Limits?


I know this is an audio forum but it is the music that drives us, right? I have always had a voracious appetite for music and my music collection reflects this fact. Since obtaining audio gear other than Pioneer recievers and Cerwin Vega speakers I'm seeing my collection grow exponentially.
How do you , if you do, limit or choose your music? I understand that there are 'audiophiles' that have a dozen or so discs that are all they need to survive. Is it space, your wallet, musical taste or something else that dictates the size of your music pool. Are you in or out of control?
There is so much music out there but it is the music that keeps me together.
128x128ashra
For me, it's lack of storage space. It also doesn't hurt to be spending money on this hobby. Otherwise I'd have more music than I know what to do with.
For me it's primarily finance that has slowed down buying. A secondary consideration is that in many classical works, I have my "definitive" performances. Not to say I wouldn't listen to new recordings with new artists: but that brigns me back to the first consideration.
Thirdly, I have ~3k LPs & 2k cd's to keep me going -- but, as all would agree, there's never enough!
Since I am an irrational collector with inconsistent habits, the idea of limits is even more crazy. Sometimes I have a theme, like all the great performances of one composition. Or I might be working in a place for a while that has good stuff in great condition real cheap. So I mine it until I leave. Then I meet somebody who really knows something and I get recommendations. I have been playing the radio in the hotel with a pen and paper. Then I had to have every Mosaic Davis LP box. Someday I will go deaf and die and it will all go to the dump.
It's probably the wallet. Not that I can't afford to buy more music, but I refuse to pay the inflated price of cd's. Really, I feel like I'm being taken advantage of when I pay $16.99 or $18.99 for a single disc, or $29.99 for a double. I won't do it anymore!

I gave up on LP's years ago, which is kind of sad, but no regrets.