For my collection of about 3,000, I do what others have noted, sorted by genre, then alphabetical, and the genres within rock are arranged in a loosely narrative way.For example:
1 - before the Beatles 2 - surf and hot rod
3 - garage and mid-60’s verse-chorus-verse stuff
4 - late 60’s hippie stuff
5 - country rock
6 - Southern rock
7 - mid to late 70’s American pop/rock
8 - British Invasion
9 - British rock after the British Invasion
10 - American singers and songwriters
11 - 80’s rock
12 - soundtracks
13 - blues and guitarists
14 - 70’s hard rock
15 - heavy metal
16 - power pop and 70’s verse-chorus-verse stuff
17 - female singers
18 - R&B
19 - protopunk & 70’s punk
20 - 80’s punk
21 - 80’s garage rock revival, cowpunk, Paisley Underground-related, and other non-punk underground rock
22 - countryish singers and songwriters
23 - jazz
24 - pre-70’s country
25 - female country singers
26 - 70’s and 80’s country
27 - instrumental country
28 - bluegrass
29 - folk
30 - comedy
31 - classical
32 - miscellaneous
I do this to make sure I can find what I’m looking for and so that some records don’t get forgotten. For example, when I was filing a Beau Brummels record away, I did a little browsing and saw The Buckingham’s first album, Kind of a Drag, a great little garage rock record before the band got lame and added horns; I hadn’t looked at or thought of that record in a year or two. There are many great records, like that one, that might otherwise get lost if I did everything alphabetically.
Other times, I might say to myself, "I’d like to listen to some Chicago blues," and I can go browse the blues and guitarists section, and it is all there in one place; I don’t have to go to several different places.
There are all kinds of "does this go here or there?" questions, and I enjoy pondering those. For now, for example, Led Zeppelin goes in hard rock instead of British Rock after the British Invasion with Elton John and Dire Straits. Anyway, that’s what works for me.
1 - before the Beatles 2 - surf and hot rod
3 - garage and mid-60’s verse-chorus-verse stuff
4 - late 60’s hippie stuff
5 - country rock
6 - Southern rock
7 - mid to late 70’s American pop/rock
8 - British Invasion
9 - British rock after the British Invasion
10 - American singers and songwriters
11 - 80’s rock
12 - soundtracks
13 - blues and guitarists
14 - 70’s hard rock
15 - heavy metal
16 - power pop and 70’s verse-chorus-verse stuff
17 - female singers
18 - R&B
19 - protopunk & 70’s punk
20 - 80’s punk
21 - 80’s garage rock revival, cowpunk, Paisley Underground-related, and other non-punk underground rock
22 - countryish singers and songwriters
23 - jazz
24 - pre-70’s country
25 - female country singers
26 - 70’s and 80’s country
27 - instrumental country
28 - bluegrass
29 - folk
30 - comedy
31 - classical
32 - miscellaneous
I do this to make sure I can find what I’m looking for and so that some records don’t get forgotten. For example, when I was filing a Beau Brummels record away, I did a little browsing and saw The Buckingham’s first album, Kind of a Drag, a great little garage rock record before the band got lame and added horns; I hadn’t looked at or thought of that record in a year or two. There are many great records, like that one, that might otherwise get lost if I did everything alphabetically.
Other times, I might say to myself, "I’d like to listen to some Chicago blues," and I can go browse the blues and guitarists section, and it is all there in one place; I don’t have to go to several different places.
There are all kinds of "does this go here or there?" questions, and I enjoy pondering those. For now, for example, Led Zeppelin goes in hard rock instead of British Rock after the British Invasion with Elton John and Dire Straits. Anyway, that’s what works for me.