CD storage and organization - suggestions?

I have a large (1000-1200) CD collection that is now overflowing my storage unit.� My original plan was to buy a matching unit, but I haven't been able to find it.� Since I imagine many of you also have large collections, how do you store your discs?� Can you suggest any on-line retailers (or local retailers, for the Chicagoland fruheads)?

I store my CDs in cardboard boxes in the garage. MP3s are way more convenient for me. It's a hassle to rip 'em all, and a CD collection of this size will fill up an 80G drive, but the ability to have all the music at your fingertips is so cool.

Just out of curiosity, why not sell the discs?

Even though I rip all of mine I wouldn't sell�the CDs�because technology keeps changing, and if I had sold the ones I ripped when I first got my computer I'd only be left with a bunch of small, horrible sounding Windows Media Files, whereas now I've been re-ripping them all and have much better quality AAC files to listen to.� Also, if my computer ever died and I lost all the music or if I accidently deleted a song or album I'd want to have the original CDs as a backup.� It would cost probably $4000 to replace them all and I'm sure some people on this board have collections much more expensive than that.� Even though CDs will inevitably be replaced by newer technology at some point they seem like a more permanent, safer way to store music than just on a computer.

CAN-AM Cabinets are great!� Delivery was surprisingly affordable, and they're in Ontario to boot.� http://www.can-am.ca/

Omg - what an incredibly dangerous, money spending site for me Jason. Not sure whether I should thank you for the link or not. *g*

Me too! Thanks, Jason.

I'm so out of space now for CDs, and I have no room for new furniture, either.

Ack! No! Evil! That's where we keep the video games at work. EVIL!

I got one of these (well, actually, their 500 CD version, because I don't have enough to even half fill a 1500).

it's a great way to store CDs that doesn't look mechanical and out of place.

That does look nice.

Now if only they made it at a price I could afford... ;-)

That was the unit I was looking at when I started the forum.� I especially like it because the extended sides could hold another row of discs across the top at the next overflow.

I'm still keeping my eyes out for the 84" tall version.� But this is probably the best I'll find.

yeah, on my 500 I use the top shelf for box sets and other stuff that doesn't quite fit right in a CD shelf.

I don't think an 84" tall one would be practical, as it would be more at risk of toppling. at that point, you might as well just get floor to ceiling shelves installed in your home.

Even my 63" rack secures to the wall stud.� My dream 84" rack would just secure closer to the ceiling.

I have the 1000 one and over two moves it's become very unsturdy. :( Paul just reinforced it with brad nail thingies so hopefully (once I find the pegs and reassemble all the shelves) it'll make me happy again.

I am getting mighty seduced by the ones Jason linked to though. Expensive but it would store my collection AND make a neat console thing.

yeah, exactly the reason I went for all-steel construction....

God, am I starting to sound like an ad for boltz.com or what?

:D

What's hard for me is what you gain in stability you lose in warmth. At least IMO. It seems very sterile. (This from someone who is in love with stainless steel stuff in the kitchen. And has wire shelving all over the place. Heee. But not in the living room where the CDs are.)�

I dunno. :)

I dunno.. I haven't found that to be the case... (no pun intended)...

If it were brushed stainless, maybe... but it's nice dark powder-coated steel. :)

I'm also someone, though, who really likes the combination of natural woods and steel...

Unless for some reason you want the cd's to be part of your furniture, buy yourself some of those 250 disc cases from Case Logic and ditch the boxes. You can fit your 1200 discs on one shelf of a bookcase, they're much easier to carry around or if you ever move, etc. Keep the CD booklets in a shoebox. It's kind of a drastic step but I did it and have no regrets, really. You can do the same thing for DVD's.

Two reasons against:

1) I really like jewel cases, liner notes, and the ease of filing and finding the discs in their cases.� This isn't really a reason, but more of a preference.

2) Easy to carry around works in more ways than one.� I've known several people who have lost their libraries because someone else walked away with them.

I do want to use this system for my game collection, since they never leave the house.

I'm not the only one! :-D

To me, CDs are like books, I'd no more put them in a binder to live than I'd have my books live in a drawer. Of course, other people do let their CDs/Books live like that, and that's fine for them, but I love being able to see them.

I actually have the same problem, on about half that scale. I've been thinking of making a shelf for them (I figure some boards and a saw would work, but I need space to do that in).

I have a rack with room for about 430 that may be on the market soon. :-)

I'm keeping the bigger one (540) for paperbacks.� The 6 inch shelves are perfect.

Yeah, I also prefer keeping the CDs WITH their cases.� I do use binders to transport CDs, or if the CD didn't have a case in the first place (usually burned CDs), but I hate to separate them otherwise.

kind of drastic? try extremely drastic and way overdone. jewel cases are great, and you can easily see all your CDs in a shelf and pick out the ones you want to listen to quickly. without jewel cases, it takes forever to find anything, even if you do have a "system."

of course, it's not quite as ridiculous as what I heard one person claim to do - when he gets new CDs, he puts them into his 300 CD changer and throws away everything else - liner notes, jewel cases... all gone.

that's really strange. But� what will he do when he purchases his 301st CD.
Get another changer? ;-D

he'll probably throw away a CD he doesn't listen to much anymore. :)

Many of my CDs live in 3 places at once. The discs are in the 300 disc changer, the inserts are in a case logic case by alphabetical order, with number labels telling you what slot in the changer the disc is, and the jewel cases are in boxes in the basement. This seems needlessly complex, maybe, but I was running out of room and now I'm ok again. I have a couple of CD towers full of discs in addition to the changer, but now the number of loose discs is manageable. Before, when there were 300 more of them, It was out of control

First of all, prerecorded and studio stuff goes on Ikea shelving that takes up a (partial) wall. Like others have said, cases are too useful. Of course, each of the shelving units I have only holds about 180 CDs, so I've got four of 'em side-by-side.. you'd need like twice that, which is probably prohibitively expensive. But it sure would look good :-)

Secondly, like Josh, all the music is ripped to my server and shared (via iTunes) to the two laptops in the apartment. It's also on one of my extra computers at work, so I don't have too much time without pretty much the entire collection at my fingertips.

Oh, and another reason for the cases & CDs: Even with fairly high quality rips, it's still nicer to use the CDs themselves when listening to something on a halfway decent stereo. So the CD collection lives near the stereo, and the sharing's for when I don't want to bother with the stereo or I'm listening to something as background music alone.

Thirdly, the live music (both audio & data format, depending on how I got it) is stored in tyvek sleeves in a desk-height three-drawer container that I got at an Organized Living or somesuch store a few years back. I'm going to have to figure out where I got it, though, because it's just about full and I'm going to need another one soon.

Oh, and finally, I've got two or three large Rubbermaid tubs full of CDs that we don't listen to often (Christmas music, a bunch of a cappella that I bought when I was big into that in college, etc) in the garage. They haven't been ripped to the server, but I imagine that'll happen sometime this year :-)

I looked at IKEA.� I really liked the Benno, which I think is the one you're describing.� If they only offered it in 36" width...� Or the Billy bookcases, with 7"depth. *shrug*

one of my RM mags has a DIY cd shelving unit. here is the URL, http://www.readymademag.com/feature_8_cluttercutters.php.
total aproximate cost, 75$, and so simple a chimp could do it, time consuming however.

Very nice... especially since it takes no floor space.

It's an expensive solution.. but... I have one of these, and I love it..

Yeah, I'm replying to myself.
Yeah, I'm a dork.

So, I was thinking more about this... and reading other people's replys, and I think it really comes down to all the reasons/goals you have with your cds.

I mean, for me, I'm kind of a collector. Even if I download all the tracks off a cd... or rip the cd... I need the cd, with the jewel case... with the liner notes... etc.
I want the full package.

This is why I choose a rack that allows me to see and access my discs quickly and easily. I like knowing they're there... it's comforting... in some... weird way.

I've never liked the idea of the case logic sleeve thing.... I think it bastardizes the whole concept of albums, for one thing... but also, it destroys the cds.

I like to rip my discs for easy listening (I'm about half done... every time I pull out a cd, I rip it).... but I still love having them all right there in the huge monster rack so I can just grab one on the fly if I'm jumping in a friend's car or whatever.

I'm also a collector.� I've also spent a lot of time with an outdated computer, so ripping to a hard drive has never really been an option.� I'm also cursed with dial-up, so downloading is painful as well.� My CD collection is my source of music.

As for the rack, it's a conversation piece.� Among my friends, I'm known for the CD library.� It's eye-catching without being garish.� Otherwise, I could just keep the jewels in milk crates.� The rack makes them easy to organize (I'm a bit OC about my music) and easy to find.

I like the monster rack idea for several reasons... but I can't find one that's monster enough. :-)

Ahh, yeah, that's the other thing... I'm kinda OC about it too. Heh.
This rack makes it easy to organize and KEEP organized.
:)

But, if you're really looking for something monsterous, I'd still suggest checking out boltz.com, the racks are expandable.