PixlBit

I feel your pain. It took me forever to get around to downloading a good portion of my CDs onto my iPod Nano and when I finally did, the process took forever. 

I really do need to listen to more Splender and see if I like their other stuff as much.

If you can believe it, I have never downloaded a single song illegally. There was a period of maybe a month or two where I emulated games, but then stopped and went back to just using questionable websites and streaming services for games and TV shows I didn't have access to. Now I'm back to being 100% on the up and up. But music? I have a digital-only library consisting of songs I can count on my fingers, a few freebies, and the rest is CDs that may or may not have made it to my iPod Nano (which I only have cause my mom won some contest while I was in high school). All of it was obtained legally. Probably not something that should be a badge of honor, but given that illegal downloading has become more or less mainstream, I'm oddly proud of it. 

I wish I could say I still shared your enthusiasm for always having physical copies of things, but the PS Store and Steam have blown a hole in my integrity there. The prices and convenience are just too shiny when I see a sale. I still buy major games on Blu Ray, and I'll be getting Horizon: Zero Dawn in physical form, but I've caved to buying things like Withcer III and Rise of the Tomb Raider digitally. 

One thing that's softened me is the though that if I have to install/reinstall a game to play it even if I have the disc, do I necessarily 100% own the game just because I bought the physical copy, or is there still a bit of "you're f*ed if this network ever goes down" inherent to both options now?

Most of my iTunes music is listed in Japanese that I cannot read. It is unfortunate, but always a surprise what comes on next! 

First congrats on finally getting your music in one place. As someone who had to do that process a couple of times it is a pain, but once its all there, it feels good. A couple of tips is during the ripping process before you start (you can do this after as well) is to use the Album Artist section of the of the tagging. This is a life saver for soundtracks, and compilations. I use the generic Various Artists tag. Also when some albums will just refuse to be together click on the compilation tag and that will usually bring them together. Also for album art when iTunes can't find one or it's the wrong one, I always Google name of the album album art. From that point I just look for anything that is at minimum 500x500. 

Media binders have been the perfect place for my CDs because I have them arranged by genre books. I get rid of the jewel cases but I keep the CD insert, and the booklets. The only ones I keep are the paper cases, the multidisc or any cases that are special like the thin CD singles. 

Thanks for the tips! I didn't know you could do that stuff!

No problem. I forgot to mention that the Album Artists section also works when you have an individual artist's album but they do a lot of songs with other people. Also using the Smart Playlist feature is real useful epscially if you like making playlists based on groupings, years, etc.  

I keep my cds after ripping them, but I recycle the boxes and inserts and put the discs in binders. For vinyl, I'll rip them and then donate them to goodwill. Can't keep boxes of vinyl around anymore. Way too heavy and space consuming. 

I've started a vinyl collection... and it's taking over my room.  It's worth it!  :)

After not having a turntable since forever, I finally gave up on ever getting one and gave all my vinyl, including two medium sized Uhaul storage boxes of allbums that had been my mom's to my boss, who has an incredible audio setup. It freed up a ton of closet space and I stopped feeling vaguely guilty about never getting around to getting a turntable. I do have my CD collection half-way organized in a really nice pine CD tower, but the company I bought it from went out of business before I could buy a second one and organize the rest. But they're stored in little wooden CD crates that I can stack and turn into a CD storage area when I finally get my butt in gear. Which I have a feeling will be soon, as the dog has really been great for my mental well-being and I'm actually looking forward to getting rid of the clutter rather than dreading and avoiding it like I had been for the last couple of years.

And I hear you on the physical vs digital thing I prefer physical, because then I know it's mine.