How do you arrange the order of your records?

have around 12k records.

i break it down a number of ways; i have a separate section for 12" 45rpm pressings, and a separate section for Mono pressings. also box sets are mostly all together.

the bulk of my collection; my non box set stereo 33 rpm records, are generally broken down into (1) pop/rock/folk (by artist alphabetically), (2) Jazz/blues (by artist), and (3) classical (by composer).

there are a few special sections from one label, and i have a special section for rec’s from one friend of mine who knows current pop music separated from the general pop/rock..

i can find most records in 15-30 seconds. with some classical i recall how the album cover looks, or remember something, but can’t find stuff quickly as i’m learning classical. just bought a 3000 classical pressing collection last fall, so i plan on learning more. learning about music is one of the joys of vinyl. some degree of organization helps.

I used to keep my LPs in strict alphabetical band/performer order as you often found in most shops.

Apart from the few classical, which went in at the end. I didn't mind mixing jazz, punk, folk etc all together, but for some reason classical had to be kept apart.

Now when it comes to digital recordings, I can’t find any satisfactory method of arranging them.

Probably A-Z again by default, but I increasingly listen more and more to playlists these days eg pop, rock, best of’s, fast, slow etc.

Albums are stored record shop style so I can flip through them (but without any separators.) I could not do library style, bent over reading spines. It would drive me crazy 🤪

Main groupings are classic rock, jazz, blues, folk, female vocals, male vocals, soundtracks, and classical. Each artists’ records are filed together but in no particular order.

This will be a long thread and will rapidly become repetitious.  Like others, I organize by genre first and then alphabetically according to musician, if jazz, R&B, or other.  If Classical, by composer.  If movie sound track, by movie title.

My post was removed but what I attempted to say in a somewhat comical way was: My recordings are just thrown in the closet with the top rotation records on the top of the pile. If I have to dig deep, it's 20 minutes minimum. I wish I was better organized but that is just not me.