(I won't put a poll here, as there's just WAY too many possible variations out there - 2cd jewel case, double jewel case, individual cardboard wallets or digipaks, fold-out multidisc cardboard wallets or digipacks; books with CD holders embedded in the covers, "hamburger" box, LP-sixed box etc etc)

So when it comes to multi-disc sets (including 2CD sets), what kinds of packaging do you like? and what don't you like?



Personally, I'm fine with most kinds as long as they're easy to store, don't damage the discs and are easy to take the discs out from...

I dislike cardboard sleeves.

Same here. I can get down with anything that has the plastic "snap on" jewel case thingee, even if the whole package is cardboard.

Jewel cases.

I've carped about this before, but I hate when the booklets are glued inside a cardboard package.

Good call, Jim. Really hate that!

Jewelcases! Preferable the regular sized ones, though I've had some trouble with the one's that Mosaic uses cracking the disc.

Although I like the size of the slimline double jewel cases, at least one of the hinges inevitably breaks.

Also, I was never a fan of those fat double jewel cases, especially when the designer didn't realize that one of the spines needed to be flipped on the template in order for both spines to face the same way on the final product.

with both comments!

Whether multi-disc or single-disc, I hate packaging that's larger than the standard jewel case or cardboard digipack, since I prefer to shelve everything together. So, this includes, for example, Simon and Garfunkel's "Old Friends: and Bruce Springsteen's "Tracks" or "The Promise."

And another frustration regarding packaging like "Old Friends" and "Tracks" or any cardboard pack with glued on plastic trays: What are you supposed to do when the hub's teeth break and can't hold the disc anymore?

I've really gotten into the "complete albums in mini-LP format box set" trend (they found a way to get me to buy everything yet again), but some are better than others.

I also like the super-deluxe album sets that are packaged in the 6' x 9" boxes, like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road or Songs From the Big Chair. CDs + DVDs with a hard-cover book, readable graphics.

I like packaging that will easily go in the car with little chance of damaging either the packaging or the cd.

I still have a soft spot for the classic double-wide jewel box, which could often contain a third disc or an extra booklet. The three white Beatles' "Anthology" boxes still make for an especially classy item on my shelf. The regular-sized double jewel boxes are much more problematic--much easier to drop a disc while trying to put it in or remove it from the packaging, and much more difficult to replace a cracked or broken box.

Right now, I have multi-disc sets in so many assorted shapes and sizes that I've given up on organizing them any other way than with others of the approximate dimensions. But again, I skew older, in that I like the boxes which contain individual jewel boxes (each with unique artwork) such as the original version of Dylan's "Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3" and the three Elvis boxes for the 50's, 60's and 70's. I also like the three recent super deluxe 12 x 12 Who boxes with the hardbound books, and I'm still itching to get that new Dylan "Basement Tapes" box. The recent Rhino Handmade Monkees titles are all first-rate packages as well.

As for dislikes...I'm a fan of singles boxes, and I don't really mind cardboard sleeves, but I don't like when the sleeves are tightly packed in a slipcover or box with absolutely no space allowance--to access a single disc, one must pull out a bunch of them, and subsequently replacing that disc is a similar chore. I also don't like boxes with lids when the lid hinge is merely a fold in the cardboard. Glue can also be a problem--when it fails.

But my least favorite multidisc packaging is probably the awkward 7" cardboard packaging that Sony's FTD label has been using for its line of "official bootleg" Elvis Presley titles over the past decade or so. I must have 30 or 40 of these, and they really can't be shelved with any of my other Presley titles--and in fact, they can't even be stacked up on top of one another --more than a half-dozen or so and the pile begins to list. They contain a big pocket for an oversized booklet which, unfortunately, does not contain printing any more readable than most standard-sized CD booklets, and the discs themselves are mounted onto a clear, plastic knob which is glued to the inside of the sleeve, and onto which the disc fits too tightly for comfort. It's a shame, because these titles often contain some pretty amazing stuff, and a lot of effort went into the research and artwork, etc. Still, FTD seems absolutely committed to a weird packaging format which I've never encountered for any other artist or label. (Note--Many single-disc FTD titles, particularly the early titles, are in regular digipacks.)

I prefer cardboard sleeves, digipaks and LP sleeve editions (especially with inner sleeves for the CDs).

I love how the Pixies 3 disc Doolittle 25 is packaged in the fold-out cardboard setting. No giant space-wasting monster to put up with.

Hate those cardboard boxes such as the recent Allman Brothers, Rory Gallagher. Worst one ever is a box set containing the planet of the apes collection on BluRay. Couldn't get the bloody discs out to play ! Wedged into cardboard pages. Very little clearance

I'd rather a CD came in a simple paper sleeve than touching any kind of cardboard.

1 - love jewel cases - nothing better. protects the disc and the paperwork.

2 - hate those little nubs that hold the CD in place in a cardboard sleeve...ala Jackson browne

3 - hate anything cardboard that the CD can very easily fall out of as soon as you remove the shrink wrap. nothing, literally, holds the disc in the package, nothing.

4 - hate itsy bitsy teeny weeny writing on the booklets.....who the hell can read those things besides jet fighter pilots and professional; baseball hitters with10/10 vision?

I like Fatboys.

Oh...packaging...

Yep, I tend to agree.

We need more marbles and scarves.