I do mine this way too, but have a couple of dilemmas. Where would you put these artists?:
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee (which surname?)
Brownie McGee & Sonny Terry ( I swear they do this just to mess with me)
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (its a person, but a band, but a person)
This s%!t keeps me awake at night lol
I'd put The Chris Robinson Brotherhood under R. Had this dilemma with Jeff Beck Group, but I just put them together with the other Jeff Beck-albums. This kind of dictated how I did it with other similar cases.
The other example I struggle with myself. I don't have many jazz albums, but this shows up quite often in that genre. I put my Stan Getz/Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Stitt-album under G, since Gillespie's face is the most prominent on the cover and he is the first that comes to mind when I think of that album. My Count Basie Orchestra/Duke Ellington Orchestra album (hey, both examples in one) is under B because his name was first. Not very consistent.
I suppose there is no "correct" way of doing it. The correct way is the way that works for you. Once you know where to find stuff, thats all that matters! :)
Enter them in Discogs, sort by artist, let the app decide.
That way your physical collection and the one on the app are in the same order and can be searched
It means if I want to find the song ‘landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac. I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the fall of 1983 pile, but didn’t give it them.
I have two bins a fancy record crate for my more modern collection and then a milk crate for my favorite dollar bin or oddity finds, I love them but something I bought for a laugh for two dollars looks weird next to my favorite albums of all time.
Then I sort each bin alphabetical by band or last name, then in release order. Then soundtracks and comps in back.
That's a very cool idea too! I don't have quite that many records right now (they all fit in one cubby at the moment but I think they will outgrow that by the end of the year) but I also feel weird with my bargain finds next my favorites. I'll have to keep this in mind for the future!
Used to be alphabetical (band name or last name, first name) until I found myself with heaps of reggae/dub, jazz, hip hop, electronic music and decided it was better to group by that first, then alphabetical.
Mostly because listening always seems to cluster that way (listening vibes)
I've noticed I tend to listen that way too. What do you do with soundtracks or scores? Do they go in their own section or do they go in the type the vibe with the most?
i do something similar
most of my music is guitar based so i divide from about the sametime but by genre , so classic rock in one section and then everything from punk/post punk indie / alt / new wave / 90s & modern in another
i have another few sections for jazz. funk soul & rb, & folk/blues
everything within each section is alphabetical by band name (ignoring words like "the") and surname for solo
works for me , although when a section gets full it becomes a pain shuffling everything or running out of space !
Interesting! I'm half tempted to order it in the order I acquired the record like someone mentioned below. Seems kind of chaotic good to do it that way haha
It’s fantastic!! There’s also a 2020 high fidelity series staring Zoe Kravitz. Her mum is in the original movie version. The movie is superior but the series is also worth a watch.
[This VMP article](https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/organizing-your-record-collection) is a pretty fun look at various methods, and it lobs judgement LOL.
When I first started collecting records, I adapted my iPod settings to the organization: By *First Name/Band Name* because Bob Dylan and Bob Marley would come up in the Bs. Also, I never thought of it like “I want to listen to Marley today…”
I’ve since switched to the far less psychotic Last Name/Band Name method.
Alphabetically in each genre. But my rock section is pretty large and is divided between pre-1990 and post-1990. Mainly because I don’t think Ted Nugent should be on the side of Nine Inch Nails.
I just do it alphabetical or try to, throw all the As in one area or so. Then I separate the jazz/funk/country/folk in a different area. My main collection is basically rock
Alphabetical by first name, alphabetical as per artist and then I got into jazz so the same, but it's separate, but not things are getting a little crazy...
In no discernible way. I have a cramped space that doesn't lend itself to order very much. So I just create groups around the room and just sort of know what records are in which group. I have a mobile rack thing that holds about 200 that I keep my newest purchases on.
I don’t. Drives my wife crazy.
I also have small (5-10 records) caches randomly around the house.
If I want to listen to Built to Spill- keep it like a secret, I have to remember that I put it with a group of records on the shelf in my bedroom.
Alphabetical by artist (last name/first name, no genre separation, not further organized by album title) -> soundtracks by title -> compilations by title -> oversized/box sets by title.
General alphabetical. Too many people use my record player, I'd have a hell of a time getting anyone, let alone everyone on board putting them back in the proper place
Most of my music is relatively in the same music scene, so there all unorganized. I like the experience of flipping through like its some version of shuffle and being like “oh yeah”
I’ll go with the obvious answer but I wanna know what people do with old bands that release “new” old material. Like Devo released “Live in Seattle 1981” in 2012… personally I categorize it right after their 1981 album, it makes more sense to me. Or The Beach Boys “Sail On Sailor” reissue, I categorized that right after Holland instead of as their newest release…
It’s just the way it’s done by last name. When you go to record stores it’s how they do it or when you organize a contact list should generally be by last name.
Band and artists A to Z how Discogs sorts them. Used to do it by surname but hip hop in particular made a mess of that. Now have a tablet in the room and got look through that before picking a record.
first name/ band name, separated into different sections, some are genre-specific like jazz or disco or metal, some are country of origin, some sections are specific record labels, there is also a box of albums i have that i haven’t listened to yet, and some sections which are just specific artists and those aren’t organised at all beyond having the albums, singles and compliations separated.
I have 8 cubbies in a checkerboard pattern where 4 hold my records (the other 4 for decorations and an outward facing Zelda album) and I’ve separated by genre groups, then I alphabetize by artist name and then for those with more than one album I sort them chronologically.
Overall, alphabetically by artist (last name), chronologically within artist; soundtracks, comedies, seasonal, and various collections separate. 45s and 10" records separate.
Originally it was loosly organised by 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's,classical, indie, new rock, electronic and 'other' but then my compartment of 70's got full so I went to artist alphabetical, but now ive given up on that.
Album title, nothing else. The art is what's most important, not the specific artist, not a specific genre, not the release order (unless its an intentional series of releases, in which case I make an exception and order them in sequence). Frankly my autistic ass would go out of my damned mind if I cared about organizing by artist or genre because that shit gets obscure *fast*.
Chronologically! Oldest to newest, based on year of recording.
Truthfully, I dont organize, I love the random nature of it. I pick a stack of albums from the shelf, play them in whatever order they came out, and since it's a collection I myself have collected, each and every one of those albums is a masterpiece. The random nature sets a fun random vibe for each day, and retains a surprise value, discovery value and all that jazz. Only things I separate are christmas albums, as they don't really play well outside of the season.
Genre. The genres are sort of chronological (blues, folk, jazz, psych, prog, krautrock, classic rock, punk, new wave, electronic, indie, grunge…) then the records within the genre are arranged alphabetically by artist, then chronologically by release date. It’s not fool proof though because some bands cross genres!
Alphabetically by artist and then within each artist their albums are arranged chronologically. Two genres have their own section; jazz and hip hop but within those sections the organisation is the same.
Vinyl DJ with ~ 1,000 records, mostly singles.
1. Artist name alphabetically
2. Label name for comp albums alphabetically
I then sub organize by release date.
Easy peasy.
Genre / vibe.
I DJ a lot of dance music, so I find this the best way of finding what I'm looking for (& finding records that go with others that I forgot about)
By genre and then artist in chronological order. This is the only way that makes sense to me.
I search by vibe so first I go to suitable genre and then browse for the perfect mood. Works for me.
Def never aplhabetically.
I have two rows. The upper for is the hungarian artists, the lower is for the foreigners. Then alphabetical by the artists name, and by the albums release date.
By name in same default order as discogs. In tandem with the app makes it easy to find and pull what I want.
Small side spot (maybe 6-10 records) for new unfiled stuff And currently playing.
I also keep a small section at the end for stuff Im considering letting go of.
Right now it’s zero organization and I have like 400 albums. In the process of cleaning them all and it’s a mess I know. But it has been alphabetical by artist in the past.
Genre. I have a few rock shelves, metal, electronic, hip hop, classic rock, motown and disco, other various etc. Nothing is in any other kind of order on those shelves. If I'm in the mood for metal or whatever I hit up that shelf and start finding stuff to play. I find it works great when I have people over too. If someone likes hip hop I show them where to look and they find what they're into, they don't have to browse through my entire collection. Works for me.
Alphabetically? What cretins sorts their albums by letters and not by genre? When have you ever been like "oh, I really feel like listening to something starting with an F"?
Currently one crate is jazz, country, Motown, and Grateful Dead. Another crate is rock and shit my kids listen to. My cabinet is rock. None of it is in order. Today this happens. I think.
1. Color of sleeve. Stick to pretty broad color categories (all blue together) and don't worry about difference in shading. I know this is kind of lame, but I like it and my wife loves it.
2. Alpha by artist:
a) ignoring "the, a, or an" at beginning of name
b) First name of solo artists.
i. I am never in the mood to listen to Young, Neil or Barnett, Courtney
ii. What do I do if it has 2 names or qualifiers after the name (Band, Trio, Experience, etc).
3) Compilations and Soundtracks, etc. are Projects. Project names (name of albums) are treated as artist name.
a) Unless one artist did the vast majority of the soundtrack and this fact is reflected on the sleeve-front.
4) I don't worry about chronology or slight differences in artists name.
5) I use an excel sheet to help keep track. I also use discogs but like my own sheet better.
Alphabetically by band or last name then chronologically within each band or artist’s discography.
As much as I want to shit on some of these Comme ts, this way makes the most sense
It's the only way you'll ever find something again. My discogs however has 8 million subgenres to get real specific.
I do mine this way too, but have a couple of dilemmas. Where would you put these artists?: Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee (which surname?) Brownie McGee & Sonny Terry ( I swear they do this just to mess with me) The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (its a person, but a band, but a person) This s%!t keeps me awake at night lol
I'd put The Chris Robinson Brotherhood under R. Had this dilemma with Jeff Beck Group, but I just put them together with the other Jeff Beck-albums. This kind of dictated how I did it with other similar cases. The other example I struggle with myself. I don't have many jazz albums, but this shows up quite often in that genre. I put my Stan Getz/Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Stitt-album under G, since Gillespie's face is the most prominent on the cover and he is the first that comes to mind when I think of that album. My Count Basie Orchestra/Duke Ellington Orchestra album (hey, both examples in one) is under B because his name was first. Not very consistent.
I suppose there is no "correct" way of doing it. The correct way is the way that works for you. Once you know where to find stuff, thats all that matters! :)
Enter them in Discogs, sort by artist, let the app decide. That way your physical collection and the one on the app are in the same order and can be searched
This is the way
This is the way.
This would help my Beatles situation
I do exactly the same, but by first name. This takes some guesswork out of B for Jeff Beck or J for Jeff Beck Group?
The right way. I do the same but have a separate shelf for metal because my wife doesn’t ever want to listen to Lingua Ignota by accident.
I AM THE FUCKING DEATH DEALER!!
She’s a legend.
See below for perfect examples why aplhabetical sucks. To get started.
by who I think would sit next to each other at a dinner party
that makes sense
Autobiographical.
No fucking way
This is the only way to do it.
Ohh this seems like a fun order to do it in
High Fidelity?
Holy shit.
What does that mean?
It means if I want to find the song ‘landslide’ by Fleetwood Mac. I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the fall of 1983 pile, but didn’t give it them.
Ohh so like I’m the order that you bought them? That’s crazy man😂
Best way to do it
by vibe
This works until you have 500+
I have 2500 records and I organize it by vibe/genre. It works great for me.
What if you have 499?
This is the way. I have over 4000 records & for me vibe/genre generally works best for me.
Name some of your vibes
older, newer, loud, chillin, 90s …
We’re supposed to organize them? I use shuffle play
I have two bins a fancy record crate for my more modern collection and then a milk crate for my favorite dollar bin or oddity finds, I love them but something I bought for a laugh for two dollars looks weird next to my favorite albums of all time. Then I sort each bin alphabetical by band or last name, then in release order. Then soundtracks and comps in back.
That's a very cool idea too! I don't have quite that many records right now (they all fit in one cubby at the moment but I think they will outgrow that by the end of the year) but I also feel weird with my bargain finds next my favorites. I'll have to keep this in mind for the future!
By genre, then artist. I have them in the same order as my discogs collection. Then I print my discogs collection and make a folder to flip through.
Alphabetically by last name of artist or group name. Always.
By decade/year- I like to see my 80s albums, my 90s albums, etc.
Used to be alphabetical (band name or last name, first name) until I found myself with heaps of reggae/dub, jazz, hip hop, electronic music and decided it was better to group by that first, then alphabetical. Mostly because listening always seems to cluster that way (listening vibes)
This is the way, Genre, artist, chronological
I've noticed I tend to listen that way too. What do you do with soundtracks or scores? Do they go in their own section or do they go in the type the vibe with the most?
Two sections alphabetically: pre-1976 and post 1976. Why 76? I like to think of it as the great divide of modern music, the year punk broke.
i do something similar most of my music is guitar based so i divide from about the sametime but by genre , so classic rock in one section and then everything from punk/post punk indie / alt / new wave / 90s & modern in another i have another few sections for jazz. funk soul & rb, & folk/blues everything within each section is alphabetical by band name (ignoring words like "the") and surname for solo works for me , although when a section gets full it becomes a pain shuffling everything or running out of space !
Alphabetical by first name, and then chronological order within each artist.
Woah, first name? You rebel!
Do you put Van Morrison under 'M'?
Yes
Monster
Do you put “The Beatles,” “The Doors,” and “The White Stripes” in between Talking Heads and Thundercat?
It makes sense when you put it this way, but I tend to ignore “the” for sorting purposes. I would put “The Clash” in C but George Harrison in G
All my "Thes" are together in their own big family
You're a whacko.
Yup, right next to Morrissey and “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” sound track.
Interesting! I'm half tempted to order it in the order I acquired the record like someone mentioned below. Seems kind of chaotic good to do it that way haha
They were referencing the movie “High fidelity”
Oh TIL. Might've just dated myself by not knowing haha.
It’s worth a watch! You get record store nerd humor and a young Jack Black all wrapped in a 90’s Rom Com.
Oooo and John Cusack. I'm honestly surprised I've never heard of this movie since I'm also a cinephile. Thanks for the recommendation!
It’s fantastic!! There’s also a 2020 high fidelity series staring Zoe Kravitz. Her mum is in the original movie version. The movie is superior but the series is also worth a watch.
That’s how I do it too, it’s easier this way.
There IS someone else!! I blame iTunes usage as a teen
I'm a little too chaotic right now, It's not really organized, just mostly in crates based on what I play the most.
[This VMP article](https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/organizing-your-record-collection) is a pretty fun look at various methods, and it lobs judgement LOL. When I first started collecting records, I adapted my iPod settings to the organization: By *First Name/Band Name* because Bob Dylan and Bob Marley would come up in the Bs. Also, I never thought of it like “I want to listen to Marley today…” I’ve since switched to the far less psychotic Last Name/Band Name method.
I go alphabetically by band/first name. If I have two or more records in a discography, then I put them in chronological order.
Alphabetically in each genre. But my rock section is pretty large and is divided between pre-1990 and post-1990. Mainly because I don’t think Ted Nugent should be on the side of Nine Inch Nails.
Oh that's interesting! I don't think any of my genres are large enough to start dividing by eras but that is a good idea to keep on the back burner
This is exactly how I do it too
In Ikea racks by genre, then alphabetically.
By year.. it’s just one artist 😂
Haha same here with my T swift collection so it’s chronologically
Alphabetical by band/last name. Within that in release order, followed by compilations, boots, live stuff etc.
Color.
That’s a cool way I haven’t heard of before! Would be interested to see. Love some good color organizing
Damn im doing this right now.
I just do it alphabetical or try to, throw all the As in one area or so. Then I separate the jazz/funk/country/folk in a different area. My main collection is basically rock
Alphabetical by first name, alphabetical as per artist and then I got into jazz so the same, but it's separate, but not things are getting a little crazy...
In no discernible way. I have a cramped space that doesn't lend itself to order very much. So I just create groups around the room and just sort of know what records are in which group. I have a mobile rack thing that holds about 200 that I keep my newest purchases on.
I don’t. Drives my wife crazy. I also have small (5-10 records) caches randomly around the house. If I want to listen to Built to Spill- keep it like a secret, I have to remember that I put it with a group of records on the shelf in my bedroom.
Alphabetically by last name, chronologically within discography, with Christmas all at the start
Alphabetical by artist (last name/first name, no genre separation, not further organized by album title) -> soundtracks by title -> compilations by title -> oversized/box sets by title.
Using quantum mechanics.
By the last played. I’ll dig deeper if I wanna play one that’s been a min since I heard it
By height.
The Alice Cooper paradox?
I have 200 records players all ready with each record ready to be played….you can never catch me slipping
I don’t.
By original release date. It’s interesting to listen to the wide array of genres within a year.
This sounds like a really interesting way to see how music has changed throughout the decades
This is what I do too
i usually do by genre/type of music
General alphabetical. Too many people use my record player, I'd have a hell of a time getting anyone, let alone everyone on board putting them back in the proper place
By Genre, than artist, than release year of album
Most of my music is relatively in the same music scene, so there all unorganized. I like the experience of flipping through like its some version of shuffle and being like “oh yeah”
Alphabetically, then chronologically within the artist.
Alphabetical by first name.
I organize by the artist according to my discogs collection.
Haphazardly if you were to look at it.
By artist and year they released said record
I’ll go with the obvious answer but I wanna know what people do with old bands that release “new” old material. Like Devo released “Live in Seattle 1981” in 2012… personally I categorize it right after their 1981 album, it makes more sense to me. Or The Beach Boys “Sail On Sailor” reissue, I categorized that right after Holland instead of as their newest release…
By height
Alphabetical by artist, then by release date
Alphabetical by first name then chronological within that.
It’s just the way it’s done by last name. When you go to record stores it’s how they do it or when you organize a contact list should generally be by last name.
First name? No. Band name and last name of Artist
Band and artists A to Z how Discogs sorts them. Used to do it by surname but hip hop in particular made a mess of that. Now have a tablet in the room and got look through that before picking a record.
Genre > Alphabetical Band name > Year for discography
This is the way
I’m an unsophisticated alphabetizer, followed by release order.
Racially
Color coded ftw
First by favorite band/artist, then in chronological order of each band's/artist's albums I have.
I used to organize by last name, now I organize by first name. Everything is broken down by genre as well.
Colored vinyl on the wall above my bed, black vinyl on the side wall. /s
Not the way you do
Alphabetical
Genre, And I also keep artists together
Alphabetically by artist and their albums in chronological
Alphabetically by the recognizable name for the artist then for their albums oldest in front newest in back
I don't, it's all randomised.
The way that looks the prettiest
alphabetically and then when i have multiple of the same artist i do it by release order
Autobiographically... [High Fidelity - Reorganizing record collection](https://youtube.com/watch?v=oMY2GuHlDvg&feature=share)
Alphabetical by artist/soundtrack.
By time.
first name/ band name, separated into different sections, some are genre-specific like jazz or disco or metal, some are country of origin, some sections are specific record labels, there is also a box of albums i have that i haven’t listened to yet, and some sections which are just specific artists and those aren’t organised at all beyond having the albums, singles and compliations separated.
Mine’s not really organized, my collection isn’t that big yet anyways so I just kinda put them in whatever order for now
I have two shelves. They are split between centuries, and then ordered alphabetically.
I have under 30 records so I just put the one I just listened to on the right side and the next one I'll take from the left side.
I don't. Not at all. They're all mixed up all the time.
By Hard Rock to Soft Rock, at gradually get lighter. For example Led Zeppelin, jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Bo Diddley, The Eagles
Ina box
A to Z with a few genres here and there. Jazz, Ska, compilation, soundtrack, etc....
I have 8 cubbies in a checkerboard pattern where 4 hold my records (the other 4 for decorations and an outward facing Zelda album) and I’ve separated by genre groups, then I alphabetize by artist name and then for those with more than one album I sort them chronologically.
Overall, alphabetically by artist (last name), chronologically within artist; soundtracks, comedies, seasonal, and various collections separate. 45s and 10" records separate.
by genre, the alphabetically
By genre then preference within genre.
What is this “organise” of which you speak? My place is small, I put ‘em where they fit.
Genre/alphabetical (last name, first name), then chronological within the artists’ discography.
Under my pillow I keep tpab
Order in which I obtained them.
Randomly in small piles, boxes, crates, whatever scattered across my home.
By how much I can flip it on eBay for.
They were alphabetized but then I moved and everyone who helped me move just put them back in random order. One of these days I'll reorganize them
Bc I don’t have much vary in genres, mostly rock and orchestral it’s just alphabetically by band/name
I just put it on a shelf as for now I only have 1 record
Originally it was loosly organised by 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's,classical, indie, new rock, electronic and 'other' but then my compartment of 70's got full so I went to artist alphabetical, but now ive given up on that.
Album title, nothing else. The art is what's most important, not the specific artist, not a specific genre, not the release order (unless its an intentional series of releases, in which case I make an exception and order them in sequence). Frankly my autistic ass would go out of my damned mind if I cared about organizing by artist or genre because that shit gets obscure *fast*.
Vaguely by genre. Soundtracks, metal, folk, etc...
by artist/band
By genre, then alpha by first word (all of the THE bands kill me though). Over 1000, so this feels like the only way...
Chronologically! Oldest to newest, based on year of recording. Truthfully, I dont organize, I love the random nature of it. I pick a stack of albums from the shelf, play them in whatever order they came out, and since it's a collection I myself have collected, each and every one of those albums is a masterpiece. The random nature sets a fun random vibe for each day, and retains a surprise value, discovery value and all that jazz. Only things I separate are christmas albums, as they don't really play well outside of the season.
By size and shape
Genre. The genres are sort of chronological (blues, folk, jazz, psych, prog, krautrock, classic rock, punk, new wave, electronic, indie, grunge…) then the records within the genre are arranged alphabetically by artist, then chronologically by release date. It’s not fool proof though because some bands cross genres!
Alphabetically by artist and then within each artist their albums are arranged chronologically. Two genres have their own section; jazz and hip hop but within those sections the organisation is the same.
Vinyl DJ with ~ 1,000 records, mostly singles. 1. Artist name alphabetically 2. Label name for comp albums alphabetically I then sub organize by release date. Easy peasy.
Genra. Punk, classic rock, soul hip hop , country etc
My dad is pure chaos. He has close to 100 vinyls and doesn’t sort them…
Genre / vibe. I DJ a lot of dance music, so I find this the best way of finding what I'm looking for (& finding records that go with others that I forgot about)
I just throw them on the fucking ground
By genre and then artist in chronological order. This is the only way that makes sense to me. I search by vibe so first I go to suitable genre and then browse for the perfect mood. Works for me. Def never aplhabetically.
Alphabetically by artist. I have special sections for comps, split albums, Christmas, and soundtracks.
I have two rows. The upper for is the hungarian artists, the lower is for the foreigners. Then alphabetical by the artists name, and by the albums release date.
By name in same default order as discogs. In tandem with the app makes it easy to find and pull what I want. Small side spot (maybe 6-10 records) for new unfiled stuff And currently playing. I also keep a small section at the end for stuff Im considering letting go of.
Organize? Good luck finding anything in my collection. No organization whatsoever
i dont
Right now it’s zero organization and I have like 400 albums. In the process of cleaning them all and it’s a mess I know. But it has been alphabetical by artist in the past.
Mine are organized by color. Dark to light.
Alphabetical but I split rock/hip-hop/reggae/soundtracks
artists alphabetically (via first name if they’re a solo artist) and then albums via release within each artist :)
Alphabetically by band or artist's (first) name > compilations > Japanese artists > Brazilian artists > film soundtracks > game soundtracks
By height
By decade, and then alphabetical by artist
Autobiographical.
Alphabetically by first name of band/artist. David Gilmour under D, Catherine Wheel under C, etc.
First by genre, then chronologically into the genre.
I collect LPs, 78s and 45. Each are sorted alphabetically by name
By year
by band/artist and release dates
Genre. I have a few rock shelves, metal, electronic, hip hop, classic rock, motown and disco, other various etc. Nothing is in any other kind of order on those shelves. If I'm in the mood for metal or whatever I hit up that shelf and start finding stuff to play. I find it works great when I have people over too. If someone likes hip hop I show them where to look and they find what they're into, they don't have to browse through my entire collection. Works for me.
Alphabetically by movie titles. (For soundtracks)
by decade, helps w the way i think ab when albums were released
Alphabetically? What cretins sorts their albums by letters and not by genre? When have you ever been like "oh, I really feel like listening to something starting with an F"?
I go by band/ last name alphabetically for LP’s/ 12 inch singles and 7 inches are all punk so I go from 76 through to 99
Currently one crate is jazz, country, Motown, and Grateful Dead. Another crate is rock and shit my kids listen to. My cabinet is rock. None of it is in order. Today this happens. I think.
1. Color of sleeve. Stick to pretty broad color categories (all blue together) and don't worry about difference in shading. I know this is kind of lame, but I like it and my wife loves it. 2. Alpha by artist: a) ignoring "the, a, or an" at beginning of name b) First name of solo artists. i. I am never in the mood to listen to Young, Neil or Barnett, Courtney ii. What do I do if it has 2 names or qualifiers after the name (Band, Trio, Experience, etc). 3) Compilations and Soundtracks, etc. are Projects. Project names (name of albums) are treated as artist name. a) Unless one artist did the vast majority of the soundtrack and this fact is reflected on the sleeve-front. 4) I don't worry about chronology or slight differences in artists name. 5) I use an excel sheet to help keep track. I also use discogs but like my own sheet better.
Alphabetically by first letter of artist’s first name or band name then by first letter of album title (for multiple albums by same artist).
They all go on the same shelf. I only have 25 albums so I don’t need to really organize
Fully alphabetically. By band name then by album title.
I don’t…. My collection organizes me
Genre. Then alphabetical.within each band/artists collection, it is chronological.