Collecting records

I stopped at Bleeker Street Records yesterday and made a long overdue acquisition.  I picked up a vinyl copy of one of my favorite albums of 2008 that has stayed in heavy rotation throughout 2009.  It got me thinking about my approach to buying records.

I don’t keep a huge book collection and I’ve been sparing in my record purchases for the same reason. Books and LPs take up a huge amount of space and weigh a ton — not great possession characteristics for an apartment dweller who moves around a lot.  I love to buy and own both, though, so I’m frequently tempted to grab something I hear is good or pick up a classic I think (in the moment) everyone should own. But I’ve amassed more records than I want to store that I don’t really love to listen to.

Yesterday’s score made me consider a new strategy for curating my perfect record collection.  The records I most enjoy owning and playing are like the album I bought yesterday — they were top favorites when they were released and they stuck with me long after the initial buzz.

So here’s my new approach: I’m going to look back through all my recent best of the year lists and pick out the albums I still listen to over and over. Then I’m going to get rid of the stuff that doesn’t absolutely thrill me. I still need to think on how to pick the older stuff I most love, but this is a good start.