Overwhelmed by the amount of music that exists?

Yes, I'd love to listen to a lot more music than I have the time for. There's way too much beautiful music in my collection that ends up on the shelf just because it is forgotten, buried beneath the huge amount of new purchases I still have to give a good listen.

 

After four decades of collecting albums, one gets to a point when you feel that you know what you like and that you have it covered. The collection is done and even if I love a certain band/artist, I won't buy the albums by them that do nothing for me.
I'm all ears for new music but very little works magic on me like the old stuff (too much recycling of the same ideas/techniques/styles). So thanks to this very selective regime, I am not overwhelmed at all and all my collection is on permanent rotation.

 

The amount of music that exists? Yeah, that's intimidating. I could live to be 100 (that's another 65 years, for those playing along at home) and I'd still miss quite a bit even if I used every one of those years to track down and learn about new music. At the same time, once I put aside the sense of "I must drink ALL of this ocean!" it's actually quite comforting to realize the embarrassment of riches that's out there.

As for my collection, I didn't start getting really behind the curve until I started diving into classical music. These mega boxes (cited earlier in the thread) mean that I'm collecting entire libraries of repertoire and performance which will take an intense investment of time to fully digest. All the same, I'm happy to have them and will doubtless be happier if predictions of the doom of physical product ever come to pass. Put it this way: I won't run out of things to explore when that happens. Buying music with the intent to listen rather than seal away for value appreciation to occur is an investment towards not only enjoyment in the now, but the awareness that these recordings will be there as long as there's a working player and a working set of ears on the other end.

Put short: don't sweat it. As a great man once said, music is the best.

 

I've been collecting for 40 years and I haven't reached that point. I still find amazing music that doesn't sound like anything I've heard before.

I keep saying, this is the best time to be a music consumer. There's just so much music out there, both new and old, and it's easier than ever to find.

I keep telling myself I need to stop buying mega boxes. I've slowed way down. I've only bought 1 this year so far and 4 last year.

 

Great! Welcome to the club.

 

Quite frankly, I'm overwhelmed by the large amount of music which has been allowed to go out of print. The recordings of so many artists are unavailable in any format and their legacies can't properly continue when younger generations are unaware the music exists in the first place.

 

I’m not overwhelmed. Then again, I don’t bother trying to hear everything. I find that the less I try to explore what is out there, the more I enjoy what I have.

 

No, not overwhelmed. For me there isn't much great music around anymore. I know when people say this they get crucified and told that these days there is lots a great new music, and i understand where they're coming from, and i wish i felt the same way, i really do.
I listen to lots of stuff i've never heard before and i don't like 99% of it. I just listened to all the tracks of the Deftones for example, and i've ended up loving 3 of their songs, thats quite a lot tbh.
I yearn to be blown away by lots and lots of music but it just doesn't happen anymore. Very ocassionally i find something fantastic[Devin Townsend, Red House Painters, were the last ones over the last few years.

So no i'm not overwhelmed by the amount of music these days, i was in the seventies. Because i feel this way i do not wish to be ridiculed and told to open up to new music and new genres, etc. I try listening to all sorts of music.
Also, i do not get blown away by bands who sound like better bands who did the same thing many years ago.

 

Pretty much sums it up for me. There's still LPs or CDs I'd like to add to my collection but I'm not really a completest anymore and therefore don't feel overwhelmed by owning too much music. "Quality over quantity" and all that.

 

I make every effort to try to listen to everything in my collection, but
only 24-hour confinement would make it a distinct possibility. So I
have to look at my little music empire as some sort of vast wine
collection where I can pull a bottle of vintage or newer anytime
I please knowing that I have it. Like many music lovers, my eyes get
a lot bigger than my ears and the time to use them.

 

YES. Lots of great stuff out there. And I'm just talking about bands to check out before possibly buying.

I can't keep up with just the doom bands on sludgelord, let alone everything on bandcamp. I try to let specialized blogs filter out the best for me, but I can't even keep up with those.

It's a great problem to have. New bands to discover every day.

 

I used to feel that way. When I went (digital) to iTunes and sold off all my records & CDs, it was a nice feeling without the clutter. I currently own (1 box of Beatles records) and (1 Beatles CD. Gift, won't sell it). Even though I still have way more music than I can listen to, this way it isn't overwhelming at all.

Did the same with all my collectibles (T-shirts, buttons, DVDs, Blu rays, memorabilia, games, etc...) What a relief!

 

The Paradox Of Choice

The paradox of choice

 

I do listen to every record I buy but I am behind. You wind up buying things faster than you can listen to them sometimes. The other thing I'm noticing is that in the past, when I had less records, I listened to each one multiple times, both in the long term and short term. I remembered a lot more about each as a result. I find myself listening a couple of times and then having to move on to the next one. I of course appreciate each album still but I wish I had more time to listen repeatedly. Not sure what the solution is other than cutting back on buying or cutting back on going to work so I can listen to records all day

I have a week off work soon but no holiday destination other than staying home to deal with a few things here and there but I intend to take advantage of the time to listen to some music

 

I try to do the same but i do wonder if i will ever have enough time be i spin off this planet to listen to every album i own!! I still buy albums on a regular basis which only reinforces my concerns. Never mind, its all good fun

 

My LP collection stands at about 4,000. I know that I won't have time to listen to everyone in its entirety but I enjoy having a large selection that I can share with guests. They can flip through and find something they haven't seen or heard in years or perhaps something new and intriguing.

Do I feel overwhelmed? No. Being overwhelmed by the amount of music that exists (let alone in my own collection) is like being overwhelmed by the number of books in a library (personal or public).

 

Overwhelmed? By music? What's next, food?

 

I have a few thousand cds and hundreds of records. Fortunately, I have a job which allows me to listen to about 5-10 albums a week. Then at home I listen to at least another 2-3 albums.

I love listening to my collection. I always listen to my new CDs and records at least once before getting filed.

 

I have a fairly large collection(perhaps small compared to others)but I have just about everything that I can possible want. I have got my self into a position that I don't really buy anything now that isn't really special or to upgrade a favorite with a better copy. When you are heading into territory that is over 1000, it starts to become diminishing returns, especially for me. Space has become a big issue for me now so I am at capacity.

 

These days I take a "let it come to me" approach to new-to-me music. I used to seek out stuff that would result is a long mental and physical backlog. That was a bit overwhelming. Now, if I hear something (or hear about it) in my daily routine, I'll check it out. I tend to leave a CD in the player for a few good workouts before moving on.

 

More than half of my new purchases are of music I would never hear if I didn't search out new music. Most of the music I love that has come out in the last 20 years didn't come my way. I had to go look for it. I don't have to look hard, but I have to look.

 

If you're a complete, then yes the struggle is real.

 

As I get older ( i'm 63 ) I'm overwhelmed by the amount of music from the 50's-80's that passed me by the first time around. Being a collector/dealer/obsessive Ive gotten into rare private pressing and relatively unknown or uncharted groups. Im beginning to ask myself -who DIDN'T make a record ?

 

I echo what a few others have said - things were fine until I started buying boxsets. I've been burned a few times with not buying something soon after it came out just to see the price balloon a year or two later so find myself wanting to buy them soon after release. Where I have cut back is on searching out albums/CDs by new but more obscure bands where I love one song. Now I just download or stream the song and move on. I've also ended the embargo on greatest hits collections on bands I like but don't love. I have no doubt that the Lovin' Spoonful released some fine albums but I really don't need the Original Album Series 5 disc collection when the greatest hits will do me just fine.

 

Just thinking about how many great albums I may have left on the table. There is no way to touch them all.