#1 - How many files are in your collection? #2 - What do you use as a primary player? #3 - What do you use as a secondary player? #4 - What do you use for storage/archiving? #5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
My answers:
#1 - 576 files - 2.3 gigs of .mp3s, 166 megs of .wmas #2 - my laptop with MusicMatch (when lugging it in and out of the office with my headphones blaring, I apologize that it is the “world’s largest ipod” and that I can’t turn the volume down without somehow opening my case one-handed) #3 - none #4 - my laptop #5 - $20 for headphones (the laptop/memory is furnished by my employer)
Why I’m asking:
I think it is pretty obvious that I’m in dire need of joining the 21st century. Also, my girlfriend is moving in with me and we both manage our music the same archaic way, so we’ll need to find the cheapest/easiest way to combine our collections. I’m interested in any suggestions, hints, tips, recommendations, etc.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
I don’t remember the number off the top of my head, but it’s at just over 17GB of MP3s. A little while ago I spent several days ripping all of my CDs, so this represents my entire music collection.
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
iTunes.
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Nothing. Well, sometimes I’ll load up a USB drive with some MP3s and play them in the car via an FM transmitter, but I hardly ever do that anymore.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
Archiving: right now CD-Rs, but eventually I’ll hook my DVD recorder up to the computer and will use DVD-Rs for backups.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
Well, the player is my computer, which I don’t count because I would have bought the computer anyway. Likewise, I would have bought the stack of blank CDs whether it was music I was backing up or just files. And the iTunes application is free. So, so far, $0. However, I’m about to spend $300 on one of the new iPods (a 30GB iPod Photo, baby!).
Well, I don’t think your system is terribly archaic – it’s pretty much the same as mine. As for combining your collections, I don’t know if MusicMatch offers something like this, but with iTunes you can share your libraries and/or playlists.
I’m looking to purchase an ipod (or 2, one for each of us) in the near future. Our laptops are’t portable enough. We can’t take them on the nightly walks with the dogs, or when we go hiking, and trying to use them in the car is too much of a distracting hassle. What do FM transmitters go for these days?
Regarding storage, I don’t have a burner on this laptop, but having to keep track of a bunch of cds/dvds doesn’t sound like much fun either. I’m leaning more toward a dedicated storage box I can put on my home network. Keeping everything sorted in alphabetized lists for easy selection and upload to whatever ipod (or similar) that we end up purchasing is very appealing to me.
I appear to have 4,163 individual .mp3 files. They are all on one of my PowerBook’s drives, and as with all my drive partitions, gets backed up weekly to an external FireWire drive.
I use Audion to play 'em.
I probably blew $20 on my headphones, too, thereabouts.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
Just a little over 11,000 mp3 and mp4 files
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
iPod Nano
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Either a 40gig 4th gen iPod or I stream to the Airtunes unit that lives in the stereo cabinet.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
I’ve got a couple of external hard drives that I alternate backing up to using Retrospect. A nearly complete set also lives on my computer at work.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
Oh man, this is gonna sting. iTunes is free. My backup solution doesn’t add in as it was what I was doing for backups before I moved all of my music onto this computer. The Airtunes thing was about a hundred bucks, but I needed that as a WiFi repeater anyway. The real cost is the iPods my wife and I own. I have a 1st gen 5gb, a 2nd gen 20gb, a 4th gen 40gb, a Shuffle and 2 Nanos. I’m too ashamed to add that up. My only defense: Steve Jobs told me to.
Prices and quality vary, but I got mine for about $25. I no longer have the link to the place where I got it, but a quick Google search turned up this Yahoo store, selling it for about $34. I think they can also be picked up in most any Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
Remember, I specified CDs/DVDs for archiving and backups. I’m a little unsure of what you mean by “storage,” but I keep all of the MP3s right on the computer – I don’t have to keep track of anything unless the computer crashes.
In that case, I recommend using iTunes and keeping everything on one computer. Transferring music to iPods doesn’t get any easier, and I really like the ways it lets me organize everything.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
5.5 GB of MP3s. I have no idea how many files that is.
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
Musicmatch. If I didn’t have that, I’d use Winamp.
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Nothing.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
My laptop–no backups, I live dangerously.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
Besides my laptop, nothing.
Additional note: I’m against all things Mac, especially Mac software, therefore I will never own an Ipod or (shudder) use Itunes. Actually, I would have an Ipod if I didn’t have to use Itunes, which is even worse than Media Player.
According to iTunes, I have 4,332 music files for about 31 gigs. I use iTunes mostly now, but I’ve kept the segregated file structure going from when I used WinAmp. Use a 40 gig iPod when I’m not at the computer and seeing as how most of these are CD rips, haven’t done any real archiving. I have done some file burning to back up purchases, but the files are on a different hard drive than the OS, so they’re not immediately at any sort of risk.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
About 5600. 32GB.
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
iPod (3rd generation, 40GB)
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
iTunes on my desktop PC.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
My entire library is stored in 3 places: my desktop PC hard drive, a portable USB hard drive, and the iPod.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
iTunes is free. As for storage, 40GB extra on a desktop is almost negligible these days. I think I paid about $50 extra for the larger USB hard drive (80GB vs. 40GB). About $400 for the iPod, plus $100 worth of accessories (including earphones).
Before my current iPod, I went through another iPod, an MP3 CD player, and a flash-memory MP3 player. Those add up to $600 at least.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
6,213 songs in my 20g iPod, a hundred more in my computer, about 300 more on iTunes.
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
iPod (3rd generation, 20GB)
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
iTunes.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
I burned back up AAC files on CDs. I have another set of duplicates.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
Spent a lot on my iPod (this is my second), extra Apple earphones (they suck) and a new pair of headphones. Gave my CD player and MP3 player away. Now, i’m thinking of selling my iPod for the new model that can play video. Also, if i had enough money to spend on high end earphones, i’d get one of those really cool German brands.
#1 - How many files are in your collection? 5090 mp3 files, 24.02 GB
#2 - What do you use as a primary player? iPod
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player? iTunes
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving? My laptop, and iPod. If either breaks I’ll still have all the music on the other
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc) The iPod was 300-something, and maybe another $150 in accessories
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
2883 songs 10.64 GB #2 - What do you use as a primary player?
iTunes #3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Old-school 15 GB iPod #4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
It’s all on my iBook and I’m screwed if it crashes (crosses fingers) #5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
My iBook was a grad gift, and along with that came a free (yes free) iPod. Haven’t replaced the headphones soon but the wiring is showing where it splits. That’ll be 20 bucks or so in. I need to start burning stuff so maybe CDRs in the future…so like 10 bucks.
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
About 4200 and growing
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
Zen Xtra 40GB.
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Winamp
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
My PC, my Xtra and my sister’s PC
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
I spent about $200 on the Xtra. Everything else was free. Well, except for the computer. No wait, it was. It was a gift, ha-HA! I wouldn’t mind eventually snagging another Xtra for comedy.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
so far, about $1300. I am planning on buying a second iPod because I have also purchased Griffin’s iTalk microphone attachment to record my chorus’ rehearsals, and it would be so much easier if I could just leave an iPod in my chorus totebag
#1 - How many files are in your collection?
About 3,000 .ogg files (~30 gig)
#2 - What do you use as a primary player?
My desktop computer, amarok
#3 - What do you use as a secondary player?
Nothing
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
External USB hard drive, updated regularly & kept in my desk at work
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
About £60 for the external drive ('though I use it for other stuff as well)
About £40 for an external USB soundcard to play through my stereo (well worth it)
About $150 on allofmp3.com to get digital versions of all the albums I have on vinyl
sometimes playing in the Finder Preview window if i’m too lazy to open iTunes
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
multiple archives, the tunes are;
1; on multiple Macs (G4 Mirror Door with 2 internal hard drives, archived on both drives, also on my PowerBook G4 Aluminum)
2; on multiple external hard drives (a 60 GB pocketdrive, and a 120GB standard external, both FireWire)
3; a complete archive on my 40GB 4G iPod clickwheel, my current favorites on my iPod Nano 2 GB
4; burned to a collection of CD’s and DVD’s
5; most of my music has been ripped from my own CD collection, so i also have the original CD’s
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
dear Og, i don’t feel like figuring that one out, suffice it to say, a lot of money…
I have a cheap RCA mp3 player that I use on my bike or at the gym, but it only plays files that I ripped in programs other than itunes. That kind of pisses me off.
#4 - What do you use for storage/archiving?
Most of my files are ripped from the CDs that I still have. The rest are archived on CD-R.
#5 - How much $$ have you spent on your music management? (player, storage, software, etc)
About $40 for the mp3 player. That’s it… unless you count the CD collection itself.