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When do you get rid of a CD?


LJazz

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I'm sure we've all been through this before: You buy a CD and it just doesn't live up to your expectations. Or maybe you really don't like something, but it either grows on you over time or you come back to it later and it suddenly sounds good to you.

So, when do you give up on a recording? How long do you keep a CD or box set before selling/trading it if it doesn't grab you from day one?

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I'm VERY bad about getting rid of music.

I actually regret getting rid of the only two items I can think of that I've ever returned.

One was in the early 60s. I bought the Kingsmen lp with "Louie Louie" on it, thought the band sounded like schittt and I returned it to the record store.

The other was a Walter Becker cd that came out about 10 years ago. Again I returned it to the store.

In both cases I wish I had the recordings. I know The Kingsmen won't sound like accomplished players to me, but I think I might get more of a kick out of it now. I can't actually bring myself to buy the cd reissue. It's kind of hard to explain. As far as Becker goes...I like Fagen and Steely Dan's work so much that I'm wondering if I missed something..just listened on the wrong day or something.

Other than those two..anything I've given away or sold was duplicates or a cd that was replaced by a better quality issue. Even then I'd sooner give it to a friend than sell it.

Edited by Harold_Z
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I sold plenty of albums in the '60s and early '70s when I was on and off the dole. But I don't think I have sold anything, apart from some LPs I have bought on CD, since then.

Well, I just checked and it shows how faulty one's memory can be. I've sold 37 albums since 1975 because I didn't like them. But nothing since 1986. They've mostly gone within a few weeks of buying them.

I have a list of 91 albums I used to have and either definitely want to or might want to buy again. Not all were sold, some (mostly tapes) were chucked when they became unplayable or bust.

MG

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The only 2 albums I ever got rid of because I didn't like were Cannonball Adderley's "The Price You Have To Pay To Be Free" and Tyrone Washington's "Natural Essence." What was I thinking? Now I keep everything, even when I upgrade.

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I regularly trade stuff in. After many, many years of buying LPs/CDs, I have a pretty good idea after 2-3 listenings whether or not I'm going to like something for the long-term. I'll also periodically go through my collection and weed out stuff that I haven't listened to for a LONG time and don't think is otherwise essential.

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I'm VERY bad about getting rid of music.

I actually regret getting rid of the only two items I can think of that I've ever returned.

One was in the early 60s. I bought the Kingsmen lp with "Louie Louie" on it, thought the band sounded like schittt and I returned it to the record store.

The other was a Walter Becker cd that came out about 10 years ago. Again I returned it to the store.

In both cases I wish I had the recordings. I know The Kingsmen won't sound like accomplished players to me, but I think I might get more of a kick out of it now. I can't actually bring myself to buy the cd reissue. It's kind of hard to explain. As far as Becker goes...I like Fagen and Steely Dan's work so much that I'm wondering if I missed something..just listened on the wrong day or something.

Other than those two..anything I've given away or sold was duplicates or a cd that was replaced by a better quality issue. Even then I'd sooner give it to a friend than sell it.

The Kingsmen lp might actually be worth something now-oh well!!!!

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I've only gotten rid of one CD or LP in my life - other than some duplicates. The one that "went"? A Mosaic box. (No regrets. And bless Mosaic for its reasonable return policy. I've been back many times since.)

Now I'm curious. Which Mosaic box was it and what made you decide to return it? -- unless there is some reason you would prefer not to say.

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When I was in college, I pawned CDs and box sets with great frequency. Usually it was when a batch of Conns came out (or some other batch of reissues) and I didn't have the money to buy them. I'd usually grab a handfull of rock CDs or a box set that I didn't listen to very often and trade or sell them in order to get the jazz CDs I wanted. In those days I prioratized jazz over rock, so this was fairly easy for me. The problem was that I always wound up regretting getting rid of the rock CDs. In fact, there are a few that I've sold and bought back two times or more! I've ended replacing nearly every CD or box set I've ever sold, and for obvious reasons I hardly ever sell or trade anything anymore. Every so often I will upgrade something I already own, which gives me a buch of duplicates that I can then trade or sell on eBay. Otherwise, I never get rid of anything, much to my wife's chagrin...

As to the question of not liking something, I've found that in recent years I've become so broadminded (relative to the way I was when I was younger) that I'd have to really go a LONG way to find something that's so distasteful that I'd get rid of it right away. Do I ever take risks? Yes, but I usually research things very carefully (listening to samples and such) before I take the plunge, so I rarely walk into something with my eyes completely shut. For example, after reading several very positive reviews, I decided to check out the Dixie Chicks. I've been exploring country music lately, and this seemed a fairly natural progression of an existing interest. First, I got their most recent album "Taking the Long Way" which is pretty good. Then I got "Home" which has a more traditional country feel (and I honestly like better than the new one). Now what if I had decided I hated it? Well, I'd just listen to it all the harder to decide what about it I didn't like!

Edited by Alexander
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I try to purge my collection by about 10% once every two or three years, and I think I have a much better collection for having done so. I think my Jazz CD's currently number about 800 or 900, though at one time I'm sure they were much closer to 1,200. Can't say I really miss much of what I've gotten rid of over the yeras. Maybe one or two dates, here and there - but I so often buy things that look interesting -- particularly out of bargain bins -- that some of them never live up to my expectations at all. And there's no point in keeping things that I'm just not ever gonna listen to much.

I've only gotten rid of one Mosaic set over the years (the very first one I ever bought - the Don Cherry set), but only because all of it became available for purchase as Conns.

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Early in my interest in jazz I picked up and got rid of instantly "Out to Lunch"- big regrets, also ditched a Jimmy McGriff CD called some thing like " Down home cooking" on BN- complete garbage- no regrets there.

Otherwise I have sold, passed on/sold anything ( other than 700 disco/rock/pop 45s to the local Oxfam, pleasingly some of which they were able to flog for £10 each !!!)

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I've only gotten rid of one CD or LP in my life - other than some duplicates. The one that "went"? A Mosaic box. (No regrets. And bless Mosaic for its reasonable return policy. I've been back many times since.)

Now I'm curious. Which Mosaic box was it and what made you decide to return it? -- unless there is some reason you would prefer not to say.

It was the Goodman Capitol box. I hadn't seen a discography before buying it. When I got it, I realized I already had 93 percent of the material (including some of the 'unissued'), so I returned it and picked another box with more revelations.

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I used to be obsessed with collecting records/cds. At one time I wanted to get every Blue Note album ever made and have a collection. Now I'm more interested in mastering my instrument, spending all day practicing, and investing my money in my hobby, model trains.

I don't get attatched to records that much. Mostly, I just want to hear albums that I have seen. I would probaly just by a record or borrow it, play it, get to know it, make a tape of it or something, and that's it. I haven't had any luck selling anything. I sure would like to start though,

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For example, after reading several very positive reviews, I decided to check out the Dixie Chicks. I've been exploring country music lately, and this seemed a fairly natural progression of an existing interest. First, I got their most recent album "Taking the Long Way" which is pretty good. Then I got "Home" which has a more traditional country feel (and I honestly like better than the new one). Now what if I had decided I hated it? Well, I'd just listen to it all the harder to decide what about it I didn't like!

And if that didn't work you'd just remind yourself how much you admire their politics.

;)

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