We used to call it "album pick of the week"...

...which doesn't really describe it very well, but many moons ago we'd all close our eyes while one of us would run a finger along the spines of all the LPs and a designated person would yell STOP. Then that album would get a full listen, both sides, no matter how good/bad it was.

This would have been when people actually got together to hang out on the floor and listen to records, sometimes for hours. Once in awhile, I still do the album pick this way, solo.

Anyone else do this or have another strategy to make it fun and maybe discover a gem hidden in the pack?

 

Can't say I do this--but I love the idea!

 

The shuffle by album feature on the now discontinued iPod Classic is the way I generally select the music I listen to when not listening to the radio.

 

Funny...I thought I was the only one who did this (well, not really, but wouldn't have thought it was widespread). I do it all the time with my wife and kids. It makes them feel as though they had a part in the selection, and sometimes it's easier than standing in front of the shelves thinking too hard about what I really want to hear.

 

Yes i do this

 

Yes, I've done this. It's fun and breaks me out of a listening jag (if I feel like I need to be broken out of it). Nice way to rediscover some old records too. Just rediscovered a great 80s South African experimental rock band Kalahari Surfers that way. So I wound up going through an intense KS jag.

 

I just tried this using a random number generator. I entered the number of pockets/cubes in my vinyl collection and CDs, then counted the number of albums in the two chosen spots and randomized another number using that amount. For vinyl, I got Boston's first album which I don't really need to hear. For CDs I got Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase. This is somewhat of a polarizing album since the duo added guitars to their electronic sound. Being a guitarist and lover of electronic music, I love it. I am also a huge fan of theirs and have everything they've recorded except for the self-released cassettes that are pretty much impossible to acquire. I listened to their entire discography a little more than a month ago so I'm good there as well.

On the second whack I got Allan Holdsworth - Velvet Darkness on vinyl and Gus Gus - Mixed Live CD/5.1 DVD. The Holdsworth was picked up about 8 years ago and physically looked perfect yet has awful crackling...listened to it once and shelved it. The Gus Gus was a 75 cent Half Price purchase that I've never listened to. I'll listen to it soon.

My iTunes library chose Gamma - Gamma 3. Of course, this is a Ronnie Montrose project. It's been a while but I remember this being a disappointment after Gamma 2. I'll also give it a listen this week.

 

Interesting approach. Yes, once in awhile we couldn't bear to listen to the pick that we found or couldn't get all the way through. Sometimes our judgement was "clouded" a bit and a stinker made it all the way through.

 

Pick the CD or vinyl section first. Then a random letter to get into the alphabetical section and then randomly pick an album that way.

I've also gone after albums after it gets "into my head" care of threads on this forum.

 

We used to also pick a letter and only listen to "Y", or whatever the letter, for the evening.

 

for a modern twist if you have a discogs account hit the random item button in your collection and listen to that

 

Sheesh. Staring me right in the face. I see that every day and never clicked it. Incredible. Thanks. ... so now it is "Album CLICK of the week!"

 

It just picked one of my and your favorites...J Dilla - Donuts.

 

I'm sensing there may not be a ton of overlap in our collection lists, Synth!

 

weird I got Slum Village Fantastic vol 1. guess I'm starting my day going from Tegan & Sara to Dilla this will be a weird day

 

Oh, Donuts is an absolutely inspired and fantastic album with the saddest backstory you'll come across. It really is a great piece of work and is a history lesson in itself. It's highly recommended. A true lover of music making his swan song on his death bed. I looked at your collection and probably own most of it so don't be shocked. In fact @BuddhaBob, one of the very first samples on Donuts is 10cc...you just posted that this is the first album in your collection. This is one of those hip-hip for people that think they don't like hip-hop albums. No rapping at all...instrumental. Online listening will not work with this album as it has like 32 tracks that all blend together. It must be listened to in whole.

 

In the olden days (!) we used to choose by calling out numbers, and then play that particular selection. It was more interesting when unsuspecting folks came around because you could ask for a number and they wouldn't make an attempt to get it near a particular alphabetical section. It was "pure", so to speak.

Otherwise, unless the 'ol collection was growing like crazy, you could easily memorize your favorite.

Not the same thing, but I lived in Tokyo for many years and there were music coffee shops and bars that had menus with their album selection. You could select and they would play an entire side of that album.