What Fields for a database of albums?

[matonanjin]

Hi all.  I just joined this forum and, admittedly, have some selfish motives for joining.  I'm looking for some advice.  I'm going to put my vinyl collection in a database and curious what fields I should have.  I'm sure most of you on here have done so.   I don't want to enter them all and then find I'm missing something.

So far I have:

Artist

Album Name

Year

Genre

Format (It is my record/vinyl collection.  But I may at some point catalog our CD collection and enter any streaming ones we have)

Notes

Needs Cleaning (A Boolean field to click if it's really dirty)

Original Position

 

Most of the fields are self-evident.   The "Needs Cleaning" just reflects that, for a lot of years, I did not take care of my collection.  As I am entering the album in the database I am playing it.   If it is really dirty I am checking this.  I will, at some point, go back and clean it.

As I am entering the albums, it is given the number of its place in the list and then put on the shelf in a cabinet, upright as it should finally be.  If I should ever sort the list by any field, such as artist, etc., I can then unsort the list to coincide with the order of the albums on the shelf.

 

Are there any fields you think I should add?  My collection isn't that large compared to a lot of yours, I'm sure.   Maybe 500 -1000.  But I don't want to go to the efoort of cataloging them and then find out I've missed an important field.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Here's what it looks like so far:

 

[Derek™]

Artist name, album title, and record weight are all you need.  It’s important to know if something is only 177 grams when it’s advertised as 180.

[HoneyFrosted]

Uh. condition. Or grade. would be a good one.

[PaPaBoo]

Have you looked at discogs.com they have alot of info that may help you

[Justinadamk]

Just use discogs.com - they already did this for you

Edited April 8, 2023 by Justinadamk

[drds89]

1 hour ago, Justinadamk said:

Just use discogs.com - they already did this for you

I do keep a spreadsheet too with fields:

Band /Title /Format (7", 10", LP, TP, CD etc.) / #pressed if known/ weight and color variant - the longest field for descriptions / price paid / date ordered/ date arrived / shipping cost / taxes or discount / Condition / If numbered #3/200 / Miscellaneous notes (group buy, autographed, trade for/with, etc.)

Edited April 8, 2023 by drds89

[drds89]

Dreaded double post, hadn't had that in a while

Edited April 8, 2023 by drds89

[LIGMA_BALLZ]

“Sucks” / “doesn’t suck”

[matonanjin]

12 hours ago, HoneyFrosted said:

Uh. condition. Or grade. would be a good one.

Very good suggestion.  Thank you.

1 hour ago, drds89 said:

I do keep a spreadsheet too with fields:

Band /Title /Format (7", 10", LP, TP, CD etc.) / #pressed if known/ weight and color variant - the longest field for descriptions / price paid / date ordered/ date arrived / shipping cost / taxes or discount / Condition / If numbered #3/200 / Miscellaneous notes (group buy, autographed, trade for/with, etc.)

I have a combo list to choose format.   But you have a couple more choices that it wouldn't hurt to add.  What is "TP"?   And I don't care about price paid and date etc.  Thank you.

1 hour ago, drds89 said:

Dreaded double post, hadn't had that in a while

Huh?

1 hour ago, LIGMA_BALLZ said:

“Sucks” / “doesn’t suck”

This list is just for me and I largely do that in the notes.  Look at my "original position" 28 and 32.  Thank you. 

[Bronchitis]

1 hour ago, matonanjin said:

What is "TP"?

Test press

 

1 hour ago, matonanjin said:

Huh?

He accidentally posted the same comment twice, so he went back and edited the duplicate to acknowledge it. We can’t delete comments on here.

[yes chef]

Calorie Count

GF (gluten free)

VF (vegan friendly)

 

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

3 hours ago, drds89 said:

I do keep a spreadsheet too with fields:

Band /Title /Format (7", 10", LP, TP, CD etc.) / #pressed if known/ weight and color variant - the longest field for descriptions / price paid / date ordered/ date arrived / shipping cost / taxes or discount / Condition / If numbered #3/200 / Miscellaneous notes (group buy, autographed, trade for/with, etc.)

While I can understand keeping a local database, discogs works fine for me. You can even customize fields and make notes. I keep track of what is signed that way.

 

I recently started categorizing them in folders by genre like my collection is too.

[matonanjin]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:08 PM, HoneyFrosted said:

Uh. condition. Or grade. would be a good one.

Is there a recognized list of levels of conditions anywhere that vinyl collectors use?  Discogs, or anyone else, have one?

[mitchard]

14 minutes ago, matonanjin said:

Is there a recognized list of levels of conditions anywhere that vinyl collectors use?  Discogs, or anyone else, have one?

https://www.goldminemag.com/collector-resources/record-grading-101

Goldmine is the baseline used for ratings on Discogs, though I think most sellers (and buyers, really) don't try very hard to accurately apply it. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by mitchard

[OU818]

whichever fields, definitely remember to rotate every few years to keep the soil viable

[tape]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:12 AM, matonanjin said:

What is "TP"? 

It's for your bunghole.

[HoneyFrosted]

3 hours ago, matonanjin said:

Is there a recognized list of levels of conditions anywhere that vinyl collectors use?  Discogs, or anyone else, have one?

Yeah  as was said Goldmine grading is ‘standard’ but people’s views vary wildly, especially now.

For the most part though, condition will determine value, especially with coveted or sought after releases. Inspect carefully.

Good rule of thumb is to play it conservative, as very little is actually mint, or near mint for that matter.

Of course if this is just a list for yourself then do whatever you want.

I’m not an expert at all, but although Discogs is an incredible resource, not every release is there, so a spreadsheet is not a bad idea. You may find the tedious data work less than fulfilling. For insurance purposes it’s indispensable. I found I could not keep up with what I was receiving, especially when Discogs does most of it for me. That’s just me though.

[matonanjin]

Those of you that are using Excel, or some other local database, what are you doing concerning an album's "genre"?  As we all know, an album can be listed as multiple genres.  In the field (column) for genre do you just "click" on what you consider the most accurate, the genre that it is the most like to fall under.  ?  Or do you have a system that allows multiple genres?  Most of my albums are going to be considered blues but also blues rock, electric blues, and maybe others.  The first album in my list in my OP, Lightnin' Hopkins "Texas Blues Man", is probably just considered blues.  But the second, Buddy Guy's "Born to Play Guitar", is probably both Blues and Chicago Blues.

Does your system allow multiple genres?  Do you have multiple columns and click all that may apply?

 

[Derek™]

1 column for a “main” genre that neatly feeds into a graph with 7-10 values, and then a column to its right for sub-genres.  Which is the one I filter when I’m on the prowl for a specific sound.