# Do you have a method for choosing what music to purchase next?



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Assuming you're like me and want almost everything you see, but don't want to go overboard on your budget or your time, how in the world do you choose what to purchase next in these times of unparalleled choice in available music?

As I posted elsewhere I have about 166 classical and 110 non-classical albums I'm interested in (that I know of, that is).


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

At the moment I order from my favourite on-line retailer (Presto) whenever I'm within a couple of discs of running out of new ones.

I discipline myself to keep my orders down to 5 discs, counting a 2 CD case or an inexpensive box set as one choice, and I only order when the previous delivery box is getting empty (every 6-8 weeks I suppose).

Amongst the five discs /sets I tend to order:
Something British
Some chamber music
Some art songs
Some solo instrumental works
Something orchestral
Something modern or contemporary
A composer new to me
(obviously a few of these categories are mutually incompatible)

Within that 'structure' I just tend to go with what I've been thinking about or listening to on Spotify.

The only indulgence I allow myself is that if I see one of you extolling the virtues of something that really interests me I will occasionally seek it second hand, or if I visit a shop selling classical CDs I might be tempted to buy something - increasingly this happens only abroad. (I accept presents too, but only if I can specify work and recording! Vox Jr. can be relied on to research choices thoroughly and is exempt. In truth he's much fussier than I am.)


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## Dr Johnson (Jun 26, 2015)

I wish I could say that I was disciplined but Amazon, Hyperion etc and a credit card (often combined with a glass or two of wine*) mean that monkey see, monkey make online purchase.




*Always within government guidelines. Yeah right.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2015)

I number my wish list and consult my _I Ching_.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

My playlists include:

3 chronological music history discs
3 label specific discs in release date order
3 performer specific discs in release date order
2 composer specific compilation discs in composition order (made by myself from CDs & I-Tunes purchases)

As each of the first discs in the series gets enough plays for me to start to get tired of it, I purchase or make another to add on to the series to replace it.

I venture to say I am the only person in the entire world who does this, so it will be of little or no value to you.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

Dr Johnson said:


> *Always within government guidelines. Yeah right.


For classical CDs and downloads too?


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

I leave the purchase decision rather free and open. I now try not to be so focused on getting a particular recording. I rather enjoy random chances - sale event, price drop on Amazon, etc. - I buy it when I see it available at good price.

I also have Amazon wishlist and mental wishlist but don't track them as closely as I used to. Using streaming service definitely helps control my addiction. Once I hear the recording via streaming the desire to purchase CD is greatly reduced.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Not really, I buy whatever interesting objects appear each month in the new release catalogue and/or instantly react to the impulses I get from a host of web-fora. 
Whenever I travel, the first thing I check out is if there are any interesting second hand CD sellers were I'm at. 
I also have a list in my wallet with a few hundred titles that I regret not getting over the years/that I feel is missing in my collection.

/ptr


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

TurnaboutVox said:


> . . .
> 
> Something British
> Some chamber music
> ...


This sounds as involved as some of my methods for choosing what to listen to next. I think the method, the ritual, is part of the enjoyment.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

Yes, certainly, Weston. I don't have to do this (and I could listen to a lot of what I want to hear on Spotify) but it's fun to see what I can do with self-limited choices. 

I have always thought that there was much more fun to be had from choosing 6 sweets from the sweet shop than from being let loose in there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whoops! My first effort read '66 sweets' which is certainly what you'd call a Freudian slip!


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm rather methodical in my purchasing. I might start to long for more of a certain composer, so I will scan Amazon for what's available and temporarily add them to my Wish List. Once I have added all of the possibilities, I will commence sampling and weeding, until I have refined the list to the ones I want. Then, it's buy, baby, buy  If there are too many, I might shelve a couple for the next time I feel a need for more by that composer.

However, a new pattern is starting to emerge, since I really do have a lot of music by my primary composers. Other than alternate versions, there isn't really all that much more to get and I rarely feel that I need to have every last work. Increasingly, I will see a disc on the Current Listening thread, or elsewhere, that gets me interested in a composer I might not have been much interested in previously. Since the composer is less familiar to me, I tend to go to You Tube, in order to get a more thorough sample of the music. I admit that I am far more reticent to purchase a composer I'm not completely sold on than I am with a composer I've loved for years. I like to be sure, so I listen over days, weeks, even months, letting the works become absorbed. If I find myself becoming obsessed with the composer, then I know that I am ready to get some albums.


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