Do You Still Showcase Your Physical Media Collections?

It wasn't so long ago when we all owned CD towers and CD booklets, placed out in the open with loving care and pride. These days with iTunes and cloud music players taking the mainstream, however, it seems there is less and less of a need to hold onto physical media. For others, that's the exact reason why showcasing their collections is still so important.

We must admit there was something undeniably awesome about the feeling of going into a store and purchasing a CD, walking home with it as you browsed through the album art, and the act of placing the CD into the player and waiting for the experience to kick in. It was tangible. It gave you that feeling of ownership.

Digital media today seems to have lost all but the 'mixtape'-like features of previous generation's ownership attributes in the form of user-curated 'playlists.' We love the idea of having access to the entire universe of music right at our fingertips without having to own a 7000 square foot garage filled with physical media. But what about your favorite albums? Where can you show off your wonderful taste in music without letting people probe through your entire iTunes collection? Let us know what your approach towards physical collections is!

More Physical Collection Talk:
Showcasing Media Collections as Office Decor
Do You Judge Those Who Keep Hard Copy Media?

[Image: Psykfallet, Ars Technica]

Comments (13)

We have 1200 movies (both blu-ray and DVD and a few HD) in this house, so displaying them is the only way to store them! CDs, not so much, but I've slowly started getting rid of the ones that don't have some kind of sentimental value to me.

Nope. As of a few weeks ago, I started getting rid of the jewel cases for my 1,500-plus CDs and started storing the discs/artwork in purpose-built cardboard boxes. What once was a mammoth display, is now neatly tucked away in a closet. I haven't listened to a CD in ages anyway. Free at last... sort of.

records and cassettes I do. My rap tape collection is pretty fucking strong again. cds only because I haven't attempted the task of doing something about them

Rip them into itunes, then sell them at the next garage sale!

If you are not interested in displaying them near your TV/audio system, then consider getting a Sony 400-disc Blu-Ray changer. You can even daisy-chain them together.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/02/sonys-400-disc-blu-ray-mega-changer-reviewed-huge/

I used to showcase my games, music, and movies, but last time I was looking at having to buy a new cabinet to store them all, I realized that it simply wasn't worth it. So, instead of buying another media cabinet and continuing to treat my media as a "collection", I went to OfficeMax and bought some big three-ring binders along with these pages that can hold optical discs and are used in three-ring binders. Because I like to keep my collection alphabetized, I find this method better than buying the typical CD binders you see in stores, given that it allows me to rearrange or add pages without having to shuffle the discs themselves all around.

So, for a fraction of the cost of buying a new cabinet, I reduced the amount of clutter in my living area considerably. As a bonus, while I couldn't keep a set of media cabinets within arm's reach of where the media will actually get used, I can keep binders that close, so it's even more convenient for me.

My husband has over 500 DVDs (mostly Criterion), so yes, we display them. If only b/c thats the only way to store them. He also has an impressive vinyl record collection that (unfortunately for me) takes up an entire wall. He's a collector. Especially with the records. I would love a sleek minimalist home, but that's not possible when living with a collector. However, I do benifit from it so I can't complain too much.

why is there such an aversion to any type of visble physical media or entertainment equipment on this site? Most of the stuff that looks "nice" actually costs more thna it's worth in the long run and is of inferior quality.

As a record collector I'm all for the tangible, but it's all about what I'm interested in. I don't care about my CDs, so they're all tucked away in boxes and will one day get ripped onto the computer. As for movies - if iTunes downloads were comparable to blu-ray, I wouldn't buy blu-ray discs. But I do, and so they're close by to the tv. As for DVDs, they're all ripped again, and in a box. They're ugly anyway.

yep, still displaying my CD collection. dunno how long it'll last though..

why is there such an aversion to any type of visble physical media or entertainment equipment on this site?

Because if you hadn't noticed already this site is called Apartment Therapy, and folks who live in apartments are often space-constrained. Eliminating physical media (and especially the jewel cases associated with CDs and DVDs) is a great way to free up storage space.

I ripped all 700+ CDs to my hard drive in 2004, and finally recycled the jewel cases in 2008. It's made not only storage but also moving a far, far simpler affair.

Oh hell no... the few that I do own are tucked away in orange boxes. I can't even remember the last time I bought a cd or dvd.

Using netflix and itunes helps me be able to live uncluttered in my cozy 800 sq feet of home.