As the last of my CDs in the family room are stored away, I've freed up valuable wall space since I need more storage for LPs in the room.

I've been using an IKEA EXPEDIT for a while now (in the popular brown-black color) but the 4x2 I've outgrown. EXPEDIT is no longer made, being replaced by the KALLAX which has the same sized "cube" storage space (just under 13" in all dimensions) but the outer panels are a bit slimmer. I have two 2x2 KALLAX units near my desk in the same room, and both are full of LPs also.

We have a 4x2 EXPEDIT in the upstairs bedroom/office; I thought of buying a KALLAX to replace that one, and then move that one into the family room. But if I want to expand further, I would hit another snag with a mismatch.

I've since picked up two 4x2 KALLAX units in what they are calling a "grey walnut effect" color (or some such combination of those same words 😁). Those will be together along the one wall, plus I still have room to add a 1x4 KALLAX between them in the future. I had considered the 4x4 KALLAX but having these in separate pieces makes them easier to relocate, and also makes them sturdier. (If you search Google long enough, you'll find photos of the 4x4 and 5x5 KALLAX and EXPEDIT units that collapsed from too much weight...and not being properly anchored to the wall per the instructions.)

For the 2x2 unit closest to my desk, I bought inserts that fit in the cubes which provide a door for storage--I need more "hidden" space like that, so this works out perfectly. I will lose four LP storage spaces, but it will help reduce clutter in the room. IKEA also sells drawer inserts for the KALLAX but those are sold out. (And having visited the store last week, it's incredible to see how bare the KALLAX stock shelves were.)

But anyway, the KALLAX has been my go-to for LP storage, as they fit the LPs nicely without any wasted space. I believe I can fit about 80-90 albums in one cubic space. There is also room enough to display one album facing outwards in each cube, which makes for a handy decorative effect. (All Xmas albums, all CTi/Pete Turner albums, etc.)

What else is everyone using for LP storage? They are certainly heavy! So the weaker shelves need not apply. 😁
 
I used a Mapleshade modules. I only have a small number of A-Team LPs (approx. 500; the balance reside in the dungeon -- aka the garage).
 
I still have hundreds of records stored in boxes in the basement....errr, dungeon, which is where all the CDs now live, boxed up. (Since they're all ripped to a server, and backed up on a second server, I no longer need them taking up space.) There are still some records I need to bring up here, but I have the overflow of recent purchases I still need the extra room to file away.

The laserdiscs are nothing but a pain to keep around--I'll never watch most of them again, and want to keep a few rarities (some 8-inch music video Laserdiscs) that were never reissued on DVD or BluRay. I only know of one person who still collects them and, if I head to the east coast one day, I may just have him pick out what he wants and drop them off, selling or giving away the rest of them locally.

My main mode this year is downsizing--we have literally dozens of boxes from prior moves and households that have accumulated, and I'm tired of it. The local Freecycle lists and the Salivation Army are going to be seeing quite a few things from Casa Rudy this year! If we have to relocate at the end of the year, we need to be rid of anything unnecessary.
 
The local Freecycle lists and the Salivation Army are going to be seeing quite a few things from Casa Rudy this year! I
Oh, man! I know that one! I have >1000 LPs and CDs I'm going to unload on Discogs at bargain basement prices down the road...only because I want to be assured the music will be passed on to someone who will enjoy it.
 
I graduated from Sanford Meridian high school on May 23, 1985 in Sanford, MI. I started collecting CD's NOT albums starting in August of 1986 when I was 21 years old & got a brand new stereo receiver, Technics turntable & Technics CD player. I am NOT buying anymore albums (reissues or brand new) because I do have a very big CD collection in my house (not sure how much I have) including downloading from Apple iTunes too on blank CD.
 
At least some of the lesser-known CD titles we tend to buy will be worth something, but I know the common stuff is pretty much worthless these days, and many used record stores around me stopped buying CDs in recent years since they are dead inventory. The one store I know that was actively buying CDs was highly selective in what they purchased, and as long as it wasn't dirt common and they didn't have a copy in stock already, they usually would buy it. On the flip side, I have a small record store within walking distance of the house and they regularly have 25 cent CD sales to clear out that inventory. And apparently, not much of it sells since they do this every couple of weeks. 50 cent DVDs also.

As for my own CD storage, after ripping everything, I found I would pull out a single CD maybe once or twice a year to look at it for some information (maybe something in the booklet, or the matrix on the CD hub) but otherwise, they're taking up valuable space that I could utilize storing records and other things in the room. When we move somewhere larger, I'll hopefully have room to put them out again.

For now, it's a matter of making the most of the limited space I have. And the downsizing is a real issue here. We still have partial households of items boxed up and never opened since we moved in here over a decade ago. I've had to move all of it at least twice, mostly by myself. It's not something I want to go through again. Honestly, I'd rather be out on the bike trails doing a 50 mile round trip ride for exercise, rather than humping boxes up and down the basement stairs to a rental trailer! 😁

It's so tempting to rent a dumpster and get rid of everything quickly, but with many families in need, a lot of our extra accumulated "stuff" is best given away to them. I put together a new microwave cart yesterday, and not wanting to toss the old one, we listed the old one online for free and it was claimed by someone down the street within 10 minutes. Sure, some of what we have could bring a few bucks in a sale, but it's just so much easier to get rid of it as we go through boxes, vs. trying to set aside even more precious space to reserve for a yard/garage sale.
 
Ugh! Your mention of IKEA shelving has triggered me!

Back in San Diego I had everything on Billy shelves in the color Brown. The LPs were in a few Bondie units (also in IKEA Brown) which were deeper (and sturdier) than Billy with a nice roughly 13x13 "hole."
To make the move "smaller" I sold or gave a way all my Billy units, planning to either get new ones once we got settled in Texas or to transition to something different (maybe even custom or built in shelving) once we found the right house. I DID KEEP my Bondie units, though as they were discontinued a year or so before we moved and were nearly ideal for LPs.

So I bought a few new Brown Billy units once we got the house, with the plan to buy three or four more every payday or so until the room was surrounded by Brown Billys. I got my new Brown Billys home, opened the box to assemble them and... SHOCKER! IKEA changed the color of their Brown furniture. The new brown was less "red" and the finish less wood grain looking. So the new challenge was to hope no one would notice the subtle (according to Mrs. Bill, but not at all subtle to me) difference between them and my Bondie units and continue on. (Research showed that IKEA subtly changed almost every color in their pallet except the white laminate and the black laminate)

As we worked on other rooms it was time to shift back to the Man Cave room (as we call it) and go get some more Brown Billy units... Only to discover Brown has been COMPLETELY discontinued!!! IKEA BlackBrown is the closest to it. This caused a LOT of friction around the Bill household, as my vision for the room was based on IKEA Brown. Accusations flew ranging from Mrs. Bill knew this would happen to IKEA has a conspiracy against me and everywhere in between. There was even a week where Mr. and Mrs. Bill didn't speak to each other. It was bad. Almost War of the Roses bad...

As if this wasn't disappointing enough, they had discontinued the Benno CD/DVD units that matched Billy perfectly. On the plus side there was a new Gnedby line which, while of slightly different construction, still matched Billy visually.

So my choices were white laminate, light Ash, Black Brown or black laminate. Colorwise there's virtually no difference between those last two, only you have wood grain with Black Brown and no wood grain with the laminate. To keep it "woody" I went with Black Brown.

This time, thinking ahead -- meaning not trusting IKEA to NOT discontinue something before I finished getting all that I needed -- I went ahead and bought all the Billys I needed in both widths and heights, as well as the rest of the Gnedbys I'd need at once. And ALL in Black Brown. And it's good I did -- Gnedby has been discontinued now so there's no IKEA shelves specifically tailored for CDs any more.

This has left me with two issues, which I've sort of solved:
1 - Those first few alternate Brown Billys will move into the game closet to hold the games (freeing the adjustable wire units to go to my Lego Room. And...
2 - The Brown Bondies and the few Bennos that are Brown... MY CDO (CDO is like OCD except the letters are in alphabetical order, as they should be, dammit) really notices the difference. My workaround is to stain the front edges of them to match the Black Brown. No way will I try to stain every surface... Just the front edge that is exposed (and the two side panels on either side of the Big Screen and Component rack).

I did manage some clever IKEA hacks to accommodate the extensions above the Benno/Gnedby CD shelves which are only half the depth of Billy, allowing me to use the space above without collectible crap falling behind. And on one wall I hacked extensions to "bridge" over short Billy's allowing favorite framed posters to hang on the wall between and betwixt units. I'm happy with the look of these.

My remaining challenge for the Man Cave room is one wall which has two doors and the bar, the measurements all of which do not jibe with ANY of IKEA's standard measurements. And the bar itself is a changing challenge. My original plan was to go with something like Disney World's old Adventurer's Club or the current Jake's Hangar. The IKEA Brown would've been conducive to that if I wanted to make the bar a seamless part of the room. But the Black Brown feels like it needs something more modern. So I'm torn between going modern with Black Brown for the bar as a seamless part of the room, or making the bar just be different within the room, going all Jake's Hanger, Tiki style, Brown with all my 30 years of tropical Navy relics... Basically I'm a frustrated Imagineer without an Imagineer's budget, LoL.

--Mr Bill
 
Black-brown seems like it has been around forever, as the earliest IKEA things we bought over a dozen years ago were in black-brown and they're still churning 'em out. I still have a couple of black things (the work desk is IKEA, so the black-brown file cabinet and KALLAX 2x2s fit with them). But overall I want to move to more natural look with wood, as there is a lot of Southwest motif in the room. It's not a tiny room, but not overly huge either, so anything dark tends to make the room feel closed-in.

I do know someone who has a Tiki bar in their basement. Pretty cool! But they also own a custom woodworking shop, so all the woodwork was gratis (aside from materials). I would order custom shelving from them, but it's way outside my budget. 😁 But it's all handcrafted and quality is top notch.

 
Ugh! Your mention of IKEA shelving has triggered me!
A real man would have bought lumber, and built the shelving units himself. 😜






... says the guy with LPs in boxes, shopping bags, and plastic milk crates. 🤣
 
We have Ikea shelving units for CDs. I forget the same, but they configure to a cube-shaped shelf that hold about 18 CDs in jewel cases. Each narrow unit has 12 shelves, and we have seven of those units. They gang together at the top with a giant metal "staple" that fits in pre-defined holes. And I've outgrown those, so another full ~2-foot wide bookshelf has been pressed into service next to the Ikeas. The bookshelves are subdivided with cardboard so that each of the five shelves hold twice the number of CDs.

For records, my wife went to an unfinished furniture store near us up north. She commissioned two custom, matching LP shelves with three shelves each. They hold a great portion of my records. She finished the shelves herself, and my stereo equipment sits on top, with the TV in between.

There are still two boxes of "extra" records stuffed away in a closet, (mostly duplicates and records replaced by CDs) and another row of a record assortment in a bedroom armoire. Those are Christmas LPs, comedy records, and some odd records that don't fit in with the rest of my collection.

The 45s inhabit one narrowish bookshelf, plus a wider shelf on another bookshelf.
 
Heh, I have one small plastic rack from the early 80s that all of my "good" 45s live in. I rarely buy them, and usually only for unreleased tracks. I do have a stash of 45s in the basement, including one recent cheap batch purchased for use on the RCA Victrola 45 I have yet to refurbish. (That might be my winter project this year, along with the Grundig 2420-U that needs some new capacitors.) They're nothing I'd be heartbroken over losing, as anything out of those that I liked I have already replaced on LP or digitally.

The CD racks I used would hold just over 500 single CD jewel cases each. I don't even think they sell racks like these anymore. Basically two slim end boards, with three long hardwood dowels per row that the CDs set in at a slight angle. From the photo below (taken a while ago), you can see the two dowels beneath each row, with the third hidden behind the CDs. From the offset of the previous row on top, you can see that they are somewhat tilted to make reading easier.

PXL_20220104_160038582-01.jpeg

There are wood dividers that can be used for partial rows, which hook over the dowels. After years of use, the dowels have not sagged at all. (I think I still had these from back when I lived at my parents' house in the mid to late 80s.) I have a third rack that is much cheaper, a similar design but unfinished, and uses flat boards as opposed to dowels--it's more rickety and holds half the capacity.

I do hope that when we get to a bigger place that I can put these out again, as I really like them. Although I don't play them anymore, leaving them in boxes just feels wrong.

I would prefer longer shelves for LPs than the KALLAX cubes, but LPs are heavy and having this support in the cubes is worth it. The 4x2 can only be placed on its short side (four high, two wide), based on how the shelving components are oriented. (If I put the 4x2 down on its long side, then each LP shelf is supported only by four small wooden dowel pins.) A bit inconvenient for heavy storage, but since I'm doubling up, it's not quite so awkward.
 
I love seeing those "Living Stereo" CDs right next to AC/DC... Your tastes are obviously as eclectic as mine! I'm guessing you put your Various Artist Comps BEFORE the letter "A"? I put them after "Z" but before "Soundtracks." Or are those Classicals? But from your photo I'm glad to se Herb Alpert under "A" as opposed to "H" as i-Tunes (and Millennials/Gen Z-ers) seem to do...

--Mr Bill
 
I've got three different orderings for my media. On the record shelves, all of the A&M albums are grouped together in alpha order by last name at the start. Those occupy about 1/3 of the displayed collection. Then all other artists, alpha by last name - then Various Artist comps, then some soundtrack albums.

On the CD shelves, it's strictly alpha be last name, starting with ABBA and down to ZZ Top. Then Various Artists largely by title, then soundtracks, movie first then TV. After that is classical usually by composer, and then Christmas usually by title.

On the computer, Windows Media Player alphabetizes by first name, so rather than fight that, I've learned to live with it. I also generalize artists with the main name, so all of the Herb Alpert, whether TJB or with Masekela, it's all just under Herb Alpert. Same with Sergio, same with Paul McCartney. That way, I can see all of Sergio Mendes albums and tracks in one list, and can see how many iterations of "Waters Of March" he's done.
 
I organize all mine (albums and CDs) exactly the way you do your CDs, Harry. The only exception being Christmas which goes with the artist or Various Artists accordingly. I once toyed with separating the A&M and I.R.S. from the rest, but in my teens, I did that with my book collection where I was obsessed with Del Rey Books and kept them separate from the other SF and Fantasy. It made less sense as I started collecting pre-Del Rey Ballantine versions of the books, so I never did it with my A&M items. Heck, now ALL my fiction is alphabetical by author, regardless of genre.

On the computer I've renamed everything (which seems to irritate iTunes as it likes to change it back if I move or copy a file -- that's where the "fight" is!)... So, I have Herb thusly:
Alpert, Herb
Alpert, Herb and Tijuana Brass (I don't differentiate the two 70s TJBs, Bullish or that quirk where they labelled it "Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass" for a couple albums, though the label and even the A&M catalog did)
Alpert, Herb and Hugh Masekela
Alpert, Herb and Lani Hall
And in those last two cases, I have the files duplicated so you will find:
Hall, Lani (and Herb Alpert)
Masekela, Hugh (and Herb Alpert)
I add the parenthesis when putting the secondary artist in their own "section" because that's not how the artist is indicated on the label (Herb is first on the label)
In Hugh Masekela's case the actual release uses a "/" between Herb and Hugh, but I went with "and" since a "/" could cause a computer to go apoplectic!
Where I go nuts is when a person's name is part of the band's name. For example I.R.S. artist The Leslie Spitt Trio is filed as "Leslie Spitt Trio, The" (This is why I lumped those "Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass" LPs as "Alpert, Herb and Tijuana Brass" -- otherwise they'd be sitting alone in the "H" section).

Filing and organizing is a critical part of the lives of those of us with CDO! My Lego sorting table is a sight to behold, as you can imagine. And now I'm going through all my hardware drawers in the "garage" and doing nails, screws and washers (etc)... Part of me just wants to dump it all in the recycle bin and buy new ones and start with them organized... (CDO, you ask? See my previous comment on CDO versus OCD, LoL)

--Mr Bill
 
I love seeing those "Living Stereo" CDs right next to AC/DC... Your tastes are obviously as eclectic as mine! I'm guessing you put your Various Artist Comps BEFORE the letter "A"? I put them after "Z" but before "Soundtracks." Or are those Classicals? But from your photo I'm glad to se Herb Alpert under "A" as opposed to "H" as i-Tunes (and Millennials/Gen Z-ers) seem to do...
The Living Stereo titles were the last of the rows of SACDs (classical at the end), so the regular "A" titles began there. Can't say I hardly listen to the AC/DC titles--I picked up all of them cheap to make my own compilation a couple of decades ago, and kind of forgot about them. At least with my digital setup now, cherry picking a few tunes I want to hear is much easier than dragging out half a dozen CDs and ping-ponging out of a chair and across the room several times in half an hour. 🙄

My Roon Player can sort by either last or first name if I want it to (I use last name if a group name isn't used), but given that computers alphabetize things alphanumerically, I've switched to using first names for the directory structure on my media servers (which isn't visible to anyone but myself), as I find it easier to scan the directories that way. I use search so much in the player that it's kind of a moot point anyway. I'll search for an artist, tap a couple of choices, and start playing.

CDs were sorted all alphabetically, but I had SACDs at the top with DVD-Audio (of which I only had a dozen titles). For LPs, I split them into sections...for now, anyway. I put all the recent 180g releases and older audiophile recordings right at the top, so I don't forget to play them. (Memory's not so good anymore.) After that it's jazz. Rock/pop follows the jazz, although the 12" singles live in their own space now vs. being intermixed. Classical follows the rock/pop section. Instrumental is tucked way down on the bottom since I don't often play those.
 
The color is a success (walnut effect grey, it says). One sits slightly higher than the other because the carpet was compacted beneath the old unit. I have enough space for a 4x1 between these two, once I slight the right unit over (removing the rekkids first). I would gain three cubes, as the subwoofer (just beyond the right shelving unit) would have to move into one of the spaces. (It normally fires down to the floor, but can be converted in about a minute to face forward.) The third row will be mostly empty for now--the cube on the left are titles to be filed, and the far right are part of a stack of rejects, with a few I don't need in the shelves anymore. I moved other furniture in the house today, so sorting through all these records will have to wait. 😁

PXL_20220108_045612253-01.jpeg
 
With my latest retrieval from the basement archives (in other words, storage boxes) and rearranging the LPs a bit more, I've now filled up all 16 of the cubes. I have two remaining on a separate 2x2 unit across from this one--one is 3/4 full of LPs that are removed from the main collection (duplicates, replacements, etc.) and the other I have stacked some innersleeves outer jacket sleeves temporarily. So at most I have two to expand into. I may change my mind and get another 1x4 to put between the two pictured. I'll lose one to the subwoofer, but otherwise I'll have more room to expand.
 
The color is a success (walnut effect grey, it says).
😒

😠

😡


So earlier this year I went to get another unit or two, and they discontinued this color. Yeah, I'm a bit cheesed about it. At are minimum I wanted a 1x4 to fit between the two 2x4 units shown above. It would have perfectly filled out the wall in the room.

Such is life.

I'm at a point now where I'm not sure how I need to reorganize my LPs.

Years ago, everything was alphabetical, and intermixed. So even the 12-inch singles were among the LPs, filed by artist, somewhat chronological order.

As I've probably mentioned, my 180g or audiophile vinyl is all at the top, mainly so I don't forget about what I bought. Next is jazz, followed by classical, pop/rock, then instrumental/soundtrack/vocal/misc. I sort of want to do a hybrid where jazz is on top, followed by the others as listed, but mixing in the 180g/audiophile records. It's kind of chaotic to have a few Brubeck or Genesis albums in both places.

Yet again...it's the memory thing holding me up. If I don't see the good stuff up top, I'll overlook them.

Plus, I'm going through a purge right now and weeding out records I no longer want or will ever listen to again. Partly to free up room, and also to continue the downsizing project.
 
Don't get me going on colors being discontinued...., IKEA F'd me in the A twice with their color change/color cancel shenanigans... :tsk:
 
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