Larsman - ugh yes - brainfart! - 1st world problem for sure! Hate when I do that!
Album Purging - seeking advice
Hi everyone. I have a Third World problem, but nonetheless, I literally sort of lose sleep over it. I need help to know the best way to purge albums. Space is getting tighter and tighter and I am now in my 60s, so my system is as revealing as it’s going to be (financially) and it is quite good now. So I will be able to let go second and third and fourth copies of certain albums. But that’s not the bulk of the problem. Pardon the Pun. The problem is a bulk of 3000 or so albums (I am not exaggerating) with often ratty covers, and albums that proliferated the 70s and 60s and some 80s, so not of extreme value. And I do check discogs and such, but I know there are no butcher cover Beatles or anything like it.
To go back, I gave away my albums when CDs came out. But then in the late 90s early 2000s, on a teacher salary, I would buy albums of varying qualities in lots on eBay that was just beginning, and I would buy albums from thrift stores. Only in the last 10 years have I purchased albums specifically of very good quality and particular pressings in some cases. However, I did luckily, buy mobile fidelity when I could and some others that I love. But these eBay, garage sale, thrift store, finds have led me to amass about 3000 albums. I always thought I would enjoy just listening to unfamiliar music of any genre even when I was unfamiliar and did not know the artist, title or even genre in some cases. And I realize now that only seems to work every so often (to discover something new to me that I love).
And I’m to the point where I would love to love all the albums I have, and not have to dig through so much to find what I want to listen to.
I will say that I clean all of my records before playing on my VPI record machine. So, even if they have crappy covers, which many do, and even with ticks and pops, or even slight scratches, the albums, I know and love - I still know and love even if not the best condition. And sometimes I’ll just re-purchase a better one if I know that I cherish it. But I realize now that I’m in my 60s, I don’t even have time to listen to every one of these to see if I love them. And actually, some I’ve listened to lately I thought I would really love to have, but I will listen and think I don’t think I ever want to hear that again, or need to, in this format. So I would like to pare down a lot. And I can give them away and sell the better ones. And I’m not a true audiophile, but I finally have a Luxman L 505UX and I play my albums on a Rega P6, with dv20x2low cart and use Sutherland phono stage which is better than one in Luxman. And I use the new Super Lintons on their stands. And I have good room setup and all of that. And, yes, I will always want to hear vinyl even with streaming options.
So, I know this may seem like a dumb problem to some, but it matters to me and I seek wisdom from thise of you who have been through this or have a method in place not to get to this point. The albums I’m talking about probably have not that much value, so I’m just looking at the best way to decide what to keep and what to just go ahead and let go and I know it’s a personal matter and I know that I love all genres of music, but I would love to know the path you’ve taken, or have thought of taking if you understand this dilemma. I’m sure I’ll be back later to discuss the excess equipment I have, which is heavy and does have some value, but requires energy to deal with. And I don’t really wanna discuss it, but I do have some auto immune issues that have occurred despite a lifetime of taking good care of this body, and it does affect my energy levels. In the past I would buy and sell heavy stuff all the time and now that’s a bit more daunting. But that’s for another day. Please help advise if you can and if this is not your cup of tea dance or just move along. Thanks in advance! I am wide open to all sorts of suggestions. And I do think it will be liberating to part with some stuff, and I seem to have been a hoarder.
- ...
- 35 posts total
Thanks, y’all! Every suggestion is a good one. When mired up in it, it is hard to see the forest for the trees. And I want to get rid of all I do not truly love or like a lot. This is a good starting perspective. Just wondering if anyone threw caution to the wind and just ripped through a bunch of music and parted with it, gifting or selling. Has anyone ever just gotten rid of albums having not heard them and felt fine about it?Marie Kondo method? Anyway, thanks for responding! I am working up to doing what is necessary for peace and enjoyment. Loving what I have and not storing albums I will never hear. And the joy that it must bring in knowing anything you choose is a winner and not getting lost in the selection process to spend an hour and not find what you want. Some days it is fun to explore, but it just does not seem to be paying off that much lately. So here I am. |
I suggest that you get a inexpensive streamer https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimultra/overview?srsltid=AfmBOopL_rNxVi6tCk67ieBG3lo44anS8nyRPxsfeMFV-sElb_T93syF along with a Qobuz account https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/discover?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliation&utm_campaign=_Social+Search&qbzs=awin&qbzc=affiliation&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=953033&awc=33441_1776622173_9f1ac7af7e8c78862b2cdcf379c438c0&gad_source=1and start cross checking with your albums. After finding that Qobuz Has 90% or more of your inventory. Then take those albums to your local used record store. Take the money you get and buy the best network music player.https://innuos.com/. Not that I took this approach, it’s just when I got back in to this. I ended up in a studio apartment and the thought of doing vinyl was just not a possibility. I am forever grateful that I ended up going the streaming route. |
@chappin88: I totally relate. I went through the exact same scenario in 2015; when I turned 65 the prospect of my mortality became foremost in my thoughts, as did the knowledge that my remaining hours were becoming evermore precious. Would I really again listen to every one of my 4000 or so LPs (and 3500 CDs), even once? Did I even have enough remaining time to do so? I decided to physically look at every LP in my racks, and be honest with myself. Did I love the music on the LP, or just like it? Some of my LPs had been blind buys, and I had never gotten around to even opening the shrink wrap, so never heard the music. If after never having given an LP a single listen in, say, five, ten, fifteen, or twenty years, did I really "need" it? And what about the LPs I had listened to, but not in a long time? Why hadn’t I? I then decided to do a purge, whittling down my music library to the "essentials." I took about a thousand LPs into Amoeba Records in Hollywood, and used the proceeds to buy more important things, like hi-fi gear. The question that then arises is: do I regret the removal of any of those titles from my collection? Yes, actually, but only a few. I’ve rebought a couple of them, with a couple more still in the little book I take with me when going to used record shops. What I didn’t anticipate was how much good new music was going to becoming down the pike, music I just had to have. In the past eleven years my music library has grown to be larger than it was before the purge. Oh well, I tried.
|
- 35 posts total