A way to listen to a large collection


I’ve discovered a great way to deal with an intimidatingly large collection of CDs and records.
 It would take much longer time than I have on this earth to go through them all, so I’ve found a way to really enjoy the variety.
What I do is, without looking, just reach blindly for a disc on the wall and, no matter what it is, play it through in its entirety.
 It’s amazing how enjoyable this is.  Things which I would not ordinarily choose become currently viable.  After all, I bought them for a reason. There’s no reason I shouldn’t like them!
I found that when I conciously pick a selection, I’m very choosy, considering the sound quality far too often.  This way, it’s like getting a new present all the time.
Re-discovering wonderful performances I’d forgotten about (and, coincidentally, enjoying the sound quality for what it is, more than I would have if I had been searching for good sonics.)
I highly recommend this procedure!
128x128rvpiano
I rip all cds and convert my records to digital and stream tracks or whole releases randomly. I spend most of my listening time that way. It’s like having your own personally programmed  radio station plus no commercials.
I started a simple  Excel spreadsheet years ago.  Title, Artist, genre etc. That I keep on a $99 pad near my collection. 
I also have my vinyl and CD's separated by genre.  So for instance if I want to listen to Jazz, I  can scroll down the list until I see Miles Davis and see what's there, reach to Kind of Blue and play it.

Happy Listening 

JD
mapman,

What do you use to stream your collection? I'm wanting to do the same thing. 

Thanks.

JD
The late J. Gordon Holt said that "nothing" puts a recording higher on one’s list than to listen to a new recording 15 times (or more) in a row! His philosophy was to listen to any recording no more than twice a month. He said this takes a lot of personal discipline, but keeps you coming back to all the music you like. I would think you could apply this to a large collection.... I think.