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Purchasing compilation discs is an excellent way to build your music collection, especially when you are looking for a variety of songs from a specific period or genre in which you are lacking. You can get a good sample of the style and sound without investing in dozens of albums with one or two great songs each. There are a few key things to keep in mind when perusing the many available titles.

First, look to see if the album specifies that the songs are "by the original artist". You will find, especially with older songs or more obscure genres, that the tracks have been "re-imagined" by a cover band or orchestrated and performed by the South Smithville Symphonic Orchestra. Unless you are looking for a good laugh, do not buy such albums. The original songs were hits because of who performed them and how. Tribute bands and orchestral re-makes are almost without exception attempts to cash in on someone else's success with far less quality and, often, talent. For classical albums this is trickier, of course. Check out the last tip for more information on these.

Second, check to see if the songs have been re-mastered from the original recordings. In these cases, it is worth a search on the internet to find a copy to sample. You want songs that are balanced and crisp with vocals (if any) that you can understand. Many compilations, especially the very inexpensive ones, are simply digital versions of poor recordings. Unless there is a very rare song included (and/or you have the equipment at home to clean up the sound), don't waste your time or money on these. Try on-line stores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders to see if they have snippets of these tracks available. It's worth waiting to purchase until you can sample the sound quality.

Third, know what you already have. Sometimes it's worth paying for a duplicate song if you get 17 that you don't already own, but buying a compilation with 15 songs that you already have to get 3 that you don't is pointless. You'd do better to find them on-line and purchase them individually. Have a pad and pen handy to jot down the songs in question (title and artist, to avoid confusion!) so that you can look them up. Again, on-line services are excellent for this as many will show you all of the compilations on which the artist or song title appear. Then you can see if there is one which offers more value for your money or if you would be better served buying the songs individually.

Once you've found a disc that you're pretty sure you'd like to purchase, do an on-line search for reviews. If you are lucky, there will be at least a couple that are detailed enough to give you an idea of what you'll get for your money. With classical albums this is especially important, as all orchestras are NOT created equal. Often the discs with all of the tracks by one symphony or one composer are of better quality than things like "The Best Classical Music on the Planet".

I know this all sounds like a lot of work for a simple CD purchase, but if you're attempting to build a first-class music collection or to get a real picture of a genre or period which is new to you, it will be well worth the effort and you may learn a thing or two along the way.

Learn more about this author, Mel Bergen.
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