Kirk you are insane with all those CDs. You're a musician! Where do you get the time to listen to them?
I have cds I haven't listened to in years. There are a lot I've only listened to once and put away. It's cool 'cause, like recently when I saw the Pretenders and listened to their first album 3 times in preparation, I can rediscover great music I wasn't very familiar with. And the really great thing - when I get a song stuck in my head, I can go home and listen to it.
roboy - I have a little bit of pre rock stuff. Sometimes I'll start collecting big hits from certain years, which will have me tracking down some artists that no one who wasn't there at the time would know unless they looked back at the charts like I do. I'm talking Gale Storm, the Fontaine Sisters, Horace Heidt, Freddy Martin, etc. It's fun.
And hey! If you ever come across a recording of Bing Crosby's version of "Dolores," let me know. #2 hit in '41 and I've only ever seen the Sinatra/Dorsey version, which only made #7.
I grew up singing pop and musical theatre but my heart's always been with the rock songwriters: U2, Elton John, Prince, Joni Mitchell, even Madonna from '89 on. You should have seen the cabaret show I did. Bobby Darrin, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Suzanne Vega, Sting, Tony Bennett, I was all over the map.