A guide to CD collecting

 A guide to CD collecting

About a year ago I began collecting CDs, I'd been wanting to start doing something of the sorts for a while, with the most obvious choice being vinyl as they're back in fashion at the minute and are pretty awesome. Unfortunately, being a student with very little room and money, it was a bit unrealistic to be able to afford a decent record player, storage for the records and to be able to grow my collection at a decent rate. So I turned to CDs, and I honestly couldn't be happier. Currently I have just over 125 CDs in my collection, all neatly alphabetised and sorted which go very nicely in a cheap CD shelf which doesn't take up too much room and cost me far less money than they're worth according to Discogs. For anyone who wants to start a music collection or simply wants a physical reminder of the music and artists they love, I would highly reccomend CDs.

But, like everything, there are a few tips and tricks that take a bit of working out to get the best out of collecting the medium. They've taken me a little while to get the hang of and I'm sure I'll continue to get the hang of it more, but here are the tips I've learnt so far. Without further ado, let's get going.

Start with a disc drive
A lot of people's reservations with CDs is that they no longer have any way to play them, with a lot of laptops no longer having disc drives and very few people having CD players. While a decent CD player isn't stupidly expensive, in the short-term a very good solution is simply to buy a disc drive like this one for less than £10. While it's no way near as aesthetically pleasing as a CD player or record player, it's a good starting place and does the job nicely. It has the added bonus of being very portable and small. 

Some websites to begin with

When I first began collecting I primarily used Music Magpie to do so. They pretty much always have 2 for £3 and 4 for £8 offers on, although bear in mind these tend to be the more common and more mainstream records. The CDs on here tend to be cheap, quick to deliver and you get what you pay for, but they are pretty much all second-hand without any idea of the condition of the CD you're buying, so while some are in mint condition, a lot have a few scratches and some have major cracks and tears.

Most local record stores have websites that are worth checking out and there are still a few online cd shops in the UK such as Tower Records and HMV. Ebay is also worth a shout as they often have some good deals and joblots and things, although a lot of these are bids and that's a bloody pain. Lastly, there's Amazon, I try to avoid this as much as possible because of Jeff Bezos being a dick, but they do have a very good selection of CDs at very good prices, always worth a shout if you're struggling to find a specific one. 

Find your local record stores and go in often as you can

Whilst browsing online is great and useful, there's nothing quite like doing this in person, and it's just great to support your local record shop. A lot of these tend to be geared more towards vinyl than CDs, but this is changing a bit and the majority of record shops will still have a decent CD selection. So go online, look in your local area and go as often as possible, they tend to change stock a lot. For anyone in the Cardiff area I recommend Spiller Records (the oldest record shop in the world) in Morgan Arcade, Kelly's record shop in the Cardiff Market and The Record Shop near Albany Road. 

Go into charity shops whenever you pass them

Charity shops pretty much always have CDs, normally tucked away near the books and DVDs, but they're always stupidly cheap, anywhere from £2 a pop to 25p. Granted they will be fairly old copies and not much outside of the mainstream, and if you're in Wales it's pretty much nothing but Stereophonics CDs. But they're always worth a gander. 

Buying new is nice, but not always necessary

Don't get me wrong, a nice new CD in its shrink-wrap, untouched and in mint condition is really lovely, especially if its a rarer piece, but its not always necessary, and they're significantly more expensive than second hand. A lot of record-stores will have second-hand CDs for a cheaper price, which will still be in good condition but about half the price of a new copy.

Keep an eye on band's new releases and offers

If there's a band you particularly like, follow them on social media and subscribe to mailing lists, and just keep your eyes peeled in general. A lot of the time bands will do offers on new CDs, repressings, bundles and signed versions which tend to sell out quickly but are not always expensive, I managed to get a copy of Post Human: Survival Horror with a signed postcard for a tenner. 

Buy from independent shops, labels and bands as much as possible

This goes for pretty much everything, but even more so for physical media, record stores rely on these sales and while it is marginally easier to buy it off Amazon, it's just better to buy from an independent. Doing so ensures that grassroots music will continue to thrive and create more fantastic music for us to enjoy. 

Use Discogs to track what you have

If you're anywhere near as nerdy as me, you'll want to keep a track of your collection as it grows, and Discogs allows you to do that. All you  need to do is track down the exact copy of the CD you have (you'll get the hang of this, my tip is to look for the country of production first, then go to the mold print and compare the numbers there) and add it to your collection. You'll be able to see your collection grow, and see the value satisfyingly grow as you collect more. It also allows you to keep track of the CDs you want, as well as buy them from the marketplace. 

Keep a list of what albums you want/need

It's always worth keeping a copy of the CDs you want next on hand, the notes app or Discogs app is useful, as you never know when you're going to stumble across a record or charity shop. It also always helps to know what you're looking for in a shop as it can be often a little difficult otherwise. As a quick example here's what's on my current list:

Daybreaker - Architects

Sunbather - Deafheaven 

The Smiths - The Smiths

The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New

Iron and Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle

There are one or two things worth knowing about CDs before you start collecting, especially if you intend on using Discogs (which I highly reccomend) to log them, including some terminology.

- There are 3 main types of CD cases: Jewel case (the standard plastic case that first comes to mind), Digipack (a form of cardboard sleeve that folds open), and a gatefold (similar to digipacks but a little thicker) as well as other types such as boxes and sleeves. 

- The average cost of a new CD is around £10 for standard editions

- Most second-hand CDs go for around £5 depending on condition

- Discogs marketplace is a bit of a last-ditch resort if you're struggling to find them elsewhere, they tend to be a bit more expensive and the shipping fees can be a bit much.

As you begin to buy and collect CDs you'll realise that some are harder to find than others, as well as some just being better and more valuable than others. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for when browsing CDs:

- Deluxe editions are always worth buying, even if you have the original

- Early prints of old CDs (i.e. The Beatles, Iron Maiden, Velvet Underground), or even just ones that aren't a super recent re-print are quite a bit more valuable 

- Cult bands such as The Hotelier, Cap N' Jazz, Captain Beefheart, or just bands that got popular after their initial active period tend to have quite valuable CDs so they're always worth snapping up if you come across them.

- The same goes for the following bands, always snap them up if you find them: Early Iron Maiden, Queen, The Smiths, David Bowie and Bob Dylan.

You'll develop your own tips and tricks for collecting CDs over time as you go, but there are my little tidbits of knowledge that I've learnt. Enjoy hunting!

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