How to organize your records so you can find any one in seconds

To organize a record collection, pick one filing order and write its rules down, give every shelf or crate a name, and leave about a hand's width of room in each. When a section fills up, split it or add one more unit instead of re-sorting everything.

Under 100 records? File A–Z by artist on one shelf and you are done. Come back when it fills up.

Collectors we asked named sorting records into crates and sections as one of their biggest jobs. Finding one record often takes longer than it should, and some run out of space, buy more storage and start over. The plan below is built to stop all three.

Which order should you file records in?

• A–Z by artist. Simple, and how most shops file. Big collections get long runs to flip through.
• Genre, then A–Z inside each. The best fit for most mixed collections. Keep it to a handful of genres, and file a crossover record where you would look for it first.
• Label. For jazz, house and other label-led collecting, and for DJs. Keep the crate for tonight's set apart from the shelf.
• Year. Tells the story of a scene, but you have to remember each record's year to find it.

Where do “The”, solo artists, compilations and soundtracks go?

Write these rules on a card and keep it by the shelf, so you file the same way every time:

• “The”: ignore it. The Beatles go under B.
• Artists' names: by surname, including bands named after a person. David Bowie and The Jimi Hendrix Experience both go under their surname letter, B and H.
• Several albums by one artist: by release year, oldest first. Keep pressings of one album together, oldest pressing first.
• Compilations by many artists: in their own section at the end of each genre.
• Soundtracks and cast recordings: their own section.
• 7-inch singles: their own shelf or box, because they get lost between LPs. File them by artist like the LPs.

Shelf or crate?

Cube shelf, for the main collection. The IKEA KALLAX is the default. IKEA rates each shelf at 13 kg (29 lb), which is about 50 LPs, so fill each cube to about 50 records and fix the unit to the wall.

Crates, for browsing from the top and growing one at a time. An LP sleeve is about 12⅜ inches square, and many new milk crates are only about 12 inches inside, so check the inside size before you buy. The Milk Crates Direct Super Crate is 13.7 inches inside and deep enough for sleeves to sit below the rim. Keep stacks low, so the bottom crate is easy to reach and the stack stays steady. Do not take crates from behind a shop: dairy crates belong to the dairy, and taking them can be illegal.

Whatever you use, store records upright and snug, never stacked flat. Flat stacks warp the records at the bottom.

How do you find any record in seconds?

Name every shelf and crate, and write the names down as a map. For a collection spread across rooms, it can look like this:

• Living room: Cubes 1–8 (rock and soul, A–Z)
• Office: Cubes 9–12 (jazz), 7-inch box
• Hall closet: Crates A–C (overflow, A–Z)

Then add dividers. Spine-out shelves need side-tab A–Z dividers, whose letters stick out past the spines. Crates you flip from the top need full-size 12-inch A–Z dividers, whose tabs show above the sleeves.

Record which shelf or crate each record lives in when you catalog it. Our weekend plan for cataloging a big collection builds this in from the start. In Teca, make a crate for each shelf; if you import from Discogs, your folders arrive as crates. You can then flip through each one in 3D (in beta).

To get a shelf into Teca without pulling each record, use the spine scanner (in beta). On the scan camera, tap Spines and photograph 5 to 12 spines at a time, straight on. Each batch lands in its own crate.

What do you do when you run out of space?

1. Leave a hand's width free in every cube or crate. New records slot in without moving anything else. If every cube is already full, start with the next step.
2. Split a full section instead of shifting the whole shelf. Rock A–L can move to its own cube while M–Z stays put. Move the divider, update your map, and you are done.
3. Grow one unit at a time. Add a crate or a shelf unit at the end of the section that is full.
4. Move the records you rarely play to a second tier. A spare shelf or a closet crate at waist height works. Note the new spot on your map and in your catalog, so they are still easy to find.
5. Find your doubles. Before you buy more storage, look for records you own twice, then sell or trade one copy.

How does an organized shelf help in a shop?

The same list that tells you where a record lives tells you whether you own it. Check it before you buy, so you don't come home with a double. Keep a wantlist beside it, so the records you are hunting are a tap away.

In Teca, scan a sleeve in the shop to check whether you already own it, and keep several wantlists for different goals.

Where do the records you are playing go?

Keep a small “now playing” spot by the turntable. A desk sorter such as the IKEA VARIERA pot lid organizer holds a stack upright. Put each record back in its named spot when you are done.

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