do you think it's worth keeping records you don't really listen to?

i have more than 5000 cds and i think i'm really listening frequently to only 10% of it. do you think it's worth keeping them, i'm in a mood, it's like to sell a great part of it? what would you do?

 

I would consider going SACD on the albums that are available in that format. Pay it with the stuff you want to get rid of.

 

If you don’t need the space or the money, keep them.

I ripped 4,000 to a hard drive, then got rid of them.

now I’ve bought about half back again (at bargain prices, since nobody pays much for secondhand CDs these days).

I find a physical product is a nicer listening experience than a file on my computer.

and I have gone back to stuff I hadn’t played for a long time and reminded myself how good some of them are.

 

I do.

 

I’ve had a similar experience with CDs- ended up buying back much of what I once got rid of. I’ve recently however gotten rid of a number of LPs I’ve had for years that I never listen to. I think it has a lot to do with why you picked up a recording in the first place.

If it’s something that was picked up because it was cheap, was an unsolicited gift, was bought in a lot, etc, you never listen to it, and wouldn’t otherwise have sought it out, send it on to someone who will appreciate it.

 

I think once you start getting into the thousands you probably do need to ask yourself if you can weed a bit. It’s good to have a collection, but it’s also good to have a collection of stuff that you at least might want to play or otherwise have some attachment to. It’s a tough call, especially with CDs that you *can* just rip to a hard drive and arguably have a better experience with than a physical copy (i.e. if I use something like musicbee I can create playlists, record when I last listened to it, the number of listens etc). I think one should see weeding as part of interacting with the collection … you can make a day of going through old stuff, playing it, asking yourself if you like/want it etc. It’s sortof nice, like the being in the record store flicking through records part is part of the process of collecting.

 

I often make myself this question too.

I have lots of music because it's "interesting" or a "classic" and I never want to play it.

Neu!, My bloody valentine, Captain Beefheart, The Pop Group, Galaxie 500, free jazz... it's always there in the shelf.

 

I keep everything. I like having them on a shelf and being able to look though and pick items I haven't heard for a while

Edit: I also like the constant visual reminder that I have too many CD's and therefore it discourages me from unnecessarily pressing the "order" button quite frequently.

 

Definitely keep ‘em. You might go back to them in a few months/years and they’ll be there for ya. If you don’t have the space, make the space!

I’ve regretted getting rid of every single CD I’ve ever offloaded. Most of them I bought again!

 

I'm in this quandary. But I look at most items and think that I might want to pull it out and play someday.

 

Maybe it goes back to my childhood when I couldn’t afford many records and they were all something special. I like owning records as much as playing them. I like seeing them neatly arranged on shelves and would find it hard to decide what to sell.

Time is often short and my listening is heavily biased toward newer acquisitions. I still enjoy throwing on something random from the shelves though and I never really know when or which one it’ll be. There’s a fine line between collecting and hoarding I guess.

 

You can't play them all, but you can bet that you will suddenly develop a need to play some of those you decided to part with. I think it's comforting just having them, really. They're like old friends.

 

You need everything. Half my collection is in storage at the moment and I'm really feeling it.

 

YES

 

Most of my physical music is stuff that I will play. If it sits there long enough it will eventually be
culled out of my collection. Did this recently, and it feels good. I know everything there now is a "keeper"...

 

I am sort of amazed by how much of my collection I listen to. But purging has never been an issue for me. If it burdens you, let it go.

 

I don't keep anything I won't play. I can see keeping something if you think you can flip it, but just to have "in case?" No.

 

You just never know when you'll decide you really need to hear a particular album. I cleared out a whole bunch about 20 years ago, and have spent the last decade tracking copies down and buying them all again. Stuff that 20 years ago I'd thought I wouldn't ever be bothered about hearing again, suddenly becomes the music/act you get back into.

EG.

 

Keep it all

 

Keep the files. If there CDs you can rip them and get rid of the physical discs. Also means you've got room to hone the 5000 you do want on disc. A smaller curated collection is far more interesting than a mass of stuff you don't listen too.

 

I can't pick from one day to the next what I am likely to want to listen to.
One can guarantee, that if I get rid of something, I will likely want to listen to it at some point, and it won't be there....
Been there, done that, actually twice.... unlikely to do it again

 

I do now but I didn't in the past. I own around 4000 records and probably sold half of that again in the last decade. Often I think oh I will play such and such tonight and find that I sold it.

I have ended up buying some of them back. So if you have the space keep them as the world turns and you find yourself wanting to play them again.

 

I’ve hit the point where, if I’m not planning to ever listen to it again, it’s gone.

 

Maybe not today, or even next year, but when you want to listen to it, it's there.

 

I only get rid of music I really don't like anymore. The rest stays, because you never know when you want to listen to it again.