So, I am picking up from my project from a year or so ago, of pairing down my CD collection. The goal is to go from over 6000 to around 3000. The easy part was done. i was able to get rid of a ton of stuff that I knew was never going to get played again.

I have reached the stage where I am pulling out CD's that I like, some even 'like alot' but I don't deem mandatory keepers...

*Note - I am a physical guy. I am embrace digital technology, but I need the physical version if I love the release, whether it be CD or Vinyl.

We have the space on our shelves, so I guess I 'could' keep these tweeners...But that also kind of defeats my purpose of lessening the collection. Where do you draw the line of what is a keeper in the physical sense and what I would be happy settling for in digital, and then getting rid of the CD itself...

thoughts? besides my rambling thought process please.

well, one way to decide would be, which ones have the better artwork? which ones look good on my shelf? Cardboard Digipacks...fuck em

a one sheet tray insert with barely any info/art...gone

Yup. I have already discarded those...
If I liked the release enough, i secured the real version of it...If not, it wasn't worth a physical copy anyways...

Trying to do the same. The thread about storage where Billy rec'd some sleeves is a great resource. Gonna try to accomplish this at some point.

Keep that shit. You never know when your taste is going to change, and if you'll have a hankerin' for some of that. I've gotten rid of stuff that I've regretted and then re-bought. I've also almost gotten rid of stuff and been thankful. On the other hand, I've gotten rid of a shit-load that I've never missed once.

Keep them, unless they are garbage to you.

All killer, no filler, shoot for 1,000 or less.

If you have the space, keep the so-sos. Next time you par down, if you haven't listened to them, they're out.

This is what I am considering...Some will make the cut and go to the next round....Making for tougher decisions down the line

I dunno...what is driving the abstract goal of downsizing when you don't need the storage space. You just don't like clutter or the wife wants you to do this? I went with the keep it option because it seems like you are in the tough choice area and there doesn't seem to be a reason not to punt the decision to another day.

I guess I can't really relate that much to the idea of keeping a digital copy and getting rid of the physical product. I'm a physical product guy too and most of my listening comes from cds rather than mp3s. I don't have a hard drive connected to my stereo and my ipod doesn't fit my entire collection. If I like something enough to put it on my ipod, I'm definitely keeping the physical version and if I don't like it enough to put it on my ipod, I don't really need a digital copy. My computer is already filled with stuff I downloaded but never listened to so I don't see a reason to make that worse.

I've faced these tough choices in downsizing my collection too. I have two categories of things that are really tough to get rid of: (1) albums that were once terribly important to me but that I suspect I might not feel a desire to ever hear again, and (2) things that didn't make a quick impression on me and feel out of rotation before I really developed much of an opinion on them. The first I ought to be able to junk but its just too hard when I have space to keep them. These albums are part of my history and it feels like throwing out old family photos or heirlooms. The second I don't want to junk without at least giving them another listen but I find a hard time getting around to listening to them. I keep punting the decision on these and I'd do the same if I were you.

It definitely isn't a space issue...

In my single days, when I spent purely for me, I bought and bought...Stuff I had to have all the way to stuff i didn't need, but the cover looked cool; i remember reading something or hearing about somewhere etc...

A lot of this stuff stayed on my shelf and I just never got to it....This is the stuff I'm trying to get rid of mostly....Side projects; side projects of side projects, etc...

I kind of like what Phil said....I'd like to look at my collection and say that I have heard everything on there and like or love it....I'm not so much interested in quanity as much as quality at this point. The stuff I am picking off the shelves is stuff that never got a play, or got one play.

I'm pretty sure I am comfortable with where my tastes lie, and I don't think there will be any radical shifts as I get older....And even if i get rid of it, I am making a copy for my hard drive...

this is more of just a question of (for a physical copy kind of guy), where do you draw the line between keeping the physical version as opposed to being just content with mp3 files?

In what format would you be more likely to listen to stuff?

When I'm home, it is mostly CD. My little office has a great stereo, and my cd's are in the next room...

of course, when i am on the road, it is nice to have my 60gig ipod with me...

Well it sounds like you don't need most of that and probably wouldn't regret getting rid of most of it. I guess the one thing I'd say about keeping stuff is is that for years I overbought too and didn't really have the time to digest everything. I think I gave everything at least 4-5 listens but there's a decent chunk of what I bought over the last ten years that I'm just not that intimate with. I've been buying a lot less over the last two years and have been revisiting some of these and finding I like some of them a lot now. I've been using the stuff that was lost in my collection to feed my desire to hear something new rather than just going out and buying something. Its not that your taste changes, its that you never really gave it a chance. I wouldn't keep around stuff that you bought just because it was a side project of a side project of a band you kind of liked or because of cool cover art, but if you had a decent reason to buy in the first place keep it and give it a chance before you sell as long as you haven't decided whether you might like it or not.

Well it sounds like you don't need most of that and probably wouldn't regret getting rid of most of it. I guess the one thing I'd say about keeping stuff is is that for years I overbought too and didn't really have the time to digest everything. I think I gave everything at least 4-5 listens but there's a decent chunk of what I bought over the last ten years that I'm just not that intimate with. I've been buying a lot less over the last two years and have been revisiting some of these and finding I like some of them a lot now. I've been using the stuff that was lost in my collection to feed my desire to hear something new rather than just going out and buying something. Its not that your taste changes, its that you never really gave it a chance. I wouldn't keep around stuff that you bought just because it was a side project of a side project of a band you kind of liked or because of cool cover art, but if you had a decent reason to buy in the first place keep it and give it a chance before you sell as long as you haven't decided whether you might like it or not.

holy fucking shit 6000?

post office crates in the garage...

at the peak...probably....
right around 4200-4500 or so right now...

granted a ton of these were work related freebies...

what billy said.

You could probably make some decent money if you sold all of them. Figure about $1 or $2 per each one, and if you get rid of 3,000 that would be a pretty decent pay day. I personally can't get rid of stuff like that, but my collection is only like 400 physical cds.

I purged years ago after I started listening to "good" music. Now I'm not sure what I'd be able to get rid of. I'm definitely the physical copy person. Then again, the cases are still at my parents' house and the CDs are with me in binders (which I hate). When the big move of the cases is done it'll be interesting to see how differently I feel.