I've been using Music Collector by Collectorz.com, a cd cataloging data base because the entry of cds is facilitated by online search and barcode search as well as by cd id number search. This means that you can enter the cd in 3 ways, by entering the cd title and artist, entering the cd barcode (and a barcode scanner that works with the program is available) or by placing the cd in the optical drive of your computer (actually the slowest and least reliable method because the tags are so often wrong!). Because you can search by artist, you can also enter lps as well through internet search. There is also a fully manual mode for entering cds and Lps.
It's really far from perfect, but I get a picture of the album cover most of the time and it's easy enough to search for a picture and then copy into the program if it doesn't come up (usually for the older or out of print items). It's not perfect because you are still left to correct the tagging (for instance making sure the composer's name is in the artist/composer box and not the conductor or soloist; or making sure that the soloists are listed in the "people" entry. It's also a pain setting up the proper sort order as well, but all of these things can be done and in the end I have a list that also contains listings of all of the tracks on most of the albums as well as the works. I can then print out a compact list that shows the album covers so that when I shop at a brick store I don't duplicate things in my collection. Anyway, it works very well for rock and pop which don't have as complex tags.
For dvds, the version dvd collector is idiot proof. Just put in the barcode or name of the movie, search it and it gets all of the information and a picture of the box cover. They also include the cast and plot synopsis.
The Book collector also has tagging problems, but generally is very easy to use using the isbn number which is provided in barcode either in the front cover or on the back cover, and numerically on the publishing information page (back of title page). However, the UPC code is also on the covers and you have to be sure that you don't scan that. If the book is old, the search function is not as good because the main source of information is bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon which only list books in stock, and the Library of Congress which is slow, slow, slow to respond if it's server responds at all, so it makes for a lot of manual entry for out of print books.
Support isn't great. In fact, the support really can be nasty. I had a sorting problem that I kept emailing about and I got little or no help with it. In fact, the support responses I received verged on sarcastic as well as unresponsive to the question. It is also incredibly slow as is all the support for these programs: you have to email support with your question and then wait at least a day or two for a response. I finally called a friend who was very familiar with using database systems and he showed me how to arrange the sort order (I still can't understand why the author of the program who does the support couldn't do this) so that the list sorts the way I want it to sort. It's still not perfect but it's definitely something I can live with.
A Note to all those who buy their cds at BMG music clubs: these cds frequently have their own barcodes that cannot be used, but the cds are easily entered by artist names and titles or by placing the cd in the optical drive.
One of the true advantages to the program is that you can add genres (baroque, medieval, pop, classical, romantic, late romantic, jazz, etc.) so that you can put your collection into various folders which are then arranged alphabetically by composer/artist or whatever criteria you opt for. It's easy to add and delete entries and it has room for multiple copies of the same cd as well. Almost anything can be refined also. You can add types of format (eg. sacd/hybrid, sacd, mono, stereo, lp, 78)_ the type packaging (box set with jewel cases, box set with sleeves, jewel case, super jewel case, digipak, etc), add to the spars code (ddd, add, aad, dsd, aaa); add to the information if it's your thing: engineering personnel have a slot as well as the musicians, conductors, orchestra (which I also use for ensembles). However, it's a time consuming job, especially if like me you started out with a collection of more than 1000 cds. I haven't even attempted to do my lps as most of those are out of print so that I will have to enter them all manually.
Another interesting thing is that by adding the cd by album and title, I can enter it as soon as I have ordered it, thus letting me know which things are ordered as well as already in the collection. That keeps me from ordering the same thing from more than one source.
It also has a "Lists" function where you can refine the lists of composers, merge various names (eg: merge Ludwig van Beethoven into Beethoven, Ludwig van), assign different display names from sort names (eg: display Ludwig van Beethoven but sort by Beethoven, Ludwig van).
However, if you have obtained your entry information by internet search and then decide to enter the track information by putting the cd in the drive, then watch out, I haven't figured away to do it without making a duplicate entry! In the end, it's a good enough program but like anything in life, far from perfect.
ONE PROGRAM THAT I WOULD TELL EVERYONE TO AVOID IS MUSIC CATALOG MASTER from Kix Software. It is a very hard program to figure out and you have to enter all of the tag lists yourself and the entries as well for it to function: For composers you have to enter a list of composers manually, orchestras - enter the list, musicians, ensembles, etc. You cannot enter the information with the cd as it always asks you to choose from the drop down list and if you haven't populated that you have a mess. In other words,you have to go through your cds and make up lists of composers, orchestras, soloists, conductors, formats, etc. before entering in a single cd! I was attracted to the program because it used the Gracenote database where the other programs use the FreeDB. However, I found that Gracenote tagging as every itunes user knows is filled with strange entries as well. Although they said it would list automatically, I just found it impossible to figure out how to do it automatically. Although I'm not the most computer savvy person around, I'm no dummy either.
Another program that looks quite good is the Orange CD Catalog. I think I might have bought a license for this if I had come across it sooner. It's definitely worth trying out, though and if you decide to go with that one, then please let me know what you think of it.
