Most Unrightfully Ignored Albums of the 1990s – LeBrain’s List Part 4

This is it!  The end!  In alphabetical order, here’s Part 4 of 4:  88 albums that meant the world to me in the 1990′s but never got the respect I felt they deserved.   Thanks for joining in!

Savatage – Streets:  A Rock Opera (sheer brilliance, their first and best rock opera)
Savatage – Edge of Thorns (an album to give Queensryche a run for their money)
Savatage – Handful of Rain (recovering from tragedy to create a triumph)
Savatage – The Wake of Magellan (how did this band just keep getting more brilliant?)
Scorpions – Face the Heat (had a couple good heavy rockers on there like “Alien Nation”)
Shaw/Blades – Hallucination (Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, campfire goodness)
Skid Row – Subhuman Race (when you’re pissed off and you know it, bang thy head)

Sloan – 4 Nights at the Palais Royale (one of the best live albums of all time – ignored internationally)
Dee Snider’s SMF’s – Live / Forever Twisted (fuck, I missed Dee in the 90’s!)
Spinal Tap – Break Like the Wind 
Stryper – Can’t Stop the Rock (a compilation with two great new tunes)
Sultans of Ping F.C. – Casual Sex in the Cineplex (see here)
Talas – If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now… (Billy Sheehan and the boys reunited for one night, and has the wisdom to record it)
Tesla – Bust A Nut (in some ways it’s better than their prior records)
Testament – The Ritual (really heavily slagged at the time as a sellout)
Tonic – Sugar (much better than the first record, you know, the one that was a hit)
Devin Townsend / Ocean Machine – Biomech (one of his more accessible albums)
Union – Union (Bruce Kulick + John Corabi = better than what the Crue or Kiss was releasing)
Steve Vai – Sex and Religion (Devin Townsend — lead throat)
Veruca Salt – Eight Arms To Hold You (their best album, better than the big hit one)
White Lion – Mane Attraction (it was a little mushy, but brilliant guitars by Vito Bratta)
Whitesnake – Restless Heart (back to his blues rock roots, it wasn’t even released here)

We’re done!  88 albums that meant a lot to me in the 1990’s, but in some cases were criminally ignored.  Check them out.

43 comments

  2. Nice List Mike!! brings back some good memories! I agree absolutely with the “Steve Vai”, Pride & Glory”, “Sloan”… yeah yeah yeah!!! all killer albums that seemed to slip through the cracks (we thought they were big though!!)

    I wondered if you were gonna put that “Tonic” album on there (you softy!) – guilty pleasure, I know!

    I never really got into anything else Zakk Wylde did, but I do love that album. Let’s do the 90’s next!!!

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  3. Not so much on here that I know about, a few bands and albums I’d love to check out though. Of the ones I remember I just thought Union was ok. Restless Heart I couldn’t get into at all. I would have thrown in Zakk Wylde’s Book of Shadows here personally. That was a great album.

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        1. 1996 or 97 if I recall? Well, consider it added to the list. I bought that album twice, because when they reissued it with the bonus disc, that was a must. And worth it too.

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  5. A whole lot here I haven’t heard. The only Tesla I had back then was the live acoustic one. Seriously, yer gonna include Sultans Of Ping here? I thought I got from your review that it was a weird one you guys liked but most wouldn’t have heard of it? And man, the Sloan was HUGE with a lot of people I knew. We were all so happy to finally have a live album. A memento from the shows we saw, so to speak. And it is GREAT. So it may not have sold well, but that is a real gem of a set. I had the Veruca Salt, it was good.

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  6. Not a lot of artists on this portion of your list were important to me, so I don’t know a lot of the specific albums. In the past several years I’ve gone back to a lot of earlier Styx albums and re-gained an appreciation for Tommy Shaw’s incredible talents, so I don’t doubt that the Shaw-Blades album is impressive. The fact that he can still sing like that after all these years is very impressive, and he’s a great guitar player as well.

    I wholeheartedly agree about that Sloan live album. I didn’t get into them at the time, but in the last 10 years I’ve been following all their new releases and I got their back catalog. Hopefully they release another live one to showcase their more recent material, and if it’s half as good as “4 Nights…” it’ll be pretty impressive.

    I think I agree with you about that Veruca Salt album. It’s been years since I listened to them, but that was the one I remember liking the best.

    For me, the most overlooked album of the ’90s that didn’t appear on your list was the self-titled (and only) album by Toy Matinee. It’s a hard album to describe if you’ve never heard it, with elements of prog-rock, art-rock, glossy late-80s pop, incredible melodies and brilliant musicianship. It was the brainchild of Patrick Leonard (who’s best known for writing & producing some Madonna songs…but I never held that against him) and the late great Kevin Gilbert. If there’s ever been a more talented overall musician than Gilbert, they didn’t surpass him by much. A terrible album cover (a close-up photo of Marilyn Monroe with a pencil-thin mustache drawn on her) didn’t help their cause, nor did the lack of touring, but anyone I know who’s heard it has been impressed. The surround sound mix on the DVD audio has been used by stereo retailers to show off 5.1 systems. Anyway, that and Coverdale-Page would be the top two if I compiled a similiar list.

    I really enjoyed this series. Well done, Mike.

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    1. Thanks Rich! I have no idea how I can top this series now, after all the kind words…

      I had to look up Toy Matinee because I confess I have never heard of them. I saw the Marilyn picture you mentioned. I will have to take another look at them.

      Sloan are currently releasing very limited edition vinyl official live bootlegs. I only have one; Aaron has both. Although I would like to hear the most recent music live as well. I think their current album The Double Cross is simply excellent. As good as anything from their past. I’m really fond of it. Fond enough that I bought it twice (had to make sure I got the iTunes bonus tracks).

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      1. No need to top anything. Just keep writing about what you love.

        If you do check out Toy Matinee, I’d love to know what you think. They’re not for everyone, but they covered enough musical ground to appeal to lots of different people. For me, the key track is “The Ballad Of Jenny Ledge,” which has elements of Pink Floyd, 10cc and Little River Band. Let’s see if that description scares you off. Haha.

        I seem to remember The Double Cross coming with a download code for the bonus tracks, so I didn’t have to buy it twice. I’m still at the point where I won’t pay for a digital download. I need something physical. I’ve certainly “acquired” digital downloads from time to time, especially on titles that are out of print or only available on ridiculously expensive imports. I’ll have to look into those Sloan limited edition live vinyl releases .For the right price I might pick them up. Thanks for letting me know about them.

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        1. I checked Wikipedia, and I noticed Guy Pratt has writing credits on the album? And I know he has played with everybody from Pink Floyd to Whitesnake. Interesting.

          I used to be like you, I refused to pay for anything that was not physical. I finally relented a couple years ago, installed iTunes on my computer, and bought tracks. I found that so many bands I loved, from Kiss to Foo Fighters and down all had iTunes exclusive bonus tracks. And I’m a bit OCD about collecting!

          The Sloan records are quite nice, but very, very limited. I don’t know if they are available on eBay or not, but they basically sell out within hours if not minutes. Thankfully, we have a friend who stays up late (or gets up early, I’m not sure which) to order them as soon as they go on sale, and he orders one for each of us.

          It is good to have friends who understand the life of a music collector!

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        2. I’m kind of an anti-Apple guy, so I won’t sign up with iTunes. Also, I ripped my CD collection (which is somewhere in the 8,000-9,000 range), and most of them were ripped as WMA files that aren’t playable on iTunes (without going through a conversion process). I now rip my CDs as MP3 files, but it’s too late to use anything but a PC (unless I want to spend another 2 years re-ripping all those discs…not happening). I have no issues with locating digital files online if it’s something that’s not easily available on a physical product, so whenever I find out about bonus tracks from an artist I like, I do whatever I can to find a copy. It’s so frustrating these days with artists releasing various versions of each album through different retailers, forcing their most loyal fans to purchase the album numerous times. I won’t give in to that.

          I realize a day will come where physical products may no longer be available, or they will be the exception. If that day comes and I’m still of sound mind & hearing, I will consider paying for digital downloads, but the prices need to come down significantly. I know from my full-time job that the costs involved in selling downloads is significantly less than with physical products, so there’s no reason to charge close to the same amount except to fleece the consumer and bring in more profit.

          Okay, I’ve rambled too much for one evening.

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        3. I also rip to mp3 only. But I don’t own any Apple hardward and I don’t see that changing. I don’t like iTunes, I don’t like their file formats, and I prefer the ease of mp3.

          I need to know how you store 8000 – 9000 discs! The wife and I had this discussion this week. How do I store them and still have them accessible? Luckily we are moving in 2013. I would like a dedicated music room for my stuff. Wish me luck!

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        4. Been following this chat. Pretty interesting to see how you guys do things. I still buy CDs and vinyl. I use iTunes cause I’ve got an iPod but when I (rarely) buy music downloads I tend to use Amazon or Play because they aren’t DRM. I’ve only very occasionally “acquired” downloads and only ever for stuff that is out-of-print. Don’t mind the Apple m4a or whatever it’s called though. It’s easily converted if need be and iTunes does let you rip to mp3 if you prefer. I do use a higher rate to improve the quality. Only listen to CDs/Vinyl at home, the iPod is just for travel. That’s how i do things anyway!

          I don’t mind paying for downloads but only if the price is fantastically cheaper than the physical format, and even then if I like it I’ll eventually buy it physically anyway. I agree with Rich about all the various versions coming out now. I just can’t give in to that any more either. Just my personal preference.

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        5. When I need something out of print, I will try to download a copy, but I also strive to find a physical copy. (Right now working on getting a Japanese import CD of “Rainmaker” by Iron Maiden, for two extra bonus tracks!)

          Digital media is still fairly new to me. I’ve been using it for less than a year. I have a 4 gig Sony mp3 player and that’s it. I’m ripping a lot of my music, but it’s slow going. It’s great for portability. Besides something like, say, a 12 CD Aerosmith box set isn’t easy to take on the road with you.

          I have no idea how to convert Apple format to mp3 besides using a program like Audacity. m4a’s won’t play in my car.

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        6. Yes, I always prefer the physical copy too… but I won’t pay silly money for second hand items. I’m just not a collector like that. I definitely would always rather have the actual thing where possible though. I;m definitely not criticising collectors though, it’s just not my thing. I’ve got 1000s of albums and can only think of maybe 10-20 things that I just have on mp3… and most of those are on my want list! I have a player that converts LPs to mp3 but I’ve haven’t tried it yet! Are the results any good?

          If you need to convert m4a to mp3 there’s a good free program called Switch Sound Converter that you can get here http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

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        7. OK, I have to ask the same questions I asked Rich: How do you store your 1000s? We’re moving in the new year and I can’t wait. I’m sick and tired of having all my albums in different rooms all over the place.

          I love my USB turbtable. My only complaint is that it seems to me a lot more sensitive to skips than my regular “old reliable” turntable. But with a good record, it creates a good sounding mp3 file. Just grab Audacity (it’s free) and you can start ripping right away. I use Audacity for everything including the audio for my videos.

          Thanks for the tip on Switch Sound. That will definitely make my iTunes tracks car-friendly!

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        8. I’ve got two walk-in cupboards which are pretty big. One has racks of my CDs but now loads are piled on top and around those. I have all the racks alphabetised and I try to make sure any piles are at least themed or are the same artist. I’ve got shelves in my living room for music DVDs and box sets. The other larger walk-in is for my LPs and larger music books/sheet music books.

          It all does the job but it’s a bit chaotic and a bit cramped. I’d love a man cave like you suggest! Maybe one day…

          I think I’m going to have to count all my stuff. Haven’t done that in ages!

          I had the same problem with my USB turntable. I glued a penny to the top of the tone-arm and that seems to help! I think it’s just too light and needs weighed down a bit.

          I’ve got Audacity on a disc so I’ll give that a go. The Switch Sound is great but if your m4a’s are from iTunes purchases it might not work because of the pesky DRM.

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        9. See HMO you are sort of where I am now, spread over multiple rooms. I’m not happy with it. I have piles too. I have several hundred in my “purchased this year” pile. Sigh. It’s been a good year though!

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        10. Yep, I’ve just got stuff all over the place really! I don’t mind it so much… I think I could use my space better and probably tidy things up. but if I keep buying at the rate I am – I’ll run out of space in no time!

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        11. I need to add here that I’m extremely confident that your collection easily outsizes mine! And I certainly don’t have anywhere near the 8000-9000 mark! I actually think having that amount of stuff would make me a bit anxious… but it would be a good problem to have. :)

          I do spend a lot of money on reissues and more often than not the previous version gets turfed so my collection tends not to grow too quickly!

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        12. I have a recent iMac and a 120 GB iPod. Both work great. But iTunes is f-ing malware that should never have been foisted on an unsuspecting public. It’s a good program, in theory, but it tries to do everything, and in the trying it does no one thing well. And all the alternatives out there are play-only. None of them will rip. Sigh.

          Anyway, I hear you about the man-cave thing. Maybe someday for me, too. And mine would have a lock on the door, to keep out the kids, who are currently 3.5 yr-old and 1.5 yr-old! Little hands do NOT belong anywhere near Daddy’s music collection.

          I have nowhere near the size of collections you guys are talking about, not anymore. Having moved provinces a couple of times (basically halfway across Canada, which is no small distance), I’ve unloaded tons of stuff to make the moves easier. Love to have it all back, but that ain’t happening. If I had it all again, though, I’d have maybe half what you guy are discussing. I haven’t counted my current stuff either, but the CDs are all in stacks in three of those pantrys you can buy for your kitchen, the pressboard ones. I really should build a proper shelf. I had done, way back, but left it with a friend before a move. And the vinyls are in IKEA shelf, the 8-cubby unit lying on its side. Turntable on top. Works perfectly. Yeah, a man-cave. THAT’S the order of the day!

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        13. When digital music players started appearing on the market, I always said I wouldn’t get one until they made them large enough to fit my entire collection, which was really an excuse to not rip my collection. Try to imagine the process of ripping nearly 9,000 CDs (and that’s just titles…if you count box sets & multiple disc sets, it’s much higher). Once I started I couldn’t wait to stop, and I’ve used several non-iPod MP3 devices over the years. Needless to say they never come close to holding my entire collection, but I enjoy choosing the 80-100 albums I want to walk around with. Yep, I still listen to music via complete albums, not playlists.

          I hope you can get a man cave at some point in your life. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy…just a place with all your entertainment options. Mine is small but when I’m sitting on the couch and listening to music (especially in surround sound), it’s the perfect size. I wish I had a little more room for vinyl. As I mentioned before, the space for vinyl in my basement is limited…and fully packed, so whenever I get new stuff I need to purge some old stuff. I’m making it work somehow.

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        14. Here here! “I still listen to music via complete albums, not playlists.” A lot of people I talk to (not on this blog of course) don’t get that. They don’t appreciate albums. Sure, they download them as albums, because that’s how you find them on bittorrent. Then they say they “have them”, even though what they “have” is just 1’s and 0’s, not plastic. And then they don’t listen to them. They listen to the songs they know, maybe skip through the rest to see if there is anything else on there. As if you can tell an album by skipping through!

          I have ALWAYS, always always since I was a kid, listened to albums. I think when cassette was the dominant media, that you really had no choice. It was just better to listen to the whole thing than to FF or RW! LP’s were not like that, CD’s are not like that. So for that reason, I’m glad I grew up in the cassette generation.

          Before I got seriously into music, I had only one rock album: Styx, Kilroy Was Here, on LP. And guess what I did? Listen to the same 4 songs that I liked. When I got my first rock cassette (Metal Health, Quiet Riot) I played the whole thing front to back, always. Never just to one song.

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        15. Rich, you need one of these:

          http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00208646/

          I have the 8-cubby unit and I counted it’d hold approximately 700 vinyls. But the series comes in 4, 8, 16 and 20 cubbys. Well worth it, and a lovely way to keep everything together. They’re solid, and the way they’re put together, they shouldn’t sag even with full weight. I don’t generally like IKEA stuff, but these things are a life (and space) saver.

          I recently ripped all of my CDs to MP3. Every single one. All I did was start one, walk away, come back after a while and start another. I didn’t sit with it while it worked. And it still took a long enough time. The only way to get them all onto the 120 GB iPod was ripping at 128 kbps. I know, I know. Inferior sound, right? But at 320 I had way too much. I realized, though, that since it’s just in earbuds, crappy iMac speakers and in the car, 128 worked just fine for me. I still have the CD if I need it to sound as good as possible. I know a lot of people swear by FLAC and 320, even Apple lossless, but 128 sounded “ok” to me (not GREAT), Space-wise it was the only way to make it possible to have the whole shebang in my pocket, ready to go. And I have to admit, having EVERYTHING I own on CD in one place, so portable, is a little overwhelming. I love it!

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        16. I literally have no wall space, as my entire basement is lined with custom-built shelving that holds thousands of CDs. My LPs are stored in two large drawers hidden under our stairs. Between the two of them, I’ve got about 400-500 LPs and that’s my max. One of my favorite things to do is shop for cheap vinyl, but I’ve held off for a while because of the space issue. Then again, it’s not like I have nothing to listen to. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now: I would need to live until I’m at least 200 to hear all the music I want to listen to.

          I’m not a fan of 128kbps MP3s, but they are sufficient for earbuds and computer speakers. The bulk of my CDs were ripped as WMA files at 160k, which is why I won’t get an Apple product (I don’t want to have to convert files every time I want to access them). For the last two years, I’ve switched to 320k MP3s, which are great now that I have a 2TB hard drive.

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        18. And the man cave, yeah. It’d be all music. My CDs and vinyls, my guitars and amps. I’d love to have a drum set – I used to play in a band, back in the day (haha). I love playing drums. But I’m not too picky, ANY space of my own would be amazing. Of course, I know I’d never get to use it that often. I’m a stay-at-home dad so I have the kids all day everyday, and when they’re in bed it’s about half an hour for my wife and I to sit and look at each other before crashig to sleep. But at least the collection would all be together in one place, and organized on horizontal shelves, alphabetically (and chronologically within artists). The 3′ stacks I have now aren’t really optimal.

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        19. Haha says right on the IKEA page, can be used as a room divider. Perfect! Make two rooms of the one! Cheap vinyl is getting harder to find – most of what I saw on our recent foray into Toronto was the 180 gram re-issues. At full price, of course. Around here, the best way to get cool original records is to find somebody selling their collection. I’ve found two people so far, and made some happy acquisitions. ;)

          I dislike the 128 mp3s too, but it was the only way to get it all to fit in one place, and for day to day use it’s fine. I play a lot more of my music now that I have it all in one place, one click away and that makes me happy. I always hated having CDs in the shelves that never seemed to get into the rotation.

          I have a 500 GB Time Capsule which, since the iMac has a 500 GB hard drive, is perfect for automatic Time Machine backups. Basically a mirror image of what’s on the iMac hard drive at all times, and I can search back through it at any time, even if files were deleted. Nice feature. I also have a 2 TB external as redundant backup. Hard drive space is so cheap these days. But once the solid state drives get bigger and cheaper, I’ll go that way for sure. There’s data security in the lack of moving parts.

          Over the years I have had many configurations and set-ups. I doubt there is any one perfect way to have things, unless unlimited time and resources were at our disposal. I figure if we can find a way to live with it that makes us happy, that’s all that really matters. I’m halfway there. I dislike my pantry cupboards forcing me to stack stuff, making it hard to get one disc in specific. But they are a simple expedient right now, when my focus is on keeping things out of the kids’ hands until they’re old enough to better know how to take care of the things they touch. ;)

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      2. I do indeed have both Sloan vinyls, all thanks to the generosity, kindness and thoughtfulness of the Internet Wizard Known As James.

        I caught the Double Cross gig last June. Man, they were FLYIN’. And I got a smile and a nod from Chris during The Rest Of My Life when I let out a big WAHOO! for the line “One thing I know about the rest of my life / I know that I’ll be living it in Canada!”

        Met Chris and Patrick after too. Cool dudes. I wrote the whole thing up somewhere on here: http://www.keepsmealive.com

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  7. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment for 16 years before I met my now-wife in 2005. My CDs were relatively well organized, but I had to install shelving in the hallway, and eventually I had boxes on the floor with CDs and box sets that couldn’t fit on the shelves (I “only” have about 500 LPs, so they’re less of a problem to store). When we were shopping for a house, one of the criteria was space for a man cave that would have room for my music collection (as well as my drums, computer, stereo, TV, surround sound, etc). In the house we chose we had to be creative by replacing bi-fold doors in front of gas & water meters with movable CD racks (custom built shelving turned into doors on heavy duty hinges and wheels). I had shelves built to my specs all around the basement, but sadly after nearly 7 years I’ve almost reached capacity. Slowly I’ve been purging things I don’t really need anymore, but it’s not an easy process. One of the reasons I started my blog was so I could spend time with the music I already own, getting to know the lesser-known artists I’ve collected, which has helped me to curb my more frivolous new music purchases. It’s definitely helped, as I’ve become much pickier with what I buy now (I still get a few hundred new titles a year, but it used to be a lot more than that).

    Regarding my CD ripping, it initially took me over 2 years of constant ripping to get my whole collection up to that point. I store everything on a 2TB hard drive, which leaves me plenty of free space (my collection is probably close to 700GB). I also make sure to back it up to another hard drive as well as a couple of friends’ hard drives so my music will be available in the event of a catastrophe. As for vinyl ripping, I decided it wasn’t worth my time. I have too many other things going on in my life, and if I need to hear any of my vinyl I’ll either play it on my turntable or find a downloadable copy online if I want to hear it on my MP3 player.

    I guess the bottom line of this conversation is: we all have the same ailment…and none of us wants to be cured.

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    1. Rich I feel like I am speaking to a kindred spirit. My conditions for a new place are similar to yours. My CD’s and LP’s must have shelving for easy access, I need my man cave with my surround sound and my guitar (hopefully my toy collection too).

      When I was living with my parents we did something similar with doors. T-Rev and myself replaced my closet doors with shelving for cassettes. There was room for over 1000 cassette tapes. Now that I have replaced almost everything on CD, I keep what few cassettes I have left tucked away. But I did the big doors too. I never found hinges that were heavy duty enough so eventually that became a problem.

      I tend to rip as I listen. If I take a CD out to play, I’ll rip it too. But even that presents problems. Some older discs, for whatever reason, will not play in my PC even though they play fine on my main system. And my CD drive is fairly new too.

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      1. We’re definitely twin sons of different mothers, Mike. Nice to hear that someone else created music-related doors as a space-saving technique. That was my wife’s idea. It took me a while to find an affordable and reliable carpenter to build them correctly, but once everything was on the shelves it felt so comfortable. The only times a basement music room worked against me were the floods we had in ’07 & ’10. We were lucky that nothing other than our carpet was destroyed, but I had to box up thousands of CDs and carry them upstairs, along with my drums, TV, computer, stereo, furniture, etc. Whenever we move, I’m finding a place with an above-ground room that can be sound-proofed.

        I was very methodical when it came to ripping my CD collection. I went in alphabetical order, artist by artist, and checked off each album on the Excel spreadsheet I have of my music collection (I’m only anal retentive in one area of my life, and this is it). Had I not met my wife and had her live with me for 6 months before buying the house (6 months when we shared a computer), I probably would’ve ripped everything in about a year or year-and-a-half. It’s something I never want to go through again. Now, after I’ve listened to any new purchases I rip the CD, and I don’t file away the CD until I’ve listened to it at least once more. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck with more CDs I’ve only heard once and don’t really know. I really need to live until I’m at least 200 just to scratch the surface of everything I want to hear in my lifetime.

        Wish I could explain why your computer is having trouble with some old CDs, but I’ve never experienced that. Is it the computer or the software you’re using?

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        1. I have not yet done the methodical alphabetizing method of ripping. Excel spreadsheet is the way to do it though. I made a music list years ago, using Word, so it’s not as good as Excel.

          But I do the same thing as you with new purchases. They get ripped right away before they get filed. Actually I lied about that, too. I haven’t been keeping up with my filing due to the lack of space. I can’t wait to move…flooding will be a concern in my own man cave which I am sure will end up being a finished basement.

          Right now I have three “spinners” that hold about 3000 total. The problem is that filing is such a darn chore, everything has to be moved from A to Z…

          Anyway since we ARE moving, I’m putting all this on hold until we’re in.

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        2. I’m glad to hear that you’ll be moving, and I know you’ll find a space that meets your “music obsessive” needs. There’s nothing quite like having all of your music clearly on display, in order. I was fortunate that the previous owners of my house installed two large drawers for their kids’ toys that are hidden beneath our stairs, which I use for my LP collection. Fortunately I “only” have about 400-500 LPs, which is all the space I have. I’ve been slowly purging some lesser titles to make room for recent purchases. If/when I get another house (which will be in my future in the next 5-10 years), I will make sure there is more than enough room for everything I own and a whole lot more.

          Do those “spinners” you’re talking about have individual slots for each CD, or are the shelves open? It’s bad enough to have to move batches of CDs from one shelf to another, but doing that with individual CDs is just too tedious.

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        3. No individual slots on the spinners, thank God. I couldn’t deal with that. Not to mention so many cases simply do not fit! I used to sell those kinds of towers at work, and I strongly disliked them.

          T-Rev used to build custom towers for us. He did a great job. I don’t have them anymore simply because I outgrew them. He built one for Tom that held close to 1000. We thought that was a lot at the time! But the whole idea was, it had to be able to hold multiple sizes of cases, and you had to be able to slide everything along, when you bought more.

          My spinners have tiny shelves, about 25 discs per shelf. So you can imagine when I buy a new Aerosmith disc, how much sliding has to occur. This is another reason why I got too lazy to keep filing regularly.

          When we move, the goal is to put up proper shelving so there will enough space to display everything nicely, alphabetically. (And within each band, I file the albums chronologically.) I believe in showing off my music collection. It’s a conversation piece as much as entertainment.

          And that’s one reason why I started this blog. I wanted to show what I’ve collected over the years. And I’m glad you guys are enjoying that.

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