MUSICLOVER

MUSICLOVER is a program that permits you to keep accurate records on your inventory of classical CDs. I used to buy exact duplicates of what I have in my collection, because I could never remember what I had and what I did not have. Even if I stacked them alphabetically, it was always cumbersome to get an overall view of what music I had by a particular composer. I often suspected that my listening patterns were changing from year to year, and even from month to month, but I could never track the changes in my tastes reliably. All these problems have vanished since I wrote MUSICLOVER.

MUSICLOVER is a special-purpose database program that permits you a great deal of flexibility in managing your CD inventory. It is true that if you have a sizable collection of CDs, you must make an initial effort to enter them in the database. (When I entered my collection into the database, I had about 600 CDs. It took me about 8-10 hours to do the job.) After that, all you need to do is enter additions to the collection (or subtractions, if you accidentally stomp on a CD). If you want to track your listening patterns over time, you also need to record (in a very easy manner) when you listen to a piece. MUSICLOVER provides you, whenever you want, with a whole set of interesting statistics, such as how many works you have by each composer in your collection, how many performances you have by different ensembles and conductors, the distribution of what you have been listening to by calendar quarter and by date of the composer's birth, and many others.

MUSICLOVER runs in a DOS window under Windows98 or XP.The cost of the real program is $37.00, plus shipping and taxes (if applicable), and can be obtained from me.