I do know this much: CD storage units/shelving/case logic stuff/etc is some of the worst and ugliest shit i've ever seen.

sometimes i think the only reason i still have CDs in my store is because i have a nice hand-made shelf. which used to be filled with books. before the bottom dropped out of books. if i had to have crappy cd store shelving i would probably throw up and throw them all out.

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16298795_1736475653332746_6167733200228772321_n.jpg?oh=3e011e2d7040968b7b0c4e3c8245e443&oe=5901FEC8

i mean that crappy thing up top was free. and i figured it would be better than big stacks of CDs on top of my receiver.

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16142904_1736474546666190_5792084282393593856_n.jpg?oh=93baed2e239e58f059d4ff270f40d8f4&oe=5901C590

this kinda shit...

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16265445_1736478046665840_2345135304383442904_n.jpg?oh=ccfc9a8f11d845ae9d1e4d66d43e2358&oe=59176C22

it makes a good case for listening to music online. so much plastic....

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16196059_1736478953332416_7531639038410404412_n.jpg?oh=b92733dddcf0baee2a279cc2e627fc68&oe=591F9B58

my cds are in storage in our attic right now. before we moved i had them on a shitty ikea shelf. they look ugly but i like having them accessible. my wife hates them though. we're looking to buy a house and i don't if i'll be able to get away with having them visible in our living room

whoever invented this is in hell:

http://img.designswan.com/2010/08/cd/3.jpg

they used to sell cheap classical CDs - MCA i think - that came with those horrible plastic flip holders.

like, they were packed in plastic and came with a plastic holder and two CDs encased in two plastic cases.

I, err, kinda want that thing in scott's first post. I have boxes and boxes of those annoying not-quite-digipack promo card thingies and a filing cabinet like that looks like it would solve this problem

I may actually look for one (or several) of those on eBay

I agree it is ugly as sin but I'm only interested in 'function' at this point, as my CD collection is nowhere in pain sight anyway

it's also weirdly not impressive when someone has a lot of CDs. and i like CDs! when i see a wall of them i just think about how i would like to sell them. but if i go to someone's house and see a lot of records i think: cool, records! i don't immediately think of a commodity.

https://www.booknerds.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/compact-disc-storage-space.jpg

"I have boxes and boxes of those annoying not-quite-digipack promo card thingies"

yeah, no, it is handy. i have a lot of promos. but ugly. and huge.

these things are kinda cool too for lots of unsightly promos/singles and not too ugly.

https://secure.img.wfcdn.com/lf/maxsquare/hash/30973/30081303/1/Three-Posts-Shillington-Multimedia-Storage-Cabinet-THRE5427.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c9/94/74/c9947403cc42f77b821a43698af1036c.jpg

the whole thing of making something that is five feet high to hold 50 CDs....

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7d/fa/49/7dfa49f251f7f58f140525ae5071a252.jpg

i'm trying to find a winner for worst ever. getting closer now...

https://img1.etsystatic.com/137/0/10251927/il_340x270.858803433_hh3r.jpg

wow, those are truly hideous. Were the nineties really this gross or am I just remembering wrong?

Do card catalogs actually fit CDs? Serious question. Because I bet there are libraries tossing those into dumpsters as we speak

getting artier hardly ever makes it better either. that's the strange thing.

https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/6113282/il_570xN.229347462.jpg

it's like its hiding in the corner from all the other ikea furniture. it knows its gonna get picked on.

http://jcsweb.biz/parfrey/Images/ikea_cd_rack.jpg

it's also weirdly not impressive when someone has a lot of CDs. and i like CDs! when i see a wall of them i just think about how i would like to sell them. but if i go to someone's house and see a lot of records i think: cool, records! i don't immediately think of a commodity.

I disagree. A big CD collection is awesome to me. When I see someone with a whole bunch of records part of me thinks, I bet this guy's a real asshole. But that's because vinyl dudes have poisoned the atmosphere. Like, the way some of them talk, I feel like they don't even like music, they just like records.

perfect for the person who owns the seven saddest CDs...

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61B2ZsTcDML._SL1000_.jpg

"When I see someone with a whole bunch of records part of me thinks, I bet this guy's a real asshole"

come on, you were gonna think that anyway even without the records.

if someone had a room that wall to wall with those file card shelves that i posted above i might think that was cool looking. i dunno, it's mostly about presentation. it's totally my own psychological thing. a wall of CDs just looks less fun to me. though, like i said, i'm a big fan of CDs. it looks more file-like. or something. i honestly haven't been anywhere where someone had a massive CD collection in a long time.

Re: the photo with the black guitar in the corner, you have a wall of pristinely filed CDs, then turn the speaker to face it?!

Any of those CD storage racks with slots are designed by Satan. If filed alphabetically and say you want to add one towards the top of the list, you might end up having to move each and every CD after it unless there are an open slot close.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/22/f5/fa/22f5faaef35a0f95d6de0f0714177a1b.jpg

i could hang with these:

http://www.storables.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/492x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/8/18750.jpg

yeah that looks handy, I still haven't found a good solution for the slipcase type discs

http://cdn3.volusion.com/hktad.kparj/v/vspfiles/photos/SMS-12-CD-HD32-2.jpg

cd shelves, they turn every room into a dorm room

we have ours in a shelf in my closet. we had this handmade CD shelf that seemed perfect the day we bought it off craigslist, and then it just because a hideous piece that we had no spot for.

the solution is probably to have them hidden away in a nice looking piece of furniture but i think i'd still feel antsy.

f u scott seward take that back about Butterfly (but continue to go in on CD storage)

back in the 90s I had a couple large-ish CD-sized book shelves full of CDs. They were convenient to use as they didn't run into the problem earlnash describes, but they were heavy as hell to move around and CDs just have so much excess unneeded packaging. When it came time to move to Texas I ditched the shelves and packaging and jammed the whole collection into big CD storage books. I did lose the ability to rearrange everything easily, but it meant I could carry around a whole collection easily and store everything in a nice compact, attractive space. I now have the task ahead of me to do the same thing for endless DVDs and Nintendo wii games. The packaging is such a huge waste of space, that's really the worst part to me. File everything away out of sight and you'll be happy forever.

back in the 90s I had a couple large-ish CD-sized book shelves full of CDs. They were convenient to use as they didn't run into the problem earlnash describes, but they were heavy as hell to move around and CDs just have so much excess unneeded packaging. When it came time to move to Texas I ditched the shelves and packaging and jammed the whole collection into big CD storage books. I did lose the ability to rearrange everything easily, but it meant I could carry around a whole collection easily and store everything in a nice compact, attractive space. I now have the task ahead of me to do the same thing for endless DVDs and Nintendo wii games. The packaging is such a huge waste of space, that's really the worst part to me. File everything away out of sight and you'll be happy forever.

very important post, so I thought you might need to read it twice

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2jhkeSCIAAd6-Z.jpg

That has to be the first step towards a restraining order.

welcome to my nightmare...

http://www.mariah-charts.com/Jpgs/Collection2.jpg

well, you know, not MY nightmare...

i'm sure she has excellent security.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2a/9d/3a/2a9d3adf25545e4bdffe9a7a1cd7371f.jpg

care to listen to some rusted root? care to read one of my several architecture books, handily displayed on a bar cart?

imo almost not horrible

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/6f/3a/86/6f3a8671d15bd2d6e31e4db921e9a607.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8c/25/e8/8c25e8da6cae98276fcb9975deca300d.jpg

I posted my CD display here years ago. Still have it up:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4765442787_2bb2ffaacb.jpg

very nice. you are a regular martha stewart.

and, like i said, pre-CD shelving is the way to go.

i mean i think it's really the plastic that brings out the plastic of compact discs. go wood. go old. that's my motto. or at least wood that doesn't look like plastic.

damn mariah had some good album covers didnt she

That "almost not horrible" picture Nomar posted, that's about what I've got on all the walls of one room, though it doesn't reach the ceiling. I've always enjoyed the collage of spines. I can't imagine having racks that have a slot for each CD, it would make annual new purchase integration impossible.

Am I the only person who still owns 6000+ CDs? None of these storage options would work for me. I keep my CDs stacked in rectangular (as opposed to square) milk crates, stacked seven high (not sure how many stacks, maybe 7 or 8?), and yes, it's a nightmare, but at least it's a nightmare that I don't have to see every day (they're in a storage facility I visit frequently, and will switch out CDs from time to time, almost like I'm my own lending library).

Discogs inventory was a revelation; it took me almost an entire year, but now I have everything logged and know that if I want to listen to, say, New Order's Technique, I locate crate #31 and retrieve it. Before that, if I wanted to listen to something I owned, I might jut as soon illegally download it rather than go hunting for it.

I live in fear of the stacks of crates toppling over, which would undo a year's work and probably send me right to the madhouse

you really have to luck out and find a pre-CD bookshelf if you want to have proper shelving for CDs.

There are always exceptions. Courtesy of this store:

http://booksandbookshelves.biz/

...the shelving setup you see behind me, purchased last year:

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12642453_10154305752356494_4136158004124421194_n.jpg?oh=72f4dc4b5730d92974a0e54b94a27740&oe=594733EC

nedstax looking Heaven(s!)ward is always needed on a cd thread. unfinished utilitarian shelf is a good option. doesn't anyone ever varnish or finish anything anymore? it's like darning socks, i guess. a lost art.

Am I the only person who still owns 6000+ CDs?

sell them now

i dig the storage unit lending library idea. which is one good reason to have a used record store. i have a couple of thousand classical CDs at the store and if i ever want to listen to some i can bring them home. this is true of DVDs too.

plenty of nice looking cd shelves exist, they're just bookcases with shorter shelves what's so ugly about that

Am I the only person who still owns 6000+ CDs?

sell them now

― sleeve, Friday, January 27, 2017 7:48 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tougher than you think. Whenever I gather up a load of stuff to sell on eBay or Discogs, the vinyl usually sells, the CDs--even at bargain basement prices--don't. I think I may have already missed the window.

I dunno, Scott, how do CDs sell at your place? Do people still buy them? If so, which ones?

I also still buy CDs for reasons I've mentioned on the Continuing With CDs thread. Short version of that spiel: they're dirt cheap, and I'm not a format fetishist

Only bummer is, in the past when I'd buy an expensive LP, I'd rationalize it by telling myself that if I was ever in financial trouble, or needed an operation or something, LPs hold their value for the most part. Also, with LPs, if you get tired of something you have, you sell it, and get something new. But when I buy a new Cloud Nothings CD in 2017 I of course realize it's like buying a new book: worth less than a third of what I just paid for it the moment I leave the store

plenty of people still pay insane prices for oop CDs.. not just hipsters, people into soundtracks and stuff too

"Do people still buy them? If so, which ones?"

yeah, sure. mostly bored people. there is no other place in the entire town where i am that sells CDs. other than the salvation army. i dunno, i sell all kinds of weird stuff. my CD selection is weird. i sell them on Discogs too.

Yeah, if you think your CDs are "like new" then sell them for just below what Amazon resellers are listing currently at "like new" as well and you can make some good money, depending on the title.

"plenty of nice looking cd shelves exist, they're just bookcases with shorter shelves what's so ugly about that"

duh, obviously there are bookshelves that look fine. i'm talking about all the horrible CD-related stuff that has been sold since the 80's. just tons of cheap ugly crap that ended up broken. ugly black plastic crap. and even cheap ugly plastic CD cases! all kinds of ugly CD paraphernalia.

beat up CD shelves at thrift stores look just as terrible as beat up CDs. disposable.

sorry, that was kind of a mean duh. strike the duh.

yeah the crafty and clever cd storage solutions are very wack i agree

and all the aerodynamic matte plastic 90s shit is obv the worst

i had such ugly wire frame cd shelves growing up.. so bad.

unfinished utilitarian shelf is a good option. doesn't anyone ever varnish or finish anything anymore? it's like darning socks, i guess. a lost art.

The store happily offers that service, but it does cost more -- and living in SF and all, I do need to watch costs! But also I enjoy the unfinished look, it's fresh feeling.

The problem I always had with purpose-built CD shelves was that they'd never accommodate anything even slightly bigger than standard jewel-case-sized dealies. So I can't file Sleater-Kinney's The Woods with their other stuff, nor Alan Shorter's Tes Esat next to his brother Wayne's discs.

My weirdly not impressive setup...

http://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16300125_10158138896780597_6416376884681420654_o.jpg?oh=bcb930e3729bc7a70d1d029774b9d3c3&oe=59171121
http://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16178365_10158138896955597_1391887729186506623_o.jpg?oh=c1fa4c9050e11de44ec4a827b9a53dcb&oe=591AE140
http://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16142469_10158138897075597_3444292757127057071_n.jpg?oh=0a4f026c2aefe7d0909174fa539185b9&oe=5911676A
http://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16402564_10158138897195597_8641927530094323392_o.jpg?oh=aded81bfc6076f551f38e1ebb10b92af&oe=5914D86F

The black ones on top of the shelves are Case Logic ones that I had to trawl the internet to get the exact ones to make everything work... All that's left of my vinyl collection (the Great Basement Flood of 2010 was a bitch) can be seen below the cardboard sleeve CDs that journalists, especially in the metal realm, know very well.

The basement has my cassettes on a wall and I also have a shelf of 7" singles (not pictured).

I have around 4000 CDs, all in alphabetical order and chronological within artist. OCD much?

I still buy anything I like on CD if available and annually purge 50-100 in order not to overrun the total capacity of my racks. That getting harder, though.

I've got a small section on top of a couple of racks for box sets and oversized cases.

this kinda shit...

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16265445_1736478046665840_2345135304383442904_n.jpg?oh=ccfc9a8f11d845ae9d1e4d66d43e2358&oe=59176C22

― scott seward, Friday, January 27, 2017 2:20 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

What of kind of shit?

http://i.imgur.com/WaOPXAe.jpg

Don't forget this piece of shit that used to grab the CDs like a jukebox would, but is now just an oblong box.

http://i.imgur.com/EoNQnGD.gif

skot redeemed

Those tall units with short shelves are also kind of terrible when it comes to adding new cds, especially if they are nearly full. Often there's space for 1 or 2 to lie above the vertical cds.

The last unit I bought has random spacing between the shelves, which looks awful.

My room of shame.

When we first looked at the house it became obvious that some bright spark had swopped out the tiny 7ft square bathroom for the much more substantial third bedroom, my wife turned to me and said 'if we buy this place, you should put all your music in there'.

I bought some UGLY metal cd shelves from Record Collector and got to work filling up this room with my antics and there it remains, on pretty much every available flat surface lies a pile of CDs, book or box set.

There's two sets of shelves, a terrible cheap bookcase (another thread?) and one comfy tub chair, I stopped being so anxious about the room some years back and now I quite enjoy hiding away in there, listening to my Jethro Tull box sets, being old.

http://i63.tinypic.com/257hfzq.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/dqnhxx.jpg

There's two sets of shelves, a terrible cheap bookcase (another thread?) and one comfy tub chair, I stopped being so anxious about the room some years back and now I quite enjoy hiding away in there, listening to my Jethro Tull box sets, being old.

http://weknowyourdreams.com/images/paradise/paradise-05.jpg

Eno box, Simples Minds box, Fuzzy Warbles series... You know I wanna party with you in that room!

I love pics like these where you can instantly spot Impulse!/Coltrane CDs.

I'm at somewhere north of 6,000 CDs (still adding 200+ per year) but sadly (to me, not to my wife) they're all in boxes in the basement because we bought a 700sf apartment. I keep the last 50+/- "on display" till they get boxed and then on to the next one. It would make me happy to see 25 years of my musical journey as a proper library, but it'll probably never happen. At least I have all my architecture/urbanism books on bookcases...

Still buying CDs (and inheriting from friends), but I've reached the carrying capacity for our little house, between books, records, CDs, and, you know, stuff we actually need to actually live. Homemade shelving here (yes, lazy unfinished), using 1" x 6" boards, allows for room for larger cases:

http://i65.tinypic.com/2yotit2.jpg

Resorted to putting shelves on the rafters for overflow, but they're terrible for browsing (home to all those CDR's from the old mail trading days, VHS tapes, etc.):

http://i63.tinypic.com/33m3odk.jpg

Since I've run out of room, thinking again of the spacing saving polyethylene sleeves that the Jazz Loft folks sell. Anyone using those? As an anal type about the printed stuff (save hype stickers, OBIs, any ephemera), not sure if that will work. Have many great CDs from local record store owner who never liked discs and he just folded the j-cards in half, which still makes a little bit sad when I see it.

i'm not throwing stones. i never stain furniture. i have painted old bookcases that didn't look so hot. that is the extent of my non-laziness.

the vhs tapes poking from the rafters are cuet

All my cd's in binders for years now. I barely look at them.

Flying Nun trading cards! You're a collector of rare taste, I've got a set too.

I save hype stickers, too. Very sad are we...

Not getting why anyone's embarrassed about having big collections.

this is such a good scott thread. bummer bout the broken images.

Any of those CD storage racks with slots are designed by Satan. If filed alphabetically and say you want to add one towards the top of the list, you might end up having to move each and every CD after it unless there are an open slot close.

― earlnash, Friday, January 27, 2017 3:04 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Boy had I forgotten this. Once knew an ambidextrous guy who could move cassette cases up at twice the speed with each hand grabbing every other tape.

Also had forgotten that I had posted on this thread last week, that little gif up there. And then I remembered that this is 2018 now.

https://media.giphy.com/media/mHV9embco5OYo/giphy.gif

https://media1.giphy.com/media/XpgiNJccZVPlm/200.gif

That's him!

https://images.craigslist.org/00B0B_5jVPSsan2cE_1200x900.jpg

someone's selling this on craigslist, holds 532 CDs. looks like it's from a late '80s drugstore and should be holding White Lion and Belinda Carlisle.

found this "industrial style" beauty

https://images.craigslist.org/00h0h_danE1i55noP_600x450.jpg

the phrase "fits CDs, DVDs, VHS, or a mix of all three" gives me a panic attack.

https://i.imgur.com/PRM5qkJ.jpg

I mean, if only I had a drawer or something to put these in.

Check out my extensive collection of original Rob Roy DVDs

Check out my two copies of everything.

I had one of those 'industrial style' deals, perfect if you like your DVDs to fall over on unsuspecting guests. One of the most rickety pieces of garbage I've ever had the pleasure to own.

i am so goddamned glad that i don't have CD towers or racks any more. it's good to remember the bad parts of the 90s too.

I keep all my disc physical media in big wallets/mini-briefcases, with the few that have notably cool packaging left intact

http://www.centralazdining.com/content/uploads/nice-bedroom-storage-chest-with-bedroom-excellent-hope-chest-storage-trunk-cedar-lining-wood-bench.jpg

hell yeah.

All I need.

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/3f/03f5d270-ad6b-52df-a013-cbd701e20836/5771c115da7ed.image.png

I find choosing what to put on difficult enough when scanning CDs; the idea of flicking through numerous wallets fills me with horror.

Worst picnic ever.

https://i.imgur.com/E4P0PsW.jpg