# Name Your Columbia House for $0.01? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285 "2011-08-11T01:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/1 "2011-08-11T01:25:25Z")
I wonder who recalls their first Columbia House order of free\* LPs or tapes for a penny? I think you got to pick 12, and you could order 13 with the extra counting towards your committment. (There was also a smaller order of 4?) Anyway, I remember getting: Fleetwood Mac Rumors, Christopher Cross, Al Stewart Time Passages, Billy Joel Glass Houses, Eagles Live (2 LPs), Simon and Garfunkles GH, Chicago GH I, Doobies GH, Elton John’s GH I, and I will have to dig deeper for the rest. I did buy Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man, Chicago 17, and I forget. Anyone else care to share? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/2 "2011-08-11T01:35:10Z")
All I can remember is King Crimson’s _In the Wake of Poseidon_ and Santana’s _Abraxas_. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/3 "2011-08-11T01:47:36Z")
I don’t think I ever fulfilled my agreement. Just took the music and enjoyed the hell out of it. The first Santana (with the combo Lion head/native female cover) definitely was in there, as were several Mystic Moods Orchestras, Dean Martin, Tijuana Brass, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Bob Dylan (2 I think) and Johnny Cash, Barbra Sreisand. Speaking of which, I think that particular Santana album (although there were some follow-ups with great songs) is the one I will always remember as one without one bad tune on it. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/4 "2011-08-11T01:59:14Z")
I think I ordered it without my mom’s permission when I was like 10. When they came, I hid them. I don’t remember what I ordered now, but when the first automatic “pick of the month” came, my mom opened it, and it was Prince’s [Lovesexy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovesexy) with a bill for $15 or something. Mama was pissed to say the least. Well she got on the horn with Columbia House tout suite and chewed them out. She told them I was a minor and they had no business entering into contracts with minors, etc, etc, etc. I got out of it, but had to send all my tapes back. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/5 "2011-08-11T03:46:45Z")
I was always a BMG guy–you only had to buy one tape or CD to get your seven free, while Columbia House forced you to buy eight! Here’s what I rememer getting in 1994: Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg 12 Play, R Kelly Regulate…G Funk Era, Warren G Finally, Ce Ce Peniston “Above The Rim” Soundtrack Appetitie for Destruction, Guns N Roses Nevermind, Nirvana Tuesday Night Music Club, Sheryl Crow. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/6 "2011-08-11T03:58:15Z")
Kansas - Leftoverture Styx - Grand Illusion Jackson Browne - Running On Empty Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station James Taylor - JT Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy or IV (?) Billy Joel - The Stranger Monty Python Live At City Center All on 8-track. I was twelve. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/7 "2011-08-11T04:13:33Z")
MAN, I don’t think I can get them all, but I’ll see if I can recall a few: This was nearly forty years ago, mind you, when I ordered these LPs. Three Dog Night _Greatest Hits_ Simon and Garfunkel _Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme_ Ray Stevens _Greatest Hits_ A Portrait of Johnny Cash Gilbert O’Sullivan _Alone Again, Naturally_ Simon And Garfunkel _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ _Godspell_ Neil Diamond _Gold (Live at the Troubador)_ Sorry, that’s all I can recall right now. Maybe I’ll have more later. But now that I think about it, I might not have gotten a round dozen for my penny. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/8 "2011-08-11T12:22:33Z")
BMG girl =) whole bunch of Mozart, Vivaldi 4 seasons, resphigi pines, fountains and roads of rome and non-orff Carmina Burana. I can’t remember but I think my Magic Flute and Don Giovanni are also BMG. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/9 "2011-08-11T12:29:32Z")
I don’t remember my first picks. I would re-up every couple of years. It was a good deal, if you paid attention. You do the 12 free plus one first, then send back the auto-selection every month, until they have the buy one get three deal, which was every six months. yes, I have CDs out the wazoo, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/10 "2011-08-11T12:46:04Z")
Columbia House was kind enough to give me the first CDs I ever owned, and I still have all of them buried in my closet. I recall that I got _Their Greatest Hits - 1971-1975_ by the Eagles, as well as some compilations from Blue Oyster Cult, the Who, and Santana, a couple of George Carlin albums, a Simpsons music album, _Stunt_ by Barenaked Ladies, and _Days of Future Passed_ by the Moody Blues, and two others which I can’t recall which they are at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/11 "2011-08-11T12:48:10Z")
I split it with a friend, but I know I got **Rush** - Chronicles (a greatest hits album) . . . that’s all I remember. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/12 "2011-08-11T14:38:52Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I was always a BMG guy–you only had to buy one tape or CD to get your seven free, while Columbia House forced you to buy eight! Here’s what I rememer getting in 1994: > Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg > 12 Play, R Kelly > Regulate…G Funk Era, Warren G > Finally, Ce Ce Peniston > “Above The Rim” Soundtrack > Appetitie for Destruction, Guns N Roses > Nevermind, Nirvana > Tuesday Night Music Club, Sheryl Crow. Wow, i don’t remember there being such a good selection. The only one i remember from my original order is the batman soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/13 "2011-08-11T15:38:44Z")
My orders were in the cassette era, and the only one of my first 12 that I can recall is Joe Jackson’s _Body and Soul_. I was a member for YEARS and loved it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/14 "2011-08-11T15:42:01Z")
I can only remember a few: Blur - Parklife Blues Traveller - Straight on Till Morning Trainspotting soundtrack Best of Elton John Best of Simon & Garfunkle Best of Peter Gabriel ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/15 "2011-08-11T15:42:17Z")
BMG, all the way. Let’s see, IIRC, I got: Wire - A Bell is a Cup Until it is Struck Morrissey - Viva Hate The Church - Starfish And a bunch of other stuff in that vein. I still probably have those tapes around, but damned if I can remember any more of my first order. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/16 "2011-08-11T21:35:42Z")
The only two I remember are: Led Zeppelin 2 Traffic–Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys Probably Santana was in the mix, maybe Moody Blues. Remember how they would give you some free albums if you got someone else to sign up? I shamelessly talked my grandmother into enrolling. :o She was nothing but good to me, poor to boot, and I roped her into months of sending back refusals and sorting through piles of mail so I could score 3 freebies. I’m ashamed just thinking of it. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/17 "2011-08-12T00:22:51Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I was always a BMG guy–you only had to buy one tape or CD to get your seven free, while Columbia House forced you to buy eight! I did both! Columbia House for cassettes (I was a poor dig at the time) and then later BMG for the CD’s. I signed up to receive the monthly “Heavy Metal” selection from Columbia House, but alas the albums they sent were generally crap. I remember getting a couple of Motörhead cassettes out of the deal though. From BMG I got two or three David Bowie CD’s, two or three Soundgarden CD’s, and Killing Joke’s “Pandemonium”. I still have, and listen to these every now and then. (My Columbia House cassettes are lost in the depths of time.) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/18 "2011-08-12T03:02:12Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Wow, i don’t remember there being such a good selection. The only one i remember from my original order is the batman soundtrack. I got four of those (no idea which) off the original offer in Parade magazine, bought one, and then got the other three from the magazine they sent you every month. The club magazine gave you a lot more choices than the original offer. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/19 "2011-08-16T00:43:23Z")
I just remembered also ordering Led Zepplin IV and The Kinks’ “State of Confusion” album. It’s just fun to look back… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285/20 "2011-08-16T03:59:25Z")
I just remembered America: _A Horse With No Name_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-columbia-house-for-0-01/592285.md?page=2)