CD collector guides
Everything we've learned grading, pricing and hunting CDs — written for people who actually buy them, and linked straight into the stock it applies to.
Start here
The basics of buying and collecting CDs without wasting money.
Japanese CDs
OBI strips, catalogue numbers and how Japanese editions differ.
A beginner's guide to collecting Japanese CDs
Japanese CDs are the deep end of CD collecting — better packaging, extra tracks, and prices that swing wildly on one strip of paper. Start here.
What is an OBI strip, and does it affect CD value?
The short answer: yes, enormously. A missing OBI can take most of the value off an otherwise mint Japanese CD.
Japanese CD pressings explained
Japanese CDs command a premium for good reasons — and a few myths. Here's what actually adds value.
Japanese vs UK CD editions: which should you buy?
Same album, two very different objects. Here's an honest comparison rather than the usual import evangelism.
Pressings & formats
Identify what you're actually holding: pressings, packaging, SACD, Targets.
How to identify a CD pressing
Two copies of the same album can be worth £3 and £80. Identification is the whole game.
How CD catalogue numbers work
A catalogue number is the closest thing a CD has to a serial number. Learn to read it and you stop buying the wrong edition.
Digipak vs jewel case: a collector's guide
Packaging decides how a CD ages, how it stores, and often what it's worth. The two main options behave very differently.
SACD: what it is and what to look for
SACD is the high-resolution disc format that never went mainstream — which is precisely why the good titles are collectable.
A guide to Target CDs
'Target CD' means one of the earliest CD pressings of all — identified by the bullseye printed on the disc face.
Care & value
Storage, condition and what genuinely makes a CD collectable.
Artists & genres
Collector guides to the areas we buy and stock most deeply.
Best electronic albums to own on CD
Long tracks, long albums, continuous mixes: electronic music is the genre CD was practically designed for.
Collecting 2000s UK indie on CD
The last great CD-first guitar era. It's cheap, it's everywhere, and the interesting editions are already getting harder to find.
Collecting classical and opera on CD
In classical, you're not buying an album — you're buying a performance. Which is why the CD shelves still matter.