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
The first and last purchases of the year are determined by the date of order. Pre-ordered items not yet shipped have already been taken into account.
First purchase: Nakamori Akina, NEW AKINA Etranger on CD.
First purchase of a 2019 release: Soundtrack, The West Wing on CD.
Last purchase of a 2019 release: Kim Gordon, No Home Record on vinyl.
Last purchase: J. Cole, Born Sinner on CD.
Purchases by format
Format
New release
Reissue
Catalog
Total
7-inch
2
0
0
2
12-inch
2
2
2
6
CD Single
1
0
2
3
CD
38
10
599
647
CD-R
1
2
0
3
Downloads
0
0
0
0
Vinyl
19
32
192
243
Total items bought
64
46
795
905
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
Year-over-year change
1986
32
+6
1993
31
-1
1990
30
+6
1987
29
+4
1989
28
-4
1988
25
-3
1997
25
New!
1983
24
New!
2009
22
New!
1991
21
+7
1995
21
New!
2002
21
-8
1994
20
+4
Top artists
Single titles purchased in multiple formats are counted individually.
Artist
Number of items purchased
Soundtracks
36
Robert Palmer
14
Olivier Messiaen
11
Everything But the Girl
8
Various Artists
8
Beck
6
Fleetwood Mac
6
Janet Jackson
6
John Coltrane
6
Johnny Cash
6
NUMBER GIRL
6
Ornette Coleman
6
Sly and the Family Stone
6
The Beatles
6
Notes
I’m surprised by the number of soundtracks I picked up this year, and I’ll admit many of those purchases were spurred by admiration for the film and not on the merits of the film score.
Robert Palmer is a seriously underrated singer. The market price for his albums puts him in the bargain bin, which allowed me to grab them without burning a hole in my pocket. He should be commanding more than he does.
Raiding the thrift shops these past three years has greatly expanded my collection, but now my listening is a lot shallower. If I play an album more than once, I like it a lot, or I can’t figure out if I ought to hate it.
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
The first and last purchases of the year are determined by the date of order. Pre-ordered items not yet shipped have already been taken into account.
First purchase: Trio Bulgarka, The Forest Is Crying on vinyl.
First purchase of a 2018 release: Igor Stravinsky, Chant Funèbre / La Sacre Du Printemps on CD.
Last purchase of a 2018 release: James Ehnes, Howard, Kernis: Violin Concertos / Tovey: Stream of Limelight on CD
Last purchase: Yaz, You and Me Bothon vinyl.
Purchases by format
Format
New release
Reissue
Catalog
Total
7-inch
0
0
0
0
10-inch
1
0
1
2
12-inch
2
1
0
3
CD Single
0
0
0
0
CD
36
13
485
534
CD-R
0
0
0
0
Downloads
5
0
5
10
Vinyl
16
28
131
175
Total items bought
60
42
622
724
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
Year-over-year change
1993
24
New!
1989
24
+5
1988
24
+1
1992
23
+1
2002
22
New!
1986
22
+3
1984
21
0
1987
20
-7
1990
19
+3
1985
19
New!
1982
19
New!
1998
18
+2
1991
18
New!
2001
17
New!
2004
17
New!
1994
16
New!
1996
16
-14
2003
15
New!
Top artists
Single titles purchased in multiple formats are counted individually.
Artist
Number of items purchased
Soundtracks
17
David Bowie
11
John Coltrane
10
Joni Mitchell
10
Soundtracks
9
Fugazi
7
Miles Davis
6
Fishbone
6
Brian Eno
6
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
6
The Pogues
6
Wilco
6
Kate Bush
6
Bruce Springsteen
6
Notes
We’re reaching a point where the collector CD market is going to get more ridiculous as brick-and-mortar stores rid their CD inventory in favor of vinyl.
Twice weekly visits to thrift stores account for the increase in my physical collection. It’s tough to beat a price point if $1 if you’re not too picky about condition, which I no longer am.
I picked up a lot of Joni Mitchell this year, but I can’t say I’ve grown attached to most of those acquisitions.
I’m starting to explore classic rock, more out of academic curiosity than actual appeal. I treat the Beatles like I treat Berlioz — as something I should know but not necessarily need to like.
I don’t know if or when I’ll listen to the Miles Davis albums I picked up this year. Something about Miles eludes me.
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
The first and last purchases of the year are determined by the date of order. Pre-ordered items not yet shipped have already been taken into account.
First purchase: Sleater-Kinney, One Beat (2014 reissue) on vinyl.
First purchase of a 2017 release: Renée Fleming, Distant Light on CD.
Last purchase of a 2017 release: Anne Dudley, Anne Dudley Plays the Art of Noise on CD
Last purchase: Wilco, Summerteeth on vinyl.
Purchases by format
Format
New release
Reissue
Catalog
Total
7-inch
0
0
0
0
12-inch
0
1
0
1
CD Single
0
0
2
2
CD
31
14
289
334
CD-R
0
0
1
1
Downloads
3
0
1
4
Vinyl
9
43
110
162
Total items bought
43
58
403
504
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
Year-over-year change
1987
22
+9
1988
21
0
1999
20
New!
1996
19
+6
1992
19
+1
2016
18
New!
1989
17
+2
1984
17
New!
1986
16
New!
1998
15
New!
1990
15
-7
Top artists
Single titles purchased in multiple formats are counted individually.
Artist
Number of items purchased
Clannad
8
Depeche Mode
8
David Bowie
6
Chris Isaak
6
Kronos Quartet
6
Midnight Oil
6
Perfume
6
Stevie Wonder
6
The Clash
5
John Coltrane
5
Dead Can Dance
5
Enya
5
Steve Reich
5
Bruce Springsteen
5
SUPERCAR
5
Aphex Twin
4
Miles Davis
4
Bill Evans
4
Charles Mingus
4
Outkast
4
The Streets
4
A Tribe Called Quest
4
Steve Winwood
4
Notes
The death on Pádraig Duggan in 2016 spurred me to bring a lot of Clannad titles back into my collection.
Cheap CDs from thrift shops account for some of the entries list, namely Chris Isaak and Steve Winwood.
If I grouped this list by title, David Bowie wouldn’t rank as highly. Pretty much, I bought different versions of Ziggy Stardust.
Midnight Oil and Depeche Mode concerts made me want to dig further into back catalog I hadn’t yet explored.
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.
![[Kim Gordon - No Home Record]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/KimGordonNoHomeRecord-300x300.jpg)
![[Igor Stravinsky - Funeral Song]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/IgorStravinskyChantFunebre-300x300.jpg)
![[Renée Fleming - Distant Light]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/renee-fleming-distant-light-300x300.jpg)
![[Glenn Gould - Bach: Goldberg Variations]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/JohannSebastianBachTheGo143903_f-296x300.jpeg)