Below we will introduce you to the most important systems that you can use to realign your treasures on the shelf and implement the analog tidying and rearranging project.
By the way: For the sake of simplicity, we only refer to vinyl in the article. Of course, this refers to all analogue sound carriers that can be sorted somehow.
Music collection: This is the best way to sort your records, CDs and cassettes
Autobiographical
Do you remember your first few records? How did you sort them on your shelf? Most people probably simply put the new treasures on the shelf in the order in which the albums were purchased. Chronologically by date of purchase. Back then it was only about a few albums that were easy to get an overview of. Only with the slowly growing number of recordings did the idea arise that an autobiographical order might be a bit confusing in the long run. But why actually? Isn’t it nice to have the personal development of your musical preferences, the expansion of your musical horizons, right in front of you on the slowly filling shelf?
Another advantage: There is no need to constantly create space and move panels back when a new panel is added. Instead of having to squeeze the newly acquired “4 Way Street” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young into C (or is it S, N or Y?), it can easily be put at the back. Of course, the autobiographical system also implies a certain level of chaos. Finding a particular record is inevitably associated with remembering a particular purchasing or perhaps even life situation. Yes, that slows down the already slow recording process even more. But isn’t that what collecting music is all about?
A further thought: Should the autobiographical order be determined by the date of purchase, or should records that were very important last summer but were only purchased later be placed further back?
Music collection: This is the best way to sort your records, CDs and cassettes
Chronological: publication date
If the autobiographical order is somehow too nerdy or perhaps too confusing for you, you can also sort your collection according to the album’s release date. This provides a wonderful overview, even a look back, at the various musical landscapes of the preceding decades. Of course, such a chronological order assumes that you can remember exactly when Led Zeppelin released “Physical Graffiti” (answer: 1975), or at least are willing to take a closer look at the release dates of various albums in the near future.
Learning from your own music collection sounds like a project for the coming days, but: What happens to reissues? Do you decide on the date of the new edition or the first pressing? And what happens to the fat one? “Pink Floyd-Collection? Scattering them all over the record shelf will be an option for very few music collectors. Perhaps the following combination can help: Basically, records are found in alphabetical order; within an artist, the albums are sorted chronologically.
Music collection: This is the best way to sort your records, CDs and cassettes
Alphabetical
Almost every record store sorts alphabetically. Sure: A system that starts at A and ends at Z is not only clear, but also the system to which most vinyl lovers are and remain loyal. But even the most straightforward sorting of existing musical treasures is not flawless. For example, what happens to albums that cannot be clearly assigned? What about compilations that feature multiple artists? Whether this special case finds a place under V for “Various Artists”, S for “Sampler” or somewhere else entirely is – ultimately – a personal decision. We can only hope that you will remember the system you chose later.
genre
Of course, artists can just as easily be sorted by genre. This makes particular sense if your own music collection is not limited to a single style of music, but has grown beyond genre boundaries over the years and now includes different styles. Because one thing is certain: Charles Bradley’s soul work “Changes” is not destined to linger next to Blue Öyster Cult’s “Agents of Fortune”. So there has to be a rough division into electro, jazz, classical, metal, rock etc. Whether the genre should be sorted by alphabet, publication date or even subgenres is up to the lover.
You can also sort your records by label just as well. When does this make sense? For example, as soon as releases are part of the collection that were released on significant labels such as “Motown” as well as on labels that specialize in a certain style of music. And most people do that.
Color
If you want to make your record shelf an eye-catcher, you can also sort your treasures by color. Of course, this assumes that the collector has exactly in mind how the covers are designed and – above all – what color the back of the record they are looking for is. The color system is probably one of the sortings that causes the most chaos. If you can tolerate that, you can always go on a new search through your own collection. And as a result, you discover more hidden treasures that, in an organized collection, are more easily lost in the system of habit. Anyone who learns to appreciate musical journeys of discovery on the record shelf in this way can, in the next step, completely forego careful sorting and let the chaos inspire them.
Individual categories
The record shelf is a personal matter and directly reflects individual preferences as well as mental concepts. So why not deviate even further from the usual sorting options and create your own categories? It would be conceivable, for example, to have a compartment in which only recently purchased records can be stored; and have to give way as soon as they are heard for the first time. Because who doesn’t know the following scenario: In the local record store, several albums are shoveled into the bag, brought home and sorted onto the shelf – where they are forgotten and, in the worst case, never make it onto the turntable. A category specifically for new records provides relief.
It’s the same with records that first come as a surprise, then are packed up and forgotten. So why not keep a niche for those albums that you should listen to again soon because they impressed you so much the first time. Of course, you can just as easily collect your favorite records in one place and keep them to hand without having to search for them.
Limitless
Especially for people who work with music professionally and DJ, it is important to know exactly where each record is. In dark clubs, it might even be helpful to sort the recordings you bring along by color in advance. Or would you rather use BPM?
You will notice that there are no limits to the sorting options and creativity. The music collection can be individually adapted to personal needs. And if a new category turns out to be impractical, the shelf can easily be rearranged. Many collectors enjoy precisely this process of constant growing, organizing and sorting. Because there is nothing we like more than dealing with our treasures and achievements, our personal musical history.