throwingthings
Active Member
I can’t be the only person on here who never sees a photo of some record shelves without feeling the urge to zoom in and scan the spines. I’ll cruise Facebook Marketplace for record shelving, just to linger on the unlikely discovery of an obscure Scott Tuma LP among the contents, or pause the frame on a YouTube clip to confirm that Chloe Sevigny has a Blonde Redhead CD in her closet. Post a pic in the What’s Spinning thread? I’m eyeing those Numero catalog numbers peeking out from under your table. Invite me over to your house for a cocktail party? You know I won’t be straying too far from the Kallax.
Then there’s the subtle art of spine design, where a scant few elements—typography, color, the occasional wraparound of cover art spilling over the edge—bear the weight of a record’s identity, either leaping out from a shelf with bold lettering, or blending in with a label’s rigid aesthetic.
Whether it’s the thrill of recognition, the mystery of subjective taste, or just good old dopaminergic, pattern-seeking hunting behavior, I can’t get enough of those slender edges pressed together, each a narrow portal to another world…
So, here’s a thread for posting spines. Snap a pic of the A-H run of your jazz section, or a wad of new arrivals. Or flex that macro lens on your fancy cell phone to capture one record’s singular spinal majesty. Or just comment on the perplexity of another boarder’s chaotic organizational method!
A couple shots to get us going—one night, imagining an impending tornado, I decided to gather see how many of my favorite records I could grab in 20 minutes. What would I reach for? Rare treasures or beloved commons? Here’s what I came up with:


And, conversely, here’s what a small selection all sporting what might be my favorite spine font—today, at least:

Then there’s the subtle art of spine design, where a scant few elements—typography, color, the occasional wraparound of cover art spilling over the edge—bear the weight of a record’s identity, either leaping out from a shelf with bold lettering, or blending in with a label’s rigid aesthetic.
Whether it’s the thrill of recognition, the mystery of subjective taste, or just good old dopaminergic, pattern-seeking hunting behavior, I can’t get enough of those slender edges pressed together, each a narrow portal to another world…
So, here’s a thread for posting spines. Snap a pic of the A-H run of your jazz section, or a wad of new arrivals. Or flex that macro lens on your fancy cell phone to capture one record’s singular spinal majesty. Or just comment on the perplexity of another boarder’s chaotic organizational method!
A couple shots to get us going—one night, imagining an impending tornado, I decided to gather see how many of my favorite records I could grab in 20 minutes. What would I reach for? Rare treasures or beloved commons? Here’s what I came up with:


And, conversely, here’s what a small selection all sporting what might be my favorite spine font—today, at least:
