It often starts with just one—your favorite old-school rock album that you found at a flea market or maybe a recent limited edition release from your favorite artist. Then you get another. Perhaps you buy a milk crate or carve out some room on a shelf for your newly acquired records. Then you get another and another… and another, and suddenly the shelf or crate just won’t do anymore. You need an upgrade.
Talk to the average record collector, and they’ll probably tell you, there’s not a single “right way” to store or organize your records. “I think that everybody should do what they want to, and that’s the baseline of it,” said vinyl record content creator, Tyler Melton, also known online as Tyler for the Record. That freedom is part of the beauty of it. If you’re looking at your steadily growing collection and feeling overwhelmed with your options, there are a few tips to get you started.
1. STORE IN CUBBY SHELVES
“You want to make sure you at least have a 13-by-13 gap for depth,” Melton said. “13-by-13-by-13—for enough space, but anything like that is perfect.” He personally uses a six-cube organizer from Target, but also points to the Ikea Kallax shelving unit as another economical alternative.
Content creator Wesley Taylor likes to lean into design when it comes to storing his record collection, encouraging people to invest in quality pieces that will last forever and ever. “I have some custom solid wood pieces that I know I can keep for the rest of my life if I want to,” Taylor said. “Really [think] about how many records you see yourself having in the next few years, and how you want the record player to interact with the rest of your space.” Taylor bought his cubes from Hedge House Furniture, but you can find stylish, solid wood options just about anywhere—like this sleek mid-century modern turntable stand available on Amazon and Wayfair. For those with a larger budget, USM’s Haller credenza offers a stylish alternative for anyone looking for a more retro, industrial silhouette while WickerWoodWorks sells a stunning sturdy cabinet that also doubles as a turntable for your player.
2. CREATE YOUR OWN VINYL STYLE STORE
For Alex F., the vinyl collector known online as Plastic.Disc, and his collection of over 1,000 records, he wanted to make his space look and feel like a record shop. As his collection reached well over 1,000 records, he made his own flip bins so he could casually thumb through his collection and clearly see each record jacket versus glancing at the spines. While Alex handmade his flip bins, you can also find a few smaller stands on Urban Outfitters, Wayfair, and Walmart. Symbol Audio also sells a three-bay stand that can fit up to 390 records.
3. THROW IN A FEW MILK CRATES
Just because you’ve got some shelves doesn’t mean you need to ditch those milk crates. Use them for any extra records that might not fit on your shelves or designate them specifically for vinyl that has liquid or other substances inside them. Alex especially recommends storing vinyls like these separate from the rest of your collection in case they leak—that way, they won’t ruin any of your other records. Opt for the standard plastic milk crate or, if you’ve got more money to spend, try an elevated wooden option.
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4. KEEP EVERYTHING SORTED
While not all vinyl collectors need dividers—just ask Wesley Taylor, he can tell you where all his records are just by muscle memory—they are useful for larger collections. “The biggest thing for me is alphabetical,” Alex said, who sorts all of his records alphabetically by artist from left to right. Any records by the same artists he then sorts in order of album release—a technique also used by Melton. To keep a formal written record (pun intended) of your vinyl collection, Alex, Melton, and Taylor all point to the online platform Discogs—which allows users to shop for vinyl and keep track of their collection
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5. DISPLAY A FEW ON THE WALL
While Melton advises against leaving bare vinyls in direct sunlight or hanging them on the wall for long amounts of times as it can damage the vinyl itself, you can display a few across your wall using floating shelves—just make sure they’re still in their jackets. Alex specifically prefers to use these for his most treasured and expensive records, like what you might see in a record shop. Melton does something similar in his listening studio, though he advises switching them out regularly so they don’t get prolonged direct sunlight.
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Though if you want to make use of vertical space, you can also display and store your vinyls on shelves like you would with books. You can specifically find floating cube-shaped shelves—which Sabrina Carpenter seems to favor—that feature the square dimensions Melton recommends on Etsy or even Amazon for a more affordable option. If you want to splurge and like your room to feel a bit like a spaceship, consider one of Toneoptic’s rotating RPM shelves. The RPMs are basically dividers that store your vinyl with the spines facing out, but feature a mechanism on the bottom that allows you to seamlessly rotate them so the album cover faces you. You can mount these on the wall, or just put them on top of a cabinet.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What’s the most affordable way to organize my record collection?
Embroider it on a pillow: you can’t go wrong with using a few milk crates. They’re affordable, super accessible, and the dimensions fit the square shape Melton suggests. Simply place them on a table or in some cubbies.
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2. Do I need plastic sleeves?
You don’t need plastic sleeves, though you might want some. Melton advises people to invest in plastic sleeves for the records as well as their jackets to preserve them. “You take them in and out of your shelves a lot. There’s friction on the bottoms, on the sides,” Melton said. “Storing them in an outer sleeve makes the outer sleeves take the brunt of any potential damage, rather than the record jacket itself.” Melton specifically stocks his sleeves from Square Deal because he likes the variety of sizes available. Record sleeves aren’t always necessary. Taylor personally opts out of using them, content with his record jackets acquiring a worn look over time. Though, if you’re looking to maintain the mint condition of your vinyl collection, consider grabbing a pack.
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3. Should I stack my vinyl on top of each other?
Regardless of how you decide to store or organize your records, make sure to keep them vertical. Never stack your records on top of each other or let them list to the side. This can warp the vinyl, which can impact the overall sound quality.
