Because of lack of money and space, I have always faced a dilemma when buying CD's - should I concentrate on big names or obscurities? The big names that I collect are big names for a reason - they've made great music. But when I collect runs of prolific big name artists, I'm always thinking there are great obscure names out there waiting to be discovered, music I've never heard on the radio. You know, the sort of names that Rev-Ola like to dig up. So if I collect all 50+ albums by The Temptations, that means 50 albums of obscure music that I have to live without and probably will never get to hear. I'd say my collecting approach is 3/4 big names and 1/4 obscure names. But sometimes I go on an obscurity kick, like right now I'm exploring the more obscure disco from the '70s. Then I give the big names a rest. And runs don't necessarily have to be complete. I don't think I need Paul Simon's "The Caveman", for example.

Then there's the time factor. Things go out of print and up, up, up in price. So I have to judge which titles are most likely to be deleted first, which titles will be hardest to find later when they've gone OOP (hello, Hip-O Select), and which titles will be most expensive to acquire on the second hand market. This is no easy feat. I need only mention the David Ruffin solo album and The Motown Singles vol 6 as examples of titles that I may never get.

Another concern of mine is that a lot of the smaller labels that reissue obscurities,for example you mentioned Rev-ola,might go out of business anytime within the next few years,(the credit crunch,a minority interest market and the continuing decline in cd sales) and then those rarities go down with the ship.Cherry Red are already doing downloads-maybe they think physical album sales are not the future.
Rev-ola has already had problems after it's distributor Pinnacle folded,although I don't know what the latest is on that.

What do you have against Paul Simon's "The Caveman"?

I've only read negative reviews of it, will have to borrow it from the library. I know that his second to last album was very dull.

One good thing about the download revolution is that things "stay in print", since there is no physical medium or storage.

I think Simon was having a little fun--it's The Capeman.

Oh, I got it confused with a Ringo Starr movie!

Let's face it, Goog -- until they do an expanded remaster of Mike Love's Looking Back With Love, your collection will always feel incomplete.

Oooh, that's hurts us Beach Boy lovers right where we live But then again.....

Linda, you can be such a naughty liberian sometimes (Which is why we love you)

Rick A.

These days I mostly like to surf Ebay and Amazon for OOP import singles. The scarcer titles aren't getting any cheaper.

Seriously, I'd buy it!