How many albums is enough albums in a collection?

AnthonyI

AnthonyI

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@Joe Mac touched on this in a different thread and I wanted to respond but felt it would take that thread way off topic, so, here's something new to talk about. There are all sorts of sides to this discussion, time, money, practicality and so on.

My answer, "I don't know". I always seem to find a lost album that I love, something new, or something new to me, there is so much music out there it's impossible to hear it all so the chances of finding something you like that you haven't heard is very strong. It's more about having the album there when I want to hear it more so than I don't have enough hours in a "Lifetime" to listen to all the albums I have.

And I think @Joe Mac's comment about being a music fan first and having the gear be an extension of making the music more enjoyable and NOT the main factor resonates true, to me anyway. I get the argument that if you lean on gear it's not about the music, but hearing the music closer to what it's intended is definitely about the music.

Over the last year my collection has gone through drastic changes, not to purge it due to size, but more so to purge it to the right albums. So it's going to grow again, how big, it might end up being space that prevents it's size, but definitely not time to listen to them all ;)
 
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Good question.
Ive asked myself this a few times.
Im around 400 albums on vinyl. Now I definitely have numerous albums im Happy I own but rarely spin and some in that list will not have been on my turntable for 4 years.
If I’m on a consistent run of purchases (happily not so far this year) New purchases get lost in the influx and get a token 1 spin and filed Away.


My honest answer is if I had 100 albums of very good quality pressing suiting my tastes, I’d probably be just as happy.
As it is I’m probably going to add no more than 15-20 Albums per year going forward and get exactly what I know I will play.
 
For me, 500. Sticking to that number.

The way I'm compartmentalizing that number as partitions...

~300 locks. These albums never leave the collection.

~200 rotating. These are set to allow for offloading and trying out new records without going over the 500 threshold. As they (likely) fall out of rotation, they can be easily moved/offloaded.
 
I think the answer depends on the person and their taste. I could see myself with a base of around 1500 at some point and then that additions beyond thst would depend on my ongoing levels of curiosity towards new music. I just know that at 850 I still have so much more that I’d like to add. Space might stop me before then lol
 
My flippant answer is: always more than I have!

But my more serious one is really whatever you are comfortable with. I used to have about 3,000 CDs and when I got back into vinyl more than a decade ago I decided that I would only buy albums I really like. Obviously, I can occasionally go wrong but having now listened to about 2/3 of my 2000ish records in the past 14 months I can honestly say that I *love* 99% of the records I have. I tend to listen to records multiple times on Spotify before buying and if I can't make my mind up I've learned to drop it. That said, if I didn't have space constraints I'd just keep on buying. I buy about 200-300 (gulp) records a year, mostly second hand, and I find there's always new bands/genres to explore. Eg recently I've been exploring McCoy Tyner, The Cure, New Order, Curtis Mayfield etc etc - many for second or third time in my life. Sometimes artists just click differently at a different time of life.

As for equipment, I made a series of upgrades to my turntable, speakers and cables 3-5 years ago when I got some tax refunds and am super happy with the results so I'm likely to stick here for quite some time. For me, I'd rather spend the money on music I love. One of the things that semi freaks me out is the thought that my favourite musician/band might be out there and I've never heard them so I always stay curious. But I understand everyone is different, and I definitely get the idea of an upper limit for some. I probably listen to 40-odd records each and every week so it's a big part of my life. And for that reason, as long as my family copes with the records everywhere, my collection is likely to keep expanding (although I kind of hope not quite at the current rate).
 
I feel like I’m at a point that I have all or almost all of my favorite artists albums. Missing maybe one or two here or there. But the majority of my vinyl buying in the past couple of years has been buying new music only. I think when you get to a point where you’re only buying new things; new releases or new discoveries, then you’re probably at a good level. My Discogs has me at 695 (I always thought I was at 500~ And it’s not completely up to date either 😳).
 
Corycm said:
Quantity of my collection, particularly some arbitrary top end number, literally never crosses my mind. I’m not saying I buy every flat black thing that crosses my path, but trying to tie it to some number never factors into my thinking.
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Honestly it wouldn’t cross mine either if I wasn’t in a 2 bed city apartment. In the grand scheme of things I’m lucky that it’s a really comfortable sized apartment for one person, thankfully I don’t live in one of those shoe box apartments, but it does put constraints on storage space. Without that the sky would be the limit!
 
Joe Mac said:
Honestly it wouldn’t cross mine either if I wasn’t in a 2 bed city apartment. In the grand scheme of things I’m lucky that it’s a really comfortable sized apartment for one person, thankfully I don’t live in one of those shoe box apartments, but it does put constraints on storage space. Without that the sky would be the limit!
Click to expand...
Living alone does have a benefit from time to time. I have one room allocated to just record storage in my small house. I’d be lying if I didn’t say music storage will play into the next place I buy. I kinda want one of those storage rooms with floor to ceiling shelving and one of those rolling library ladders.
 
Corycm said:
Living alone does have a benefit from time to time. I have one room allocated to just record storage in my small house. I’d be lying if I didn’t say music storage will play into the next place I buy. I kinda want one of those storage rooms with floor to ceiling shelving and one of those rolling library ladders.
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Honestly I’d have to move out of Dublin or be buying with someone else to afford a house so I’ve just got to make do with what I have and to be honest if bedroom 2 does change use it’s likely to be to a WFH office with a sofa bed given the last year.

Moving out of Dublin could potentially get me more space but I’m not sure that as a single person that it would make the most sense sanity wise 😂
 
ByersVinyl said:
My honest answer is if I had 100 albums of very good quality pressing suiting my tastes, I’d probably be just as happy.
Click to expand...

I fully agree it doesn’t take a huge collection to really enjoy it and/or music in general. Especially these days when you can stream on demand almost anything.

That said, it is really enjoyable to have a larger collection that you have accumulated over a long period of time if you have the space. You pull out a record you got years (decades) ago and you subtly relive a moment in your past. You put on a new version of an old favorite and can also pull out and compare other versions. You form new connections with new bands or music genres as the collection grows...etc.

While streaming means you don’t have to buy music the internet has made the hobby of collecting physical music infinitely more enjoyable. Being able to easily discover and buy music from all over the world regardless to where you live. Band’s social media and webstores. Databases like Discogs so you have detailed info on all the various pressings. Forums like this one where we can connect. All really good.
 
AnthonyI said:
@Joe Mac touched on this in a different thread and I wanted to respond but felt it would take that thread way off topic, so, here's something new to talk about. There are all sorts of sides to this discussion, time, money, practicality and so on.

My answer, "I don't know". I always seem to find a lost album that I love, something new, or something new to me, there is so much music out there it's impossible to hear it all so the chances of finding something you like that you haven't heard is very strong. It's more about having the album there when I want to hear it more so than I don't have enough hours in a "Lifetime" to listen to all the albums I have.

And I think @Joe Mac's comment about being a music fan first and having the gear be an extension of making the music more enjoyable and NOT the main factor resonates true, to me anyway. I get the argument that if you lean on gear it's not about the music, but hearing the music closer to what it's intended is definitely about the music.

Over the last year my collection has gone through drastic changes, not to purge it due to size, but more so to purge it to the right albums. So it's going to grow again, how big, it might end up being space that prevents it's size, but definitely not time to listen to them all ;)
Click to expand...
To my thinking, one 'side' to this discussion is the question of purpose, and it's a question I go back and forth on all the time--am I trying to curate an awesome and expansive record collection, or do I just want to have access to records I will play over and over again? The rational part of me (ever-fading) believes the latter should suffice, but clearly my behavior fully embraces the former. I agree with @AnthonyI that there's a lot to be said for owning and being able to pull out an album in response to some internal or external spark of curiosity. Happens to me all the time reading N&G threads, and often it's albums I haven't listened to or thought about in years. I also agree that, for me at least, it would be impossible to go far with record collecting without reaching a point where the gear really matters. Obviously we all will differ in our thinking about just how far we have to go to reach the point where we are satisfied with that gear, but to me, it sure feels like the "urges" (for lack of a better word) that compel me to care about the gear are complexly interwoven with those that help me hit the 'purchase' button for records. So while I know I never will be able to explain to a non-record person why it makes sense to have more records than I ever could listen to, that's definitely where I'm at.
 
Rip_City said:
For me, 500. Sticking to that number.

The way I'm compartmentalizing that number as partitions...

~300 locks. These albums never leave the collection.

~200 rotating. These are set to allow for offloading and trying out new records without going over the 500 threshold. As they (likely) fall out of rotation, they can be easily moved/offloaded.
Click to expand...
I think this is in line with my thinking. 500 is a good number and a decent size.

I have been meaning to do this for a while but I am currently in the process of thinning the collection, getting rid of duplicates and variants and even replacing rare variants with retail versions.
 
Skacel said:
I think this is in line with my thinking. 500 is a good number and a decent size.

I have been meaning to do this for a while but I am currently in the process of thinning the collection, getting rid of duplicates and variants and even replacing rare variants with retail versions.
Click to expand...

Yeah i sort of agree.
Trouble for me is i generally like owning all the albums i have regsrdless of playtime and i can’t be arsed selling anything.
I’ve sold a record maybe 5 times and once I got a bit of needless hassle from buyer. I sceptically now think this is gonna repeat.
 
It's not a number for me, it's the amount of space they take up, which is probably determined by how much I want my house to be dominated by records. It feels like a 4x4 or a 5x5 kallax is the limit for me. I really do struggle to get rid of records though; other than PIF it just feels like a total faff.
 
As a relatively new collector, I haven’t been TOO concerned with how much is enough. But I know it’s going to be an issue sooner or later. After just over 2 years, I’m about 1/3 of the way through my current storage space, and I’m just trying to delay filling that up as much as possible.

The first year I was collecting I was buying shit just to buy it. But realized that was unsustainable. I’ve since sold off maybe 50 albums and going forward I’m trying to only add records I know will get many spins and that will earn their place in my collection. I don’t always get it right, but that’s just part of the fun in collecting in my opinion.

I still don’t know the answer to the question, but I think as long as I’m not getting stuff just to get it, I’ll be okay.
 
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