Fenxy

If you go to local record stores, you can get old records for pretty cheap.

Wow, impressive. I have 1,128 illegal albums if thats worth anything...

I've got 1,432 in my itunes, but many are illegal.

Those are quite the collections. I haven't done an exact count, but im somewhere around 350. Mostly all metal that I love.

Maybe start a site saying you are looking for Old CDs that people want to give away and you will pay for shipping. Don't forget good ol fashioned yard sales and garage sales.

Used discs is the way to go. The neighborhood Graywhale CD here in town, always has some great used Heavy Metal discs (which is what I look for) very, very cheap.

Oddly enough our local rubbish tip do a nice line in music - don't laugh they do and it's about 10p a disk.

Used discs and Amazon marketplace dealers have been my major suppliers. I used to get a lot of stuff cheap on eBay, but too many people have caught on and are jumping on the rarer (re)issues.

Man, those were the days when I could get a 100-discs plus "Jazz in Paris" series for under $200. :) Today, because it is such a rare collection, you won't get those discs under $600-800 and I've even seen one go for $1400. :( The same goes for just about any other in-demand boxed set on eBay. There are simply too many knowledgeable people around. The only thing you can hope for are people who misspelled a name/title and even that is caught by a lot of people nowadays.

Because I don't have so much time to scout around my usual second-hand haunts anymore, I don't really have place to get rarer material anymore unless I'm lucky enough to score a rare boxed set off some member of some music forum.

check out craigslist.com as people always get rid of stuff, including music cd's, records and tapes for cheap.

with this contest, do you have to have actual "store bought" cd's or can you have mp3 files?

if just music files, i'm sure a few people around the 9rules notes would be more then happy to donate some music your way... it is a good cause :)

- Put an ad in your local newspaper in the Wanted section of the Classifieds for unwanted LPs, cassettes, CDs, 8-tracks. My brother did this years ago for comics and he had a ton of responses.

- Yard/garage sales can yield treasures at a very negotiable price.

- Find an old music shop in your area, see if their older stock sells. If not, make an offer for a large lot. Some owners would rather get a decent sum, and make some shelf space, by moving older items that have collected dust for a decade or more.

- Used bins and Cut-out bins. Many record stores, especially independent chains, will put these sections on sale to make room for hoilday merchandise. My local shop has a 99 cent rack filled with CDs.

I'm assuming the contest is based on Quantity, is Quality taken into account? It's great that you have a lively collecting competition but if you are buying for the sake of buying rather than the music, is it really worth it?

Check out the library. Often they receive donated items (like records & CDs) and you can get them for about .25-50 each.

Damn, the public library is definitely a resource I would have never thought of. The Internet made them disappear for me, which is kind of sad because I would get lost for hours in the fantasy section. Glad to see they still serve another purpose.

I would get lost in the mystery section. I miss my mysteries. Heck, I don't even know where my library card is. That's sad.

Amazon Marketplace is your friend.

*making a note and putting real big not to buy anything until after I move. Last thing I need is something else to box up.

Would copies you make from library CDs in the States be legal?
Or are you guys just listening to them before you return them?

go to discogs marketplace

I would rather have 1 good cd than 800 crappy ones. What a silly contest.

I would rather have 1 good cd than 800 crappy ones. What a silly contest.

It isn't really, as long as you listen to all the music you collect. You just might stumble upon a band/genre/niche that you'll absolutely fall in love with ...

I'd rather go through Hype Machine, or Last.fm, to find music similar to the ones I already like. Collaborative filters mean I get to search through much less crap than if I go out and buy every old record I can get my paws on.

But, if it's your time, and your sanity ... hunt away.

And good luck.

[update]: Come to think of it, this would be a very good idea for a new blog. Not many of us have the time or the energy to do something like what you're suggesting - and it'll definitely be an adventure worth writing about.

PS this Note is two years old. NE update?

Holy shit, Jen. Note necromancy. Okay okay I'll let this one die.

Feeding the revival...

Would copies you make from library CDs in the States be legal?

Technically, you would be creating an unauthorized copy, same as if you were borrowing a friend's disc. Same laws apply, so nope, not legal.

Look at half.com for decent prices on used CDs. Thrift stores and pawn shops can be good too. You never know where you'll find some great stuff.

I once picked up a copy of Martin Denny's rare Exotic Moog on vinyl for dirt cheap at leftist book store in Northwest Florida.