major cleanup today. and i’m buried in CDs. have 4 smallish storage towers. maybe hold 20 each. Fellowes. clear doors broke off. have 1 shelf thing. maybe holds 60. and more piles. looking for something to replace them. and something to hold music CDs too. maybe. another couple hundred +. dont know what exactly. sitting on maybe 500 right now.
how are people storing their CDs? i cant be only one w piles of disks. maybe i should just put everything on an extra harddrive.
I´m on the dirty-messy-scratchy cd pile club, thinking about the external hard drive as well. Any suggestions on brands? they all sound like shite to me…
i dont trust a harddrive. not just one at least.
I don’t have many CDs, but if I did I would probably house them in some type of tower or shelf like books in a library.
Here are a few interesting CD towers.
And this is pretty trendy as well.
This is definately my favorite:
Yeah that ones pretty cool. You can hide the fact that you’re still rockin your Billy Joel CDs. lol.
i’m liking this one. little heavy on the border. but looks substantial. not flimsy.
but those Kursaal ones are nice.
I use these to store my cd’s
Abov: Lacie Porsche hard drive, heavy as a brick, but it’s small and holds a lot. I have a bigger older one to back up that backup.
The actual “CD’s” sit a big box in the closet, I think it’s getting close to 600 now
Gee, ykh, how about on regular shelves …
Can’t believe even designers fall for these useless CD “towers” and similar clutter junk with zero added value.
duh …
might like looking at them. but not seeing anything i’d buy tbh. have no shelves. dont want them.
what i’d like is dual-purpose. maybe use for storage. in a closet like YO. but also ok out in the office. maybe stackable. built to last years. then use for a move. be durable. maybe has handles. so basically something you could swing a lid into place, lock and put in a moving fan. then unload into the workspace.
http://www.casedirect.com/multi_view.asp?EDP=34601&VIEW=D
Holds 320 cd’s or dvd’s with a built in carry handle. Takes up the same space as 2-3 books on a shelf. A couple of these takes up very little space and holds plenty. Each one easily fits into a backpack.
I have a smaller hard case that just holds applications and reboot disks, for emergency escape needs, grab it on the way out the door.
Next on the list is just a $100 dvd burner for backups so I don’t need to carry as many disks.
No need at all for towers, etc…most discs have enough info printed on the label to know what it is, scrap the cases, keep artwork filed away for sentimental reasons.
okay for data storage CDs. what about music? i trade mine back in every couple years. keep only 100 +/-. stuck w plastic case and inserts.
take all your cds out of their cases. Put the cds and booklets in a big cd wallet like this. Put all the empty cases in a box or sell them on ebay.
Saves you ever smashing a cd case again and you can flick through easily. Only draw back is you cant take up a whole wall with little shiny coloured boxes.
I’m thinking more and more of going Yo’s way. Store everything on my home PC, upload a ton to an iPod and use that when I travel. I already have my PC hooked up to speakers in my office and my stereo in the living room. It drives my wife nuts, but I love using it.
Currently I am using some cheap shelving bought at Canadian Tire. I also store my printer up on one of the shelves.
Ideally, one would simply purchase the ‘CD’ online and download the songs, which could be stored on a hard drive and used on whichever portable music device is preferred. This completely bypasses the actual disc, case, booklet, and the added cost of transporting, stocking, storing once bought, etc. that goes along with a tangible product.
I’ve really taken to downloading my music lately (legitimately!) as it costs less and I don’t have to fool with storing the case/CD when not listening to it. 
I still refuse to go that route because of the DRM imposed by the distributors which I find extremely unfair.
When was the last time you bought a CD that was only allowed to be played on 3 CD players?
cd’s as a storage medium will slowly, but surely go the way of the 8-track. pardon me as i date myself, but i can remember when they first came out. i can also remember when they were almost too expensive to buy. and now it isn’t uncommon to find one in the mail as a free give away.
to that end, i just wanted to share this link i did for a competition several years ago:
http://www.blackhagendesign.com/jerry/dtmp/dtmp.htm
just an idea of what to do with them when your favorite cd’s have exceeded their playable life…play some more.
reality is i have music CDs. dont want to store CD in one place and store CD case for trade-in somewhere else. makes no sense to me. and maybe someday all my music will be mp3’s online. but today it isnt. may not be for years. could save to HD, but who sits down and does nothing but rip CDs to HD? couple hundred of them. its enough to deal w all the rest.
just looking for one container solution as mentioned above. seems everything is a cd tower. or hide-away storage box. odd the options are so limited.
YKH: You seemed to want to store your CDs in the smallest possible area. Since the CD cases are square, the most dense way to store them is in squares. I have seen a neat wall storage unit for CDs that is not square, I’ll try to find it again and post it.
I’m still looking for the CD rack I am thinking of. I thought it was at Topdeq, but I can’t find it in the catalogue.
Here are some goodies though:
Tall, thin, minimalist. Check out topdeq.com.
couple comments resonated w me.
“Can’t believe even designers fall for these useless CD “towers” and similar clutter junk with zero added value.”
and
“Only draw back is you cant take up a whole wall with little shiny coloured boxes.”
condescending imo. worse. i had the same attitude. sadly took me a few days to figure out what was wrong.
those things sell. not just a few. alot. yet i’ve always viewed them as “useless” and cheap. just like those comments. a product for the indiscriminant masses. had to go back a ways to realize something.
i dont think people buy these towers for storage. not really. these are social objects. how often you go to a party. someone you kind of know hosting. music is playing. and the selection is their CD tower collection. out in the open. and looking at the selection an opinion of the owner is formed. thats happened to me. i’ve done that. think i know someone and their taste, then see music that doesnt match expectation. and i’m betting it happens alot.
people want to show their musical taste. just like they wear sports logos. this isnt about cheap CD storage. its about identity. exposing their musical taste to say something about themselves. sad to say that never occured to me before. so thanks for those comments even though they probly werent well-intentioned. still dont want a tower. but my attitude about those who buy them is gone. i never should have felt that way. and sorry i did.