# 5 equal size boxes to store all your records **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548 "2006-03-23T04:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/1 "2006-03-23T04:20:46Z")
Some taxonomists are groupers, some are splitters, this is one for the groupers. Imagine if you were asked to split your music collection up into 5 boxes, but the boxes are all equal in size. List the labels of the boxes. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/2 "2006-03-23T07:37:52Z")
Actually, this is pretty much how I do have my music arranged. 1. Classical: baroque/classical periods. 2. Classical: romantic period. 3. Classical: modern & miscellaneous. 4. Musicals/soundtracks. 5. Non-classical everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/3 "2006-03-23T12:15:15Z")
Elton John Classic Rock Classical Choirs Country/Pop ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/4 "2006-03-23T13:19:34Z")
Christmas& Billy Joel GLAD Musical Soundtracks Michael W Smith, etc. Rich Mullins, etc. I’d have a very hard time dividing the last two boxes in a logical manenr–too much Christian Contemporary that I don’t listen to much. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/5 "2006-03-23T15:02:07Z")
1. Music 2. Music 3. Music 4. Music 5. Music ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/6 "2006-03-23T15:02:20Z")
I’d have to keep them in alpha order and divide evenly. Some letters are more populated than others, though (H for Emmylou Harris, S for Springsteen). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/7 "2006-03-23T15:21:16Z")
Andrew Lloyd Webber in English Andrew Lloyd Webber non-English Pre-ABBA, ABBA, Post-ABBA Julian Lloyd Webber Everything Else And those better be some damn big boxes! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/8 "2006-03-23T15:51:30Z")
No genre really contains approximately 1/5 of my collection except classic rock. Everything else contains less than 1/5, unless you count Modern Rock as a genre in which case it contains about 3/5th or more. So it’s really difficult for me unless you subdivide my Modern Rock into subgenres that don’t really go together. My best categorization: Classic Rock Classical and Soundtracks Classic Non-electronic Modern Rock (anything before 1992) Contemporary Non-electronic Modern Rock (anything 1992 or after) Electronica, hip-hop influenced modern rock, and everything else. ---
**Author:** ![AmbushBug](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ambushbug/32/4600_2.png) [@AmbushBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmbushBug)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/9 "2006-03-23T16:12:56Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I’d have to keep them in alpha order and divide evenly. Some letters are more populated than others, though (H for Emmylou Harris, S for Springsteen). Alpha order was my first inclination as well, starting with (A-E, F-J, K-O, P-U, V-Z) and revising that based on letter popularity after initial filling when finding two of them nearly empty, one too full, and one overfilled. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/10 "2006-03-23T19:47:10Z")
They’d probably wind up as: Records Records Records Records Records If I were being careful and taking them from the shelf to boxes, it’d be more like A-D E-K L-P (heh!) Q-S T-Z by artist name, as that’s how they were shelved. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/11 "2006-03-23T20:14:30Z")
Grown Out Of It Got Sick Of It Never Really Liked It In The First Place Empty (In The Car, Somewhere) Empty (Transferred It To MP3) ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/12 "2006-03-23T20:16:04Z")
Angry Angry Thoughtful Sulky Silly I might have some trouble with CDs that split moods, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/13 "2006-03-24T05:53:35Z")
Mine was actually pretty easy: 1.) Garage Rock 2.) 70s Punk 3.) Post-70s Punk 4.) Urban & Modern Pop Music 5.) Jazz & pre-disco Pop Music ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/14 "2006-03-24T06:01:01Z")
Alphabetical. Dividing it so it fits evenly in all five boxes. I’m pretty OCD about my music collection. Physical and digital. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-equal-size-boxes-to-store-all-your-records/349548/15 "2006-03-24T06:39:15Z")
I don’t have a very big collection, and it could be divided pretty evenly like this: Dwight Yoakam Jimmie Dale Gilmore Robert Cray Classic country Misc. blues guitar