Jray

I just finished ripping all my CDs into MP3s (what a long project... been doing it off and on for over a year) and realized that I have a lot of CDs that I never listen to. I have somewhere between 400 - 500 CDs and I bet I listen to less than 1/4 of them regularly. The good thing about ripping them is that it got me to listen to some of the old ones I have that haven't been spun in awhile. Music tastes change over time and some of my older stuff sounds really dated now. It's weird to think about.

This isn't even to mention the 100, or so, cassette tapes I own that literally haven't been touched in a decade or more.

Sometimes I think I should sell some of this stuff off but then I think - "What if I get the urge to listen to this sometime and then I won't have it?" And also, I doubt I could make any kind of money by selling them so I convince myself that it probably is better to just keep them.

Do any of you listen to all of your collection regularly? I suppose it has a lot to do with what type of music you like. If you're into classical I doubt it would ever go "out of style".

Hollowgen

i don't keep anything that i don't listen to. therefore, i'm very picky about what i buy. and every few months, i end up with a few that didn't live up to my expectations. i trade them in.

JAA

I only have about 600 CD's and it continues to grow fast. I have learned the hard way not to sell anything - you'll only regret it (and purchase again) later. To answer your question. I listen to EVERYTHING in my collection EVENTUALLY. One day, someone might mention Bon Scott and I find myself suddenly off listening to all of my AC/DC. Then driving to work listening to public radio, I may hear Eva Cassidy or Loreena McKennitt and that night I find myself inspired to take in all of their soft sounds. The point is, eventually I will want to listen to everything in my collection . . . and it had better be there!

Mordred

That's me to a tee. An Ipod helps in that respect as well (although my wife doesn't let me borrow it enough!).

kilcher

I bought a 200 disc changer and listen to it on shuffle. It doesn't hold all my cd's but at least it provides some variety.

mndtrp

I've got somewhere around 700 albums. I used to only listen to maybe 100 of them regularly. Once I bought my ipod and put all of my albums on the computer, I've been listening to stuff I haven't listened to in 8 years.

The ipod completely changed the way I listen to my music, and I thank Apple for that.

atlantamoi

I don't have a portable Mp3 player yet, but I did buy an external HD to start ripping my discs to. Wow. This has been the greatest leap forward in listening since I started buying CDs. I have about 2,000 discs. Some I hadn't listened to in over a decade. But I never thought that was a waste because I like having the choice to hear just about any style at any time... and it's always been fun collecting music. But collecting has ALWAYS been about the music. Each morning I listen to 5 to 10 discs (not every second of them) and pick out the songs I want to save to the HD. I've had a lot of fun hearing these older discs and choosing the handul of songs I want to have on my big, fat jukebox. So, in answer to your question, I now have MOST of my collection set to listen to much more than I did in the past. 13,000 songs and going.

On a side note, my wife and cousin like to play this game where they go into my CD collection and pull out 15 discs and then play each one randomly (one song) to see if I can guess the group in 30 seconds. They go for obscure or strange sounding band names. Most of the time I figure it out, but a couple of times I was like, "Wow, that's a pretty good song... what is it?" Funny.

reverie

Like others, it all gets listened to at some time or another. I'm around 1200 cd, and usually stare at the wall for awhile each morning deciding what handful to bring with me for the day. Though, on the other hand, none of my 300 or so tapes have been listened to in about a year or two.

Damfino

That's nothing, I have 300 LPs that haven't been played in over 15 years!

gp98

I had about 500 cds in 1998 and practically the same amount until a year and a half a go. That was when I got an ipod and could finally access all of my music. As a result, I have gone through a renaissance period and loving the music I have and loving that I can buy more music without it feeling overwhelming.

Tscott

Well, since I've been buying CDs at a more or less steady pace since 1989 and have over 1500 (rough, conservative guess) there are certainly discs that have gone unlistened for years, however I tend to get into moods and think things like "I haven't listened to The Cocteau Twins for a while" (or The Bangles, or Chet Baker, or Isotope 217, or whoever) and will make a point of listening to most everything I own by that artist over the next couple weeks along with whatever else I'm currently listening to. So I usually come around to everything again eventually.

reverie

I'm in the same range with LPs, but I actually listen to maybe 1/4 of them here and there.. the ones I don't have on tape or cd. I'd like to get rid of tapes I have on cd, but for some reason don't have the same thoughts with my records. Maybe it's the art aspect.

tofu

Now that all 600 of my CDs are on my computer and Ipod, I'd say that I listen to them all quite regularly since I have both the Ipod and computer on random shuffle and listen to music for at least 4 hours everyday now.

tommyp007

very little since I got XM radio in the car.

Gunshy

When I think of how much of my collection I have yet to hear, I get really depressed. I need to put a hold on buying and just listen for a year or so (but it's really hard!).

-Gunshy

Big Dave

Yes shuffle is a beautiful thing. I use it to listen on either my computer or Ipod, you never know what you might get next.

I also have XM for my car and a portable unit for work, but that just allows me to discover even more music, which of course leads to more CD buying.

Rocketdog2000

Well, I've been collecting music for the better part of my life. I currently have well over 4,000 CD's, about 5,00 vinyl albums, 200 or so 45's, maybe 100 cassettes and yes, even a dozen or so 8-Tracks, still. But hey, I'll freely admit it's an addiction. While my friends blew thier money on cigarettes, booze, drugs or whatever - most of my spare cash went to music - and at least I still have something worthwhile to show for it.

I've also got a 40 GB mp3 player, but I've only filled it about 2/3rd's worth. Basically, I just rip stuff onto it as I think of it - whether it's just a song or a whole album.

To answer the direct question - out of all that, I'd say that I listen to at least 1/2 to 3/4 of it every year, or try to. I love making mix CD's (it used to be tapes) for my freinds, or myself - so that alone gives me a reason to go through and check things out from time to time. However, unless I only have a specific album on vinyl or tape - I really don't play any of that stuff too often.

These days, it's mostly listening to stuff on random on the mp3 player - the best thing ever! My own private radio sation, where everything is good, and no commercials.

Every now and then, I'll whittle the collection down, and get rid of stuff that I've grown out of, grown tired of or what not. I used to hate to part with anything, and many times did have to re-buy some stuff, too. But now that making a decent sounding copy of something is so easy, and fast, I don't find it so hard to "clean out the closet". In the past 5 years, I've probably gotten rid of over 2,000 CD's. Although usually, when I do sell stuff/trade in for credit, it's so that I can buy "new" stuff. It's the deal I made with my wife - she doesn't care how much new stuff I get, as long as I'm getting rid of old stuff to finance it. Keeps us both pretty happy, and my "media room" from overflowing.

Tscott

It's a year later and I've cataloged my CD collection with the Music Collector program from Collectorz.com and can state for a fact now I own 2018 CDs at the moment.
I don't know how you'd not be able to hear all the CDs you own. Even if I wind up getting 6 or 7 CDs at once I always hear them all within a day or two- while driving to work, while on the computer, while I'm doing work for class, etc. It'd drive me crazy to own a CD and know that I haven't listened to it at least once yet.

Michael Corvin

Listen to 20%/while 80% goes unlistened.

starseed1981

More or less about 800 albums. 50 probably get regular play.

nodeerforamonth

With over 2000 CDs and 400 LPs, it's awfully hard to listen to everything regularly. I listen to about 3 hours a week while working out and another 2 hours while driving around. That's about 6 CDs a week with regular play. 24 a month. So I listen to about 1% of my collection a month.

The Bus

I agree. In a good day, I can listen to a dozen albums. Usually it's only three or four.

mike1978

I listen to almost all the music in my 800+ CD collection. I get through about 12 albums every day at work, followed by 1 or 2 at home. On the weekends, I probably listen to 3 or 4 more.

mndtrp

I've started using Itunes to make mix mp3 discs for the car. I don't drive too far to work and back, so it's a hassle to plug in the ipod. I'll use the smart playlists to pick the songs out for me, and it becomes a commercial-less radio station. Depending on the mood I'm in dictates what the mix will be. I've been going through even more of my songs/albums this way.

Digital music has allowed me to appreciate a lot more music. Especially with all of the free music that artists put out, I've been expanding my catalog with new stuff constantly.