine myself ending up on one of those hoarders TV shows, and the presenter is asking me if I really need 5 copies of Steely Dan's "Aja", and could I bare to put just one in the skip bin?

LMAO. It's a long process. I wasn't able to get over that need until I was getting near 40 years old. Doesn't happen overnight.

rkm

craola wrote:

this exercise makes me sad. even looking at my top 100, the vast majority are albums i have only digital copies of. i own physically maybe a third.

That can be rectified Wink

Jimmy Dread
Old skool like Happy Shopper

Location: 555 Dub Street

Moderator

Overall: 99/100 (96 on LP, 3 on CD)
101-200: 99/100 (94 on LP, 5 on CD)
60s: 83/100 (72 on LP, 11 on CD)
70s: 98/100 (91 on LP, 7 on CD)
80s: 95/100 (90 on LP, 5 on CD)
90s: 94/100 (58 on LP, 36 on CD)

Both my 00s and 10s charts are in serious need of updates so haven't bothered to look at them in detail, but suffice it to say that if it's an album I adore I'll always try to get a physical copy of it if I can, and more often than not on vinyl.

More recent users (especially any vinyl-heads) might want to have a look at this thread which is on a similar subject.
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