Greetings to all who have yet to assemble

Tell us a bit about your collection. Mine hangs at about 3000 lps (and nigh on 1000 45s), mostly rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues - 1950s- 1980s, with a focus on rough-edgedness: rockabilly, Delta Blues, Tex bar blues (Lonnie Mack, Long John Hunter), mid-60s - 70s punk rock (Sonics, Hangmen, Chants R & B, Stooges, Electric Eels), instrumentals, etc. I also have a fair amount of jazz and novelty pop music (from the 50s and 60s). I would love to find an effective, and, if possible, EASY way to catlog this stuff.

I have about 1500 LPs, and probably a similar quantity of CDs, none of which I've attempted to cram into LibraryThing.

In the early days around here, Tim had discussed doing a "music thing", which would be specifically geared to cataloging one's record collection, but I guess that got pushed onto the far-back burner while the L.T. team concentrated on making L.T. versions for every known language on Earth (and maybe some others ... I don't doubt that somebody will be throwing a tantrum because they can't catalog their Klingon books in the original glyphs!).

Obviously, there are "Programming Issues" involved with logging in a record collection that aren't quite as complicated for books. I would love to be able to input an album's band and title and have it automatically populate fields with info on song titles (and durations), band members, etc., but even typing that out sounds like "pie in the sky by and by"!

Amazon's info is pretty good (in most cases) for the song titles, but too often if you have the original vinyl recording, you're SOL as far as their entries (which tend towards "expanded/enhanced" and "extra tracks" later CD re-releases).

I had hoped when Tim added John McGrath (the guy who had developed Squirl.info, a frequently-suggested alternative for cataloging stuff other than books), that perhaps the "MusicThing" project would get off the ground, but I've caught no hint of that in the weeks since he's been on board. Of course, the L.T. team tends to play stuff close to the vest (no doubt having been "burned" by a couple of things that were "a week or so away" a year ago that still haven't been implemented), so this could be waiting in the wings even as I type.

I have a LOT of CDs, and even more LPs*, but, like BTRIPP, I'm willing to wait for a MusicThing version of LT.

The template here does a great job cataloging books, but would do only a mediocre job of cataloging CDs or LPs.

*uh, it's pretty much as you'd expect: my music collection is about proportionate to my 'book' holdings...more than any sane person needs.

Ah, people with libraries like mine. I've got to chime in with AsYouKnow_Bob "more than any sane person needs". I think I may just have more recordings than I have books (not finished sorting it all out yet). Only about 300 CDs, but about 1000+ LPs. Ranges all over the place, but the core is rock 'n' roll. I've been forcing them into the LT format, but it's slow since it's pretty much manual entry. As of a half hour ago, I'm up to 613 sound recordings entered. Close to finishing the CDs, but most of the LPs await.

And hello, 'alibrarian'. Why am I not surprised that we cross paths here as well?

I'll have to run over and check out how you've dealt with CDs in LT's template.

>5 AsYouKnow_Bob: Hello yourself. Not as well as the SF mags. Can't be as exact as I would (obsessively) like to be about roles (instrumentalist, lyricist, composer, singer, even producer) so I have compromises while awaiting the great MusicThing Day!

I'd suspect adding lps would be more trouble than adding cds, should a "Music Thing" occur. Linking to amazon, etc., it should be possible to pull accurate information - and cover graphics - on most releases. For lps, I'd think, the process would have to be manual, as typing in a release number would not yield much of a result.

It is a nice thought, though. And I'd love to get everything cataloged - not only to know exactly what I have, but for insurance purposes - which would involve a daunting amount of scanning.

"For lps, I'd think, the process would have to be manual"

One thing I don't relish is the prospect of either having to accept "close enough" graphics from Amazon, etc., photograph album covers, or have to manually "stitch" together multiple scans, as I don't have a flatbed scanner big enough to do a 12x12" cover!

Exactly. If I had only 20 records, maybe... but this is a mania, before which stamina falters.

Well, long before LT, Rate Your Music or any of the other music-related cataloging sites I created a spreadsheet for my (small, by the standards I've read above) collection of CDs and LPs. You can admire (heh) it here.

I bought a ton of albums while in the Navy between 1972-1974, as I was stationed in Japan and records sold on base for $2.50. Not so much since, which is why the CD collection is so small (50 or so, I think).

Wow ... somebody else with Baron Von Tollbooth And The Chrome Nun ... that's been one of my fave albums for decades!

I haven't listened to that in a long long time, I have to admit. When I was given one of those Sharper Image turntables a while back the first Airplane album I put on was "Best of."

I'm still trying to rehab a Pioneer PL-50 turntable. The platter's edge got a ton of gunk on it from a rotted belt, and I worry about the residue of both the rubber and the solvent I might use to remove it.

Heh ... my Wife got me an Ion iPT01 a couple of years back, so if I have the desire to "spin vinyl", I have that sitting around.

Actually, it's amazing how much (well, minus the "dropping spindle") that turntable was like the little portables I had back in the 60's and early 70's ... plus it can run on batteries for full portability.

I see that the iPT01 has been supplanted by a new unit that has USB connectivity, so you can rip from records.

Yeah, I've seen those. The big problem (for my setup) is that I have no laptop, and the desktop is 30 feet away from where I could put the gadget and hear the music while recording.

Walter Mossberg (WSJ tech columnist, syndicated) reviewed a couple of these things a few weeks ago and didn't like the Audacity software at all. He said it was way too complex for the job the user's trying to do. He reviewed this Teac combo and liked it much better, despite its higher price.

My only real objection to the Sharper Image turntable is that the cartridge is proprietary and cheap. I'd hate to do even more damage to the records than has already been done by them sitting around all this time.

I have now listened to "Baron" again. I'd forgotten how nearly ethereal Grace Slick's voice could be, and then how slyly funny ("Across the Board"). She might have been Stevie Nicks before Stevie Nicks.

i've yet to pick up Baron Von Toolbooth. any of you have this on CD?

oh, and i have an outdated CD list on a ISP i don't use anymore, but take a peek while you can, I'm always on the lookout for suggestions of new music...

http://home.mhonline.net/elt/CDslist.htm

RE: #16

I have a CD of Baron Von Tollbooth.

Amazon has new copies for $10.99 and the new/used vendors have new copies for as little as $7.29!

A friend of mine uses SecondSpin as a source for used CDs and has high praise for it.

BTRIPP, Linkmeister,

How can you thnk of the Airplane without Surrealistic Pillow and After Bathing At Baxters? Aren't these the beat of the Aorplane?

I assume the question is in relation to Baron Von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun ... which is sort of "post-Airplane", coming from the same miasma that produced the remarkable Blows Against The Empire which retro-actively became the first Starship album.

I have about 5,000 titles spanning genres and formats.
I have spreadsheets cataloging them (same with my books). I also have a ridiculously long Amazon wish list.
My apartment is filled with the above as well as musical instruments. I also have a bed.

I feel pathetic. I only have about 1000 CD's and about 200 CD's full of mp3's. Sadly I sold all but about 5 of my LP's when I left college, because I had already replaced most of them on CDn and the one's I hadn't replaced I had bought compilations with their best songs anyway.

Just joined. I suppose I have on the order of 400-500 CD's, and about 30 LP's. My collection spans many genres, with a focus on rock (mostly 1960-1980, but with plenty before and afterwards).

I've got around 3000 LPs, and maybe 400 CDs, 200 7",
here is a rough break down of LPs:
300 - Metal
800 - Indie/Punk etc.
800 - Classic Rock/Pop
500 - Country (including Rockabilly etc)
200 - Funk/Soul/R&B
100 - Hip-Hop
150 - Classical
150 - Schlock
I've got some really great stuff, but I'm no stranger to mediocrity. I can't seem to stop myself from buying bad BOC and Foghat albums from the 80s for 99 cents "just to complete the run."
The LPs are cataloged in a spread-sheet. I try to only buy vinyl unless something I really want is available only on CD. Also, I really don't care about getting holy grail "first pressings" etc., as long as I can play it and enjoy it I don't really care.

My collection is no where near as extensive as some of yours even though I'm of an age where it should be larger. Sub 1000 CDs & vinyl. Lots of genres represented except hip-hop, rap and country. I'm a 'binge' listener to both genre and artist, so I go through phases. SKA phase. Punk phase. Acid rock phase. Guitar rock phase. Blues phase. Swing phase. Metal phase. Right now I'm heavy into the metal phase and listen to very little else. Eventually I'll move on to something else, but metal always is at the core of what I love. Other phases come and go, but metal is more of an undercurrent. Pretty much any metal goes except death, black death, swedish death, norwegian death and grindcore.

Largest holdings -
David Bowie
Neil Young
Black Sabbath/Dio/Ozzy
REM
Primus
Monster Magnet
Warren Zevon
Soundgarden
Social Distortion
Corrosion of Conformity
The Clash
Clutch
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Faith No More

if it came out in the 70's,chances are i have it in some format or another..slowly working on a definitive collection of esp-disc lp's