Muzman on 6/8/2009 at 15:21

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That's right, it doesn't really matter who you like the best just who you bought/aquired the most. It might say something surprising about your tastes or just make you regret buying that box of Elton John tapes at that garage sale that time.

I'm not entirely sure how this will work with iTunes et al, but think of it in terms of entire albums, singles, EPs. Anything that's a package and not individual tracks (you can count boxed set albums individually though. Well, I have). Although even if you love them to bits, know all their songs by heart over twenty years, went to concerts, bought the t-shirt etc <i>but sponged your listening material from your boyfriend all this time</i> it's not on the list. But classics nerds can go by composer if they wish.

Needless to say, it's weighted in favour of the prolific. If your favourite band in the history of the world is, oh I dunno, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Roses#Discography) The Stone Roses or something, you will hear (http://members.iinet.net.au/~ragtag/BahBow.mp3) this sound.

Now then, after combing my (tiny, I've just noticed) collection I came up with this tally.

In equal fourth place, with four items each:
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:j9fwxqw5ldse~T00) Massive Attack
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kxfoxqw5ldje~T00) Aphex Twin
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difqxqe5ldte~T00) Midnight Oil
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fjfoxq8gldje~T00) Lamb
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jifpxqw5ldae~T00) Barry Adamson &
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifexqr5ld6e~T00) Nine Inch Nails

Coming in equal third place, we have:
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:avfqxqrgldke~T00) The Chemical Brothers
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0ifuxqt5ldke~T00) Miles Davis
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifixq95ld6e~T00) Public Enemy
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difuxqe5ldde~T00) Living Colour
and long winded prog jazz weirdos (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:axfpxqegldke~T00) The Necks

At number two, with bullets and other projectiles;
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3pfrxqq5ld6e~T00) Tori Amos &
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqw5ldke~T00) KMFDM

But quietly accumulating their way to the top, the inimitable...

(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:axfwxqr5ld6e~T00) Autechre

And the crowd goes detached and introspective!
Yes, what a show it was.

So go on. Tally your stuff for a while. It's not like you've got anything better to do. Just face it.

rachel on 6/8/2009 at 15:51

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That's a good way to actually get an idea of my music collection, I've kind of lost track of all the stuff I have. That's gonna take a while :) Off the top of my head I think it might be The Corrs, I bought pretty much everything I could from them when I was in Uni, I must have five or six of their records.

I think iTunes count only if you buy the whole album.

[this space to be filled in later]

rachel on 6/8/2009 at 16:21

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LMAO, I should have known someone would dig this out :laff:

Coulda been me back in 1998 :) By 2007, I had long turned to real Irish folk music.

demagogue on 6/8/2009 at 16:31

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If you're liberal with what counts as a single "act", then #1 for me would be The Police/Sting.

#2 is a tie between Foo Fighters, Belle & Sebastian, and maybe also Dave Matthews if memory serves me right. There might be some others.

Edit: I have a lot of classic jazz compilations that cover a lot of tunes by some artists (pianists especially), but they aren't really original albums and compilations are hard to count. Same deal with classical music. I have practically every Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart symphony, sonata and concerto, which takes up a good number of CDs, but it's hard to know how to "count" that. If you did, then I think technically 1 and 2 would be Beethoven and Mozart, then Sting.

Muzman on 6/8/2009 at 16:51

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Good question. As in concerts and video clip compilations? I don't see why not.

(Now I think about it, I'm not too sure what to do about DJ sets and so forth. I do think if you've got everything, say, Carl Craig put out you should probably tell us.)