fair enough. I built a room in my garden, so I know I’m fine. I would be worried about having a significant record collection upstairs in my house though!
I have around 1500 CDs. When I got back into vinyl 3 years ago I decided to buy vinyl copies of the CDs which I cared about. There were only around 300 of these. The other 1200 CDs didn't matter to me at all. I now calculate that based on the list of stuff that I really want my LP collection would grow to around 350. However, I love the sound of vinyl so my collection will grow organically from that point - I estimate that around 1000 LPs would be my upper limit.
I like a wide variety of music but mainly listen to Jazz, Classical, Rock, Folk, Soul, Blues, Funk and Reggae. I have had more records in my collection than I do now but I think around 4,000 is enough. For me anything over that is where the quality drops off and you have a recording just for the sake of it or to complete an artist. I don't do that anymore. Having sold off some LPs recently I am at 3,435 which gives me a bit of purchasing room. The vast majority of my collection were purchased new by me and so are in immaculate condition. The used LPs that I have purchased are at least mint minus. It is important not to fill your collection with poor quality stuff just to bulk it out. Every single record I own (some of which I have owned for nearing 40 years) are musically dear to me.
Zero. I don't own them, I'm just keeping an eye on them until I'm dead. In which case some one else will keep an eye on them.
Twice as long as half its length Seriously though, how many LPs is enough? That’s a real thorny one but a friend of mine reckons he who dies owning the most stuff, wins.
If it takes 1 hour on average to pick an album, clean it, listen to it, and put it away, factoring in that a few will be double LPs (or more) and if you listen to your albums 10 hours a week That’s 10 albums a week each year, you could listen to 520 albums once subtract one for each album you listen to more than once so maybe 500 albums a year
There is no correct answer, it's a personal decision. Quality is more important than quantity to me and enjoy my collection more when it's nice and tight, I dump the bloat I don't listen to or like anymore. Think about it, 700 albums and you have enough to listen to two per day for an entire year without repeating, so unless someone has countless hours to listen to music and do nothing else, that is a more than sufficient number, IMO. Note: I voted 300-600 because my goal is 500-600 CDs.
I tend to think of it as helping me deal with an addiction so that I continue to live within my means.
If the foundation of my house could not bear the weight of some shelves of records, I’d be looking to address that issue for reasons other than just the records…
Mine, too. I lost my humble vinyl collection in my early 20s, and for years I just didn’t have the heart or funds to start over. She gave me a push start with a gift of turntable and a couple of records several years ago now, and I was quickly reminded why I liked having this stuff.
Eliminating duplicates/reissues I think I have 5000 albums. Maybe that's too many. But I started when I was 11 years old in 1972. I joined the Columbia Record Club - you know "12 records for $1". I worked part time in the Music Department of a Woolworths, interned at a radio station, wrote record reviews for my high school and college newspaper, and basically went to the record store every weekend for, oh, 30 years or so. I still buy new records every month, although these days a lot of it is online. So you figure 5000 records over 50 years, that's 100 records a year, or 8.33 records a month. That doesn't seem so crazy. But, since I work all the time, I don't have time to sell anything, so it just accumulates. There are definitely tons of albums I don't listen to any more and I may never listen to again, but even if I had time to sell, what would I get rid of? Maybe Laura Nyro? Herb Alpert? Blood Sweat & Tears? Bee Gees albums? Ringo? Post-15 Big Ones Beach Boys? Jim Croce? Loggins & Messina? Paul Revere & the Raiders? Melissa Manchester? I mean, I don't know if I'll ever listen to them again, but I like those artists. If I got rid of them, I'd only be doing it to prove a point, I suspect.
I really don’t understand the “if I don’t listen to it at least once a year, there’s no reason to own it” mentality. Just doesn’t add up in my brain. A record I want to hear once every several years is worth having when that time I want to hear it comes around.
There's nothing more satisfying than to find and play a record that you miss hearing.... that you don't need to search out and find. People want records too much right now. Bile off the floor of a thrift goes for $4 now. $50 reissues seem cheap vs. other ideas too.