Recommendations for CD and Record Collections: Box Set Projects
When you are about to purchase CDs or records, the question sometimes arises as to whether you should buy individual CDs or records, or go for a "box set project" that bundles several together.
For example, suppose you decide you want to collect all of Beethoven's symphonies (nine in total).
Because they are famous, CDs and records by various conductors and orchestras are available for each individual piece, and even in reviews in specialized magazines, the recommended recordings often differ for each one.
On the other hand, there are also various complete sets by conductors like Karajan, Walter, or Bernstein, and if you buy them as a set, they come with excellent booklets and storage cases.
Now, there are times when you might wonder which one to choose.
If you look closely, you will notice that such projects are not limited to specific composers or performers, but include a wide variety of collections categorized by genre or instrument, such as "Complete Chamber Music Collections," "Complete Concerto Collections," "Complete Symphony Collections," "Complete Piano Works," "Semi-Classical Collections," or "Complete Vocal Works."
Of course, it is impossible to decide unconditionally which way of buying is better.
In terms of saving trouble, I think box sets are good, but the performers are naturally limited due to production constraints.
In terms of comparing and collecting various things, you might find it unsatisfying, and I feel that if you buy everything in one go, you might end up listening to them less often than you expected, perhaps due to a sense of complacency.
Having said that, depending on the content, there are also things like "Semi-Classical Collections" that would be very difficult to collect one by one.
In the end, I think which one you choose depends on the content of what you are trying to collect and the collector's own philosophy.
The point is, I believe it comes down to what the collection as a whole will look like, including those factors.