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Foetusized's Page o' CD Collecting Links
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Links
more places on the web to look for compact disc related information
This section is for links that didn't fit elsewhere in this section; links to other sites on the
web which will help you learn about CD collecting and the discs that you own. The CDDB search engine, discussed elsewhere in this site, can also be handy.
A great document from the US Library of Congress; practical, easy to understand
advice for the care of all sorts of recording media, including compact discs. Included is
an extensive bibliography; this is a well-researched set of guidelines.
Some of the best sources of discographical information are the many web sites
dedicated to particular artists. The problem is finding these sites; the two
directories above are useful for finding them. Type the name of the artist in
the spot provided on each page (try using the "just this category" option with
ODP, or broaden the search if necessary) and look at your options.
I am an editor with the ODP, where I help maintain this set of links. Many of the entries there
are also on this list (although with shorter descriptions), and many of them are not as
specific to CD collecting (the 8-track collecting sites are fun to visit), but there are some
nice sites listed there as well, if I say so myself.
The reference book I have used the most in the past fifteen years is the fourth
edition of the Trouser Press Record Guide, a wonderfully complete & quite accurate book.
The text from all five editions are once again available on the Internet; author
Ira Robbins now has the site back under his control and is adding new reviews to the entries.
The All-Music Guide publishes CD guidebooks, and also has a searchable database on the
internet. I have not made much use of this site, as previous visits had found some large errors
(such as cross-referencing the Roger Taylor of Duran Duran and the Roger Taylor of Queen as if
they were the same man), but they have now fixed these major problems. Overall the quality of
their data continues to improve.
Muze has been in business for over 50 years, providing information about recorded music for
record shops. Their printed directories are standbys at retail outlets, and now this data is
available on the web. While not 100% complete, the discographical information they provide can
be trusted as the truth. Muse has stopped carrying this information on their own site now,
though, but offer it for sale to other sites, particularly online retailers. The BBC is one of
the sites that buy this data and make it available.
Another record guide that has returned data from their published books back to their site after having removed it in the
past. Currently their guides to Rock, Classical, and World music available on the site, including new reviews and updates
that have been added since they were last published in hardcopy.
Official site for the settlement from the class-action lawsuit against the "big five" music labels for keeping the retail
prices of CDs artificially high, through the use of "Minimum Advertised Prices." This practice kept music retailers from
advertising prices on sales of CDs below a minimum price. News and terms of the settlement are on this site; checks were
sent to individual consumers in February 2004, and free CDs are being distrubed to libraries and educational institutions.
If you have questions about the CD clubs (BMG or Columbia House), this FAQ might help. Last updated in 1999, it is in outline format, and focuses on the strategy for getting discs at the lowest cost -- join, fulfill, quit
and rejoin.
A collector of three inch CDs is building this online discography with images, from his own collections and using submissions from others.
I have not gotten into the area of collecting soundtrack compact discs, but
this area has many devotees. This is the collecting page in a larger site
about film soundtracks, and looks to be a good place to learn more about this
collecting speciality. Due to the small pressing run for some of these discs,
there are quite a few rare & valuable soundtrack CDs.
Bootlegs (recordings of questionable origins) are another popular area of CD collecting, and Hot
Wacks has been publishing the best guides to bootleg recordings for many years now. Their site
has information about their books, three articles about the history and business of bootlegs, and
a forum for the buying & selling of these recordings.
Gold audiophile CDs are yet another area of CD collecting. Besides the better sound
quality (lost on me due to my damaged hearing), the smaller edition sizes and higher initial
retail prices for these discs have rightly made them collector's items. This site has
discographies listing these discs pressed both by mainstream labels and such specialty labels
as the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (which recently reopened and started
releasing SACD titles), as well as some links to places that sell these discs.
I pretty much only collect popular music discs; building a library of Classical music on CD is
an entirely different matter, as often many different recordings of the same work are available.
This guide is a good place to start, and includes a good beginner's section. Also on
ClassicalNet's site is a basic repertoire list and some CD recommendations.
Goldmine is probably the best known publication for music collectors, but maintains a strong
slant toward record collecting (as opposed to CDs). Discoveries is another publication about
record and compact disc collecting, now owned by the same publishers as Goldmine. Their web
sites contains information about the magazines (such as subcription information and some
sample articles), and both pages share a set of links including classified ads, a dealer
directory, and forums. Some features require registration.
ICE Magazine ("The CD News Authority") is a monthly publication about music on compact disc.
Their web site features a nice list of upcoming release dates, as well as information about
the current issue. There's also a chat room and message board area,
home to thriving community of CD enthusiasts.
This publishing company specializes in information on "oldies" on CD, and publish a guidebook and
a quarterly newsletter on the subject. Their web site includes some very nice discographies and
a message board. There is coverage of such issues as stereo vs. mono remasters, and the relative
merits of different compact disc reissues (such as discussing which CD has the best version of a
particular classic single).
I have never purchased anything from CDNow (due to my own personal bias toward buying used CDs),
but I have made use of their database for information on track listings and release dates for
upcoming releases. Sound samples from many releases are also available. Most all of the other
large Internet CD retailers (take your pick, you know who they are) can be used for this purpose
without one having to make a purchase. CDNow now uses Amazon to take and fulfil their orders.
When someone asks me what a CD is worth, my answer is that it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. One good place to get such data for free is from eBay. Use the "completed auctions" feature with the search, and be sure to account for shipping prices when looking at past sale prices (copies of CDs that seem far too low may have had an unreasonably high shipping cost).
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© 1998-2005 foetusized.org
Find any typos or have any questions, let me know.
All email asking me to sell or to make
illegal copies of my CDs will be ignored.
Last updated 30 December 2005.