The fingerprint of every record collector is how he or she organizes his or her records. There was a time in my youthful days when I felt bold… bold enough to adopt Rob Gordon’s autobiographical organizational habits. This bold period didn’t last long as I’d become accustomed to the standard alphabetical structure and couldn’t find a damn thing! I then, for a few years, organized everything by decades. That was fun for a while and offered a quick representation of the decades I was severely lacking. (I think I’ll be fine if I never acquire another album produced in the 80s. I’ve got those years pretty well covered. Covered, get it? A little record humor…)
I’m curious to discover how other collectors organized their collections. The bigger the collection is, the bigger the commitment to that specific organizational structure. Today, I rock the namby-pamby A-Z with a section for Misc (Comedy, Children’s, Various Artists, Educational, Goofy, Holidays, etc.) and for Soundtracks. It’s boring, I know, but as I seem to always find myself in a hurry, this structure yields the quickest results.
I bring this up only because my Misc section is getting painfully out of control. Almost every time I brave its violent waters, I discover a record I never knew existed let alone knew I’d owned. Oh, well. Rediscovery can be an amiable enterprise I suppose.
The Prudent Groove 
i can relate. currently i am in the process of unpacking and organizing my records. right now the only organizational structure i have is ‘clean’ and ‘not clean’! as i am going through the records i am cleaning them and putting them in new sleeves so i can tell they are the clean ones. it’s not much of a organizational structure, but it works for now.
That’s a great idea, although the thought of cleaning every side of every record is severely daunting. Smart move! Does every record have a plastic sleeve? That’s next over here.
yes, i bought new inner and outer record sleeves and ended up purchasing Diskeeper brand based on Amazon reviews. i am very happy with them – exactly what i wanted. while i have all the original paper inner sleeves, i firmly believe that new, clean sleeves are in order if i want to keep my collection in good shape.
that said, the thought of cleaning all my records is very daunting, so that’s why i am doing it in small chunks. besides, i am not sure i am totally happy with the cleaning solution i have. in light of that, it doesn’t make sense for me to clean all my records at once since i haven’t perfected my cleaning method yet.
Rediscovery is without doubt one of the joys of a ridiculously large collection. ‘Golly!’ (you say, or some other expostulation of choice) ‘I actually have that album! What a goose I am’.
Me? A-Z is the only way, though like you I have some aberrations. VARIOUS ARTISTS are at the end in their own little a-z section. Christmas and Children’s are separate too. As are Composed music (‘Classical’). I’ve also separated out all the albums with newspaper covers. I kid you not; there are lots. Of course CDs and LPs are filed separately. Finally, in a recent organisational frenzy, I separated out the jazz CDs into their own shelving. But not jazz vinyl.
Sigh. I think that is way more aberration than I’m comfortable sharing, really.
Yes!! I had Classical separate for a LONG time, then introduced them into the fold. I found I listen to Brahms much more now that he’s neighbors with Bowie. They get along, much like you’d imagine. Like you, I’m constantly creating sub-categories in the attempt to make the “searching” process easier. Lately, I’ve stooped to the digital mark, and have begun “leafing” through my collection via Discogs… if speed and quickness is required, Discogs is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
Also, I have you to thank, or curse, for my current Faust obsession. I’m going in chronological order, and am about to begin The Faust Tapes. Thus far, Outside the Dream Syndicate gets my vote.
Hey, that’s great. You must be made of pretty stern stuff if you embrace OtDS on a first date. Faust Tapes is wonderful. Enjoy!
A-Z mainly for me, with Soundtracks, Comedy and Misc in their own sections. New music is the hardest to keep track of as it sits wherever until I bother to make space on a shelf!
Making space is the worst!! I adopted a rule, shamefully recently, that a record must get a complete spin before being shelved. That got to be tedious, in that good way, when I’d get a haul from the thrift store. A-Z seems to be the most popular solution.
A-Z, compilations, soundtracks, classical music, ‘theme albums’ (Christmas, ethnic music…). The classical music section is a nutcracker though… I think I listen less to classical music now because of this organization and the more ‘modern’ classical music like Stockhausen is in the A-Z section (but what about Gould or Jarret’s classical music?) …
“The classical music section is a nutcracker…” BRILLIANT! I find I listen to more classical by “stumbling” across it while looking for something else versus going directly to that section. I’ve gone back and forth more than a few times, but right now, Franz Liszt and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam are lovely neighbors.
I use two different databases to keep my records sorted, The first on is CLZ Music which is a on-line database application that keeps track of my Vinyl LP’s and CD’s. I use Filemakers application called Bento for my 45 collection. both sync to my phone so I always have them with me.
Interesting… I’m going to have to check those out. Discogs, what I use, doesn’t at this time offer a phone app, which would be essential. It’s often difficult to remember what exactly lives inside a vast collection when at the record shops. Thanks for the suggestion!