Big CD boxes. How do YOU keep track of their contents?

[pastoralguy]

I was very tempted to purchase the DECCA recording of Mischa Elman playing the Beethoven violin concerto under Georg Solti conducting the LPO which was recorded in 1955. In seemed such an odd match and I wondered how the lyrical Elman would fare under the rhymician that was Solti. The cd was briefly reviewed, iirc, in Gramophone and didn't fare well. Ah well, £10 saved with the hope it would turn up in a charity shop some time in the future.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was included as disc 19 in my DECCA MONO edition that I purchased a couple of years ago. To be honest, while it's an interesting document it doesn't really show Elman at his best but I'm glad I've heard it so I can make up my own mind.

My question is, with so many 'big boxes' being released, how does one keep track of all those discs and avoid purchasing duplicates?

[Cockney Sparrow]

I was very tempted to purchase the DECCA recording of Mischa Elman playing the Beethoven violin concerto under Georg Solti conducting the LPO which was recorded in 1955. In seemed such an odd match and I wondered how the lyrical Elman would fare under the rhymician that was Solti. The cd was briefly reviewed, iirc, in Gramophone and didn't fare well. Ah well, £10 saved with the hope it would turn up in a charity shop some time in the future.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was included as disc 19 in my DECCA MONO edition that I purchased a couple of years ago. To be honest, while it's an interesting document it doesn't really show Elman at his best but I'm glad I've heard it so I can make up my own mind.

My question is, with so many 'big boxes' being released, how does one keep track of all those discs and avoid purchasing duplicates?

I try (but am not entirely successful) to cut and paste the contents from a website into a Word Doc (Amazon - usually a helpful / OCD reviewer; or Presto or elsewhere) . Then I search using Ctrl +F in the doc. Not perfect, not comprehensive, but a rough and ready approach.

[cloughie]

I try (but am not entirely successful) to cut and paste the contents from a website into a Word Doc (Amazon - usually a helpful / OCD reviewer; or Presto or elsewhere) . Then I search using Ctrl +F in the doc. Not perfect, not comprehensive, but a rough and ready approach.

Mine are all on an EXCEL data base.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I find that if I mention that I don't have a recording here on the Forum, some kind soul points out, not only that it's in one of the "Big Boxes", but that I posted a glowing review of it a couple of years ago.

[cloughie]

I find that if I mention that I don't have a recording here on the Forum, some kind soul points out, not only that it's in one of the "Big Boxes", but that I posted a glowing review of it a couple of years ago.

You'll find it dreckly!

[richardfinegold]

Basically I don't keep track of them. Currently listening to a recording of Starker with Mehta conducting the Israel PO in an album of Bloch that I had no idea was contained in the Decca Sound stereo box

[Petrushka]

I don't keep track of mine either as I kid myself that my memory is still sharp enough for me to recall the contents of the big boxes. This isn't too difficult really as most of mine are conductor orientated eg the Karajan DG big boxes, the Warner re-mastered edition, the Böhm, Jochum, Haitink editions etc. My problem is rather the reverse: weeding out the duplications from my shelves to be occasionally surprised at discovering one I'd forgotten I had.

[cloughie]

Basically I don't keep track of them. Currently listening to a recording of Starker with Mehta conducting the Israel PO in an album of Bloch that I had no idea was contained in the Decca Sound stereo box

...and isn't Voice in the Wilderness good? I have it coupled with Harold in Italy on an Austraian Eloquence CD!

[gurnemanz]

There are several cataloguing programs. I have this one which I have found to be excellent. Not free but worth every penny. I refer to it most days.

[Cockney Sparrow]

There are several cataloguing programs. I have this one which I have found to be excellent. Not free but worth every penny. I refer to it most days.

Thanks for that. Even putting all my CDs through a PC disc tray would take some time, but far less than any alternative known to me.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Generally speaking, I have an appalling memory, but this problem seems to evaporate when recalling what's on what CD.

However, I have under 2,000 discs, so perhaps my brain's RAM might be near its limit.

[richardfinegold]

...and isn't Voice in the Wilderness good? I have it coupled with Harold in Italy on an Austraian Eloquence CD!

Exactly! I can't remember the last time I'd heard that work and I've replayed it 3 times now since discovering the disc buried in the box. I wonder why it is so overshadowed by Schlomo, which is the first work on the disc and is rather ubiquitous. The two works would be a nice pairing on a concert and together would be the length of a standard Concerto

[Ferretfancy]

I have all my discs and tapes catalogued and cross referenced, which makes them fairly easy to locate, but most of the time I rely on memory. If, for example, I feel like listening to a Rachmaninov symphony, I should look up all the versions I have, make a choice and pick a version that I haven't played for a while. The problem is that too often I don't use the catalogue and fall back on a favourite version.

Another difficulty is that when I'm browsing in a charity shop or visiting Gramex, I find that I take home a CD that I have already, which is a bind. Put it down to the weakness of old age.

[Dave2002]

There are several cataloguing programs. I have this one which I have found to be excellent. Not free but worth every penny. I refer to it most days.

Looks interesting, though presumably Windows only. Are there any good Mac ones?

[Sir Velo]

My question is, with so many 'big boxes' being released, how does one keep track of all those discs and avoid purchasing duplicates?

Rip your CDs, and then do a search in whatever software you use (eg Foobar) - by album, artist, title etc - will quickly tell you what you've got.