How many records do you own that you never play ?

[umslopogaas]

To answer the opening question, I have no idea, but my instinctive response is none. In fact, I know I have played ever record (LP or CD) on my shelves at least once, because I dont keep anything until I've checked it.

There are between seven and eight thousand LPs and many hundred CDs on those shelves, so forgive me if I cant remember if I havent played one more than once. The main point is, I like to sample a very wide range of music and own it: I dont trust downloads.

[pastoralguy]

Not mine Rob because it went to China but there are some silly prices being played. I've been buying all sorts of stuff from the proceeds!

I was very surprised at the Oistrakh CD quality when I listened to the two recording because, of course, I had the original downloaded. It's amazing how different some CD transfers are (and others aren't) but it's very hard to get a reliable guide.

I'd had a small tax rebate and decided to invest it! £60 to £70 seems to be the price for that EMI STUDIO cd and I do like the sound of it but agree that remastering can make a big difference as if discussed on the Karajan thread.

[pastoralguy]

I've been keeping a pad of POST-IT notes next to my CD player and, if I can be bothered, put one inside with the date I last listened.

Occasionally, I find the original receipts in older discs such as the first cd release of the Elgar 'cello concerto/Sea Pictures disc. Amazing it's 30 years since I bought it!!

[Barbirollians]

I've been keeping a pad of POST-IT notes next to my CD player and, if I can be bothered, put one inside with the date I last listened.

Occasionally, I find the original receipts in older discs such as the first cd release of the Elgar 'cello concerto/Sea Pictures disc. Amazing it's 30 years since I bought it!!

Now that one falls into the category of well played . So well played that if the Elgar Cello Concerto turns up on the radio it doesn't take more than a bar or two to know it is Du Pre /Barbirolli .

It is not first rank music really that I wonder about , for example I wonder why I have three versions of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto .

[EdgeleyRob]

Now that one falls into the category of well played . So well played that if the Elgar Cello Concerto turns up on the radio it doesn't take more than a bar or two to know it is Du Pre /Barbirolli .

It is not first rank music really that I wonder about , for example I wonder why I have three versions of the Finzi Clarinet Concerto .

Harsh

I have no idea how many cds I own,must be around 4,000 (all my vinyl is long gone) but there are quite a few unplayed.
They are all over the house,the RVW ones are all together within easy reach but the rest are in no order whatsoever.
I have a little plan to count and catalogue them all now that I am retired,once I have done that I intend to listen to every cd once and will not go back to any until they have all been played.
Sometimes if I can't decide what to listen to I use what I call my lucky dip system,whereby I go to a box,drawer of shelf of cds,close my eyes and pick one out at random.
Today it was Ravel L'Heure Espagnol from the 2002 Proms,BBC music magazine cd which was still in shrink wrap.

[richardfinegold]

I've been converting CDs to a hard drive for a while and then donating the CDs to charity or just tossing them. Unfortunately the incoming is keeping pace with the outgoing. It really is a retirement project

[Daniel]

Sometimes if I can't decide what to listen to I use what I call my lucky dip system,whereby I go to a box,drawer of shelf of cds,close my eyes and pick one out at random.

I sometimes do that too, I put it in the player unread too and have had many a pleasant surprise.
It's an adrenalin-fuelled ride out here in the fast lane.

[Nick Armstrong]

I sometimes do that too, I put it in the player unread too and have had many a pleasant surprise.
It's an adrenalin-fuelled ride out here in the fast lane.

[Petrushka]

I won't get rid of anything (except individual CDs that get remastered and sold in those enormous boxed sets that cost less than the price I paid for the individual CD) - there have been frequent occasions when I've suddenly wanted to replay a long-neglected disc; and there might be an occasion when I actually want to play an unloved disc (if only to check if it was as bad as I remembered). And, of course, the glorious serendipity of rediscovering CD whilst you're looking for another one - a little moment of bliss! ... [M]e, my books and my CDs are a growing family.

I'm firmly in the Ferney camp and the above describes me pretty accurately.

Never counted them but I must have around 4000 CDs but still have around 700 LPs on my shelves and not one of them has been played since I bought my first CD player in November 1985. The LPs hold very deep sentimental value of a quite astonishing force. Many of them were birthday/Christmas presents from my late parents, the earliest ones (non-classical) going back to 1966. Parting with them would be a wrench too far.

A state of anarchy can be proclaimed in my listening room which needs the serious attention it will probably never get. What happens to all of them plus my hundreds of books once I shuffle off this mortal coil is a question to ponder.

Asking another question again: Does anyone know what happened to the vast collections of Edward Greenfield and Hugh Scully once they passed away?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

At least you know you've got the CDS. With downloads, you can never be quite sure.

[EdgeleyRob]

Sometimes the cd inside the case isn't what it is supposed to be,now that's living dangerously

[mathias broucek]

At least you know you've got the CDS. With downloads, you can never be quite sure.

Very true.....

[Jonathan]

Probably most of my CDs don't get listened to. We've recently bought new furniture and amongst this was a bookcase to put the CDs in once they were stored in Arrowfile folders. It did mean we took about 900 CD cases to the tip - luckily someone spoke to me while I was at the tip and said "are you throwing these away?" so I said yes and he took several hundred off my hands which meant they didn't end up in landfill.

Maybe I should have sold them in batches of 10 on eBay or something?!

Anyway, I stream music frequently but still like to retain the CDs in case I stop doing this or the computer goes wrong (everything is also ripped to a hard drive). We are considering buying a server so we can save our entire music collection to it but haven't the faintest idea where to start. There are some series of recordings which I am continuing to buy in CD form but these is because I am a completionist and I like the continuity. I do listen to new CDs when I get them but then they are filed away for the future. To be honest, my CD buying has declined massively anyway!

[gurnemanz]

I will listen to a CD most days. I definitely haven't listened to all of them but enjoy knowing there are still some there to be discovered. As mentioned above, I also sometimes like to pick at random. I have quite a lot of music on hard drive from downloads and ripping and it might be nice to put all the CDs there but I can't justify the time it would take. What is important to me is having them all catalogued in a database (Orange CD is great and indispensable) so know what I've got.

I imagine my CD buying will gradually cease.

[Jonathan]

I should also have said earlier that certain cds are not available in their entirety on Spotify, therefore I felt obligated to buy them (Mark Viner's superb Thalberg operatic paraphrases is one, Maltempo's Alkan concerto for solo piano is another)...