By the numbers: 2016

[Glenn Gould - Bach: Goldberg Variations]

In the past, I would try to write about every album I encountered. These days, I listen to a lot of stuff, but I’ll only post an entry if something sparks a memory.

As these statistics demonstrate, I’m leaving a lot out of this blog.

First and last purchases of the year

  • First purchase: Glenn Gould, Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1955) on vinyl.
  • First purchase of a 2016 release: Henryk Górecki, Symphony No. 4 on CD.
  • Last purchase of a 2016 release: Meredith Monk, On Behalf of Permanence on CD.
  • Last purchase: George Michael, Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 on CD.

Purchases by format

Format New release Reissue Catalog Total
7-inch 0 2 0 2
12-inch 0 1 0 1
CD 34 4 116 154
Downloads 3 2 1 6
Vinyl 4 33 71 108
Total items bought 41 42 188 271

Definitions

New release
Initial release within the calendar year.
Reissue
Originally released prior to the calendar year but reissued within the calendar year.
Catalog
Initial release prior to the calendar year.

Top catalog release years

Year Number of items purchased
1988 16
1985 15
1990 13
2015 12
1992 12
1991 12
1989 11
2002 10
1996 10
1987 9

Top artists

Single titles purchased in multiple formats are counted individually.

Artist Number of items purchased
Prince 10
Madonna 8
Sting 7
Sonic Youth 6
Depeche Mode 5
Meredith Monk 5
Sleater-Kinney 5
Clannad 4
Idlewild 4
INXS 4
NUMBER GIRL 4
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet 4
Tracy Chapman 3
Glenn Gould 3
Ty Herndon 3
Kronos Quartet 3
George Michael 3
Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris 3
The Sugarcubes 3

Notes

  • These number pretty much bear out that I’m pretty much out of touch with anything new happening. Catalog purchases took up 70% of my purchases in 2016.
  • The death of Prince sent me on a mission to catch up with his work.
  • The news of a new album from Sting gave me a chance to reconsider his work from the late ’90s onward. Cheap CDs from the Lifelong AIDS Alliance Thrift Shop allowed me to save on Internet bandwidth.
  • Madonna’s presence in my collection grew due to a combination of a vinyl reissue campaign and some lucky purchases from Lifelong AIDS Alliance Thrift Shop.
  • In fact, encountering the Lifelong Thrift Shop stall during Gay Pride had an outsize influence on my purchases. From street level, the shop looked like it sold only vintage clothes. I didn’t realize the lower level had a room of CDs and vinyl.

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