Storing CDs successfully [and finding them again]

[salymap]

I also have things like an interesting book on Heddle Nash by Alan Blyth, with a CD in a pocket at the back.
It sits on top of a bookcase, with some precious CDs made for me by past and present members of the MBs, which I love playing but are difficult to catalogue and put in any kind of order. [Especially a composite Beethoven symphony }. My 40 CD Dvorak box usually ends up on the floor, they are so slippery.

[mikerotheatrenestr0y]

Matthew of the Collector's Room in Salisbury has a barcode scanner and appropriate software - not for keeping track of the stock in the shop, heaven forbid, that's all done with handwritten notes in big books and the CDs stored in little numbered envelopes, so potential thieves only end up with empty cases, but for ordering his own private collection: after all, the barcode gives access to all the information about the disc itself, which is automatically transferred to your catalogue.

I haven't asked to borrow it yet, nor to copy the software, but it is tempting, isn't it? You look through your collection, but don't have to spend time typing it all in.

I, too, go with grouping in categories [Mediaeval; Handel; Bach; Vivaldi; other Baroque alphabetically; C18 French, alphabetically; Spanish, alphabetically; Russian likewise; French C19, C20; English C19, C20; and then there are random groupings, historically by purchase history - Mahler all together, Bruckner all together...] because I may want to listen to a particular kind of sound...

With boxed sets, I often feel I ought to listen to the whole lot [e.g. Shostakovich's development as a symphonist].

[VodkaDilc]

I haven't read all through this thread, so this could have already been mentioned. if you want to organise a CD collection (or DVDs or books) and you use a Mac, I would recommend CDPedia:

http://www.bruji.com/cdpedia/

CDs can be entered by scanning them or manually and a whole range of information is automatically included.

When I was thinking about investing the very reasonable £10 or so to start using CDPedia a few years ago, I asked for advice on the old FofR3 Messageboard. A very senior member gave lavish endorsement to the system - perhaps i should not name him; he might prefer to add a comment when he reads this.

My CDs have never been so well-organised! The customer support is personal and extremely efficient and there are regular upgrades at no extra cost.

[Karafan]

I take it there's no version for PC...? :-(

[3rd Viennese School]

Most of my CDs are on the floor.

Hope this helps.

3VS

[EdgeleyRob]

Ah, but are they in their cases ?

[BetweenTheStaves]

The bulk of mine are stored in a rotating carousel that I bought a long time ago. Opera is on a couple of bookshelves as is my Mahler 'collection'. As I have a Mac, I bought a rather nifty little program called Delicious Library (a truly horrible name) but it allows me to simply hold up the bar code on the CD on the built in camera and it does the rest, CD details and front cover. Gives you a very visual display as well if that is your wont.

[VodkaDilc]

I take it there's no version for PC...? :-(

As far as I know there are two good alternatives for Macs: CDpedia and Delicious Library, mentioned by Betweenthestaves. Surely someone produces something similar for PCs! (Possibly Readerware, mentioned below.)

Incidentally I gave considerable thought to the merits of CDpedia and DL (as well as something called Readerware) before opting for CDpedia. Mark Seeley and others persuaded me to make the choice and I have never regretted it.

[Daring Tripod]

All my 800 plus LPS are stacked on a lower shelf which extends on 3 sides of the room.

My 2-300 tapes are on 3 higher shelves

My CDs I started putting in ‘books’ but when I had filled up 7 of these I bought two storage towers situated on the window sill, which I filled and have now resorted to stacking them. Up to that point I was able to locate everything as they were in alphabetic order, as far as possible.

There just isn’t any more room left in my ‘study’. That’s the problem – or the solution, as it makes me think twice before buying any more!

[3rd Viennese School]

Of course they're in their cases!

I'm not a yob you know.

3VS

[StephenO]

That’s how I’ve always done it, though it only really works if you can keep up to date with a good index. My order within composer is the old Gramophone one (Orchestral, Chamber, Instrumental, Vocal, Opera).

That's the way I do it, though minus the up to date index, I'm afraid. Still, as I only have around 1,100 in my collection, it's relatively easy to find what I want. CDs with more than one composer go under the name of the first one on the disc unless there are more than three composers on the CD in which case I put it in a seperate "collections" section which comes after Z for Zemlinsky. Don't ask me why but it seems to work for me!