Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & file?

Discussions on Records, Recording, & Artists
CPBarnum
Victor Jr
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 1:04 pm
Personal Text: Longtime music lover, Grafonola newbie

Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & file?

Post by CPBarnum »

I'm starting to get to that point where I need to make some decisions about how to sort, file and store my records.

With LPs, it seemed fairly simple: Sort by genre (rock, jazz, country, classical, etc.) then alphabetically within genre and chronologically within artist. Voila.

With 78s, that doesn't seem like it'll work as well. I'm thinking of going with sorting by label, then either alphabetically by artist or chronologically by number. The main issue I'm looking to address, I think, is maximizing the ease of finding out whether the new oddball label record is something I have already and whether the duplicate of the popular artist on, say, Columbia Red or Decca is in better shape than the one I already have. The problem with that system, though, is if I want to find a record from a certain artist, or spend an hour or so digging into a specific genre, it's not as easy.

I suppose any system will have its advantages and drawbacks. What system do you use?

Thanks, gang!

User avatar
Roaring20s
Victor V
Posts: 2549
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:55 am
Personal Text: Those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music. Nietzsche
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by Roaring20s »

I used a spreadsheet for several years to keep track of what I have. I grew tired of updating it and found I looked at it less and less. I rarely buy a record I have already and never used it to locate a specific disc.

My system is very basic now. When I want to listen to a genre, I simply pull out an Album. Not a LP Album. A Record Album. You can load the album to suit yourself. Pictured below are a few examples. ;) :coffee:

James.
Screen Shot 2018-07-25 at 2.25.50 PM.png

CPBarnum
Victor Jr
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 1:04 pm
Personal Text: Longtime music lover, Grafonola newbie

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by CPBarnum »

Roaring20s wrote:My system is very basic now. When I want to listen to a genre, I simply pull out an Album.
Isn't that a dangerous storage method? Album spines could bite a chunk out of the disc, no?

I'm storing all my keepers in sleeves from Nauck's.

User avatar
Roaring20s
Victor V
Posts: 2549
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:55 am
Personal Text: Those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music. Nietzsche
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by Roaring20s »

I'm the only person that handles them, so I do not worry.
If I allow someone else to view a binder, it comes with strict handling instruction :geek: (and a liability form). :lol:

James.

User avatar
Wolfe
Victor V
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by Wolfe »

CPBarnum wrote:
Roaring20s wrote:My system is very basic now. When I want to listen to a genre, I simply pull out an Album.
Isn't that a dangerous storage method? Album spines could bite a chunk out of the disc, no?

I'm storing all my keepers in sleeves from Nauck's.
In a certain way, the records are much safer tucked away in those albums. Even in a thick Nauck's sleeve, the record could still be prone to break if it flopped over or fell off the shelf or or sumthin'.

The albums require a certain technique when flipping through to safely extract a record within. I use a a mix of albums and indivdually sleeved records, depending on my needs.

User avatar
Orchorsol
Victor IV
Posts: 1621
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:03 am
Location: Dover, UK
Contact:

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by Orchorsol »

Roaring20s wrote:I used a spreadsheet for several years to keep track of what I have. I grew tired of updating it and found I looked at it less and less. I rarely buy a record I have already and never used it to locate a specific disc.

My system is very basic now. When I want to listen to a genre, I simply pull out an Album. Not a LP Album. A Record Album. You can load the album to suit yourself. Pictured below are a few examples. ;) :coffee:

James.
Screen Shot 2018-07-25 at 2.25.50 PM.png
"Sex and drugs" James - excellent, rofl! :lol:

Within broad category types (e.g. classical vocal, jazz/dance, R&B/gospel, world music of various types) I store and file alphabetically by artist then date - two drawbacks are that significant numbers of additions need the entire section to be reshuffled sooner or later, and split artists records (i.e. different each side) need cross-referencing.

For a large-ish collection (mine's about 17 ½ thousand at present) no one system is perfect! I'm heading for a thin-down when they come out of storage after we've moved house. I'm probably past the point where I'm unlikely to have enough time left on the planet to listen to them all, and that's a bit pointless.

Andy
BCN thorn needles made to the original 1920s specifications: http://www.burmesecolourneedles.com

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4DNb ... TPE-zTAJGg?

epigramophone
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 5204
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:21 pm
Personal Text: An analogue relic trapped in a digital world.
Location: The Somerset Levels, UK.

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by epigramophone »

Firstly by genre, e.g. :

Opera & classical vocal.
Jazz & Dance band.
Military band.
Historic.
Unusual labels.

The records are filed in artist A-Z order apart from the Unusual Labels which are in manufacturer's A-Z order.
They are listed A-Z on typewritten pages stored in ring binders, as I am pre-computer. To me a spreadsheet is something you throw on a bed.

HisMastersVoice
Auxetophone
Posts: 2587
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:01 am

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by HisMastersVoice »

Most of mine are sorted by genre, or in some instances by artist or instrument when I have a large number of those records (i.e. Caruso or banjo). I used to keep a spreadsheet, but these days records are usually just filed with gin-fueled whimsy.

User avatar
emgcr
Victor IV
Posts: 1086
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:57 am
Location: Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by emgcr »

I am lucky that my interest is relatively new thus my organisation is very similar to Epigramophone's but I am gradually building up spread sheets on the computer which then allow easy reference and insertions---see attachments below.

Records are stored all over the house so, when looking for a particular disc, I sometimes send myself an email from my computer to my iPhone containing the relevant attachment which I can then scroll through in the new location. In addition to a "general" list, I also keep separate locations for selected artists in numerical order where I have a larger quantity. Duplicates are entered in red.

If anyone finds the blank template vaguely helpful please feel free to use it.
Attachments
Master BLANK format for all 78 rpm record data spread sheets.xlsx
(9.62 KiB) Downloaded 85 times
12 inch master list-operatic.xlsx
(369.34 KiB) Downloaded 83 times

User avatar
Springmotor70
Victor I
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:31 pm
Personal Text: Everybody Panatrope!
Location: St. Charles, Missouri

Re: Those with many hundreds of records: How do you sort & f

Post by Springmotor70 »

Years ago I started an electronic data base to help me sort and list what records I have but the program I used is no longer supported. How I file is by label first - so there is a shelf of closet of pre- war Victor Electrics, Columbia, Edison, Etc.
Then within each section they are divided by recording artist, then those artists are in sections like Vocal or Band. Each of the different artists have a small divider that fits between the sections and lists the artist's name...

There are sub sections for very rare records - and there is one shelf just for The Charleston - A friend once challenged me find all the different copies of the original, then there is a section for other pieces that are a Charleston or reference the dance in the song.
Attachments
Shelves here and there
Shelves here and there
Orthophonic Closet with new through the wall shelves I added at the back.
Orthophonic Closet with new through the wall shelves I added at the back.
"I think he was vaccinated with a phonograph needle"
My Old Boss 1923 - 2010

Post Reply