List of record collectors
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This article lists the owners of the largest private music collections, some of which have been donated to public institutions for their study and preservation. As of 2017, the largest record collection with over 6 million items belongs to Zero Freitas.


Over 1 million items

* Zero Freitas (born 1950s): over 6 million items (Emporium Musical).Reel, Monte,
The Brazilian bus magnate who's buying up all the world's vinyl records
', New York Times, August 8, 2014 and as, ''Warehouse of Sound'', New York Times Sunday Magazine, August 10, 2014, p. MM18 * Paul Mawhinney (born 1939): 3 million items ( Record-Rama), sold to Freitas in 2013. * Bob George (born 1949): 2.2 million items, donated to the
ARChive of Contemporary Music The ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC) is a non-profit music library and archive based in New York City. It contains over five million items. People The ARC was founded in 1985 by current Director, B. George and David Wheeler (1957–1997) in ...
in partnership with
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. * Anonymous Brazilian collector: 1 million items, sold to Freitas. *Michael Gindhart (born 1973) over 1 million items, (Music Master & Hitman Entertainment Digital Compact Disc and Digital Wav/Flac Archives) "The Boss" djmikeg01 Private Collector.


Over 100,000 items

* Julián Ruiz (born 1950): 623,202 items, mostly vinyl LPs and singles. *
Phil Swern Phil "The Collector" Swern (born Anthony Philip Swern, 30 June 1948) is an English radio producer and music collector, who earned the nickname "The Collector" from working on ''Sounds of the 60s'' with Brian Matthew. Born in Ealing, London, he ...
(born 1948): at least 200,000 vinyl singles, 80,000 vinyl albums, and 300,000 CDs. Swern notes that he may have between six to seven million titles in total, but no definitive count has been made. * Bob Altshuler (1923–2007): 250,000 items, donated to the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
, largest private collection of jazz and blues. *
Keith Skues Richard Keith Skues MBE, AE (born 4 March 1939) is a British radio personality. His career spans over 60 years. Biography Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany, in ...
(born 1939): 250,000 items, mostly vinyl records kepts at his home. * Larry Woodlee: 250,000 items, primarily vinyl records, of which 50,000 were sold to McKay's, a
second-hand shop __NOTOC__ A second-hand shop is a shop which sells used goods. Temporary venues People will sell used goods right in front of their home in what is called a "garage sale". The products would be set up in front of the garage. In the UK, peo ...
in Nashville. *
Armand Panigel Armand Panigel (15 October 1920 in Bursa, Ottoman Empire – 28 December 1995 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence aged 75) was a French musicologist and film critic. He was also a historical figure of French radio and television in the fields of classical m ...
(1920–1995): over 200,000 items of classical music, hosted at Studios La Fabrique. * Cristóbal Díaz Ayala (born 1930): 150,000 items (
Diaz Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection The Diaz Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection-FIU, located in the City of Sweetwater, Miami-Dade County, Florida, is a Special Collection of Latin American Music donated to Florida International University Librariein 2001 by t ...
), donated to the
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...
, largest collection of Cuban and Latin American music. * Joel Whitburn (1939-2022): 150,000 items, specialized in '' Billboard''-charting singles and albums. * Paul 'Trouble' Anderson (1959–2018): 150,000 items. *
Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and e ...
(born 1962): 150,000 items. *
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
(born 1947): 120,000 items, auctioned in 2009. * Robert Roberge (1921–2004): over 100,000 items (Mooncurser Records), sold two years after his death. *
Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...
(1949–2004): over 100,000 items. * John Peel (1939–2004): over 100,000 items. *Doug Smith (born 1958): over 100,000 items, including 45s, 78s, LPs, wax cylinders, etc. *DJ Doveboy: over 100,000 items, including 45s, LPs, 78s and CD singles.


Over 50,000 items

*
Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...
(born 1941): 85,000 items. *
Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
(born 1965): 80,000 items, sold. * Carlos Martín Ballester (born 1974): 75,000 78 rpm records (carlosmb archive) plus 5,000 78 rpms records and 200 cylinders (private collection). It is the largest collection of 78 rpm records pressed in Spain. Part of the archive is on sale and new items are added regularly. * Elton John (born 1947): 70,000 items. He accumulated a large vinyl record collection, including the purchase of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
producer
Bernie Andrews Bernard Oliver Andrews (17 August 1933 – 11 June 2010) was an English BBC radio producer, who was instrumental in the careers of many emerging rock and pop bands from the 1960s onwards, and responsible for producing such programmes as '' S ...
' personal collection of every 45 rpm pop record released in Britain from 1964 to 1975. In the documentary ''All Things Must Pass'' (2015), John described making frequent forays into
Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...
trailed by assistants, buying multiple copies of any album that struck his eye, so that he could have the same collection at each of his residences. He sold the collection in 1993 to raise money for AIDS charity. *
Daniele Baldelli In music, the terms Afro/cosmic disco, “Looking over to the blogosphere, the largest hipster tremors came from the rediscovery of the Italian ‘Cosmic Disco’ sound (a mid-tempo stew of balearic disco pioneered by Beppe Loda and Daniele Balde ...
(born 1952): 65,000 items. * Ray Avery (1920–2002): over 63,000 items (Ray Avery Collection), specialized in jazz, donated to the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
in 1987.UCLA Music Library
UCLA.edu, accessed 2011-12-29 *
DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sh ...
(born 1972): over 60,000 records. * Alex Paterson (born 1959): 60,000 items. * Alejandra Fierro Eleta (born c. 1959): over 50,000 items (Gladys Palmera Collection), largest private archive of
Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...
. As of 2019, she claimed to have 55,000 vinyl records and 45,000 CDs; or 60,000 vinyl records and 35,000 CDs.


Over 10,000 items

*
Chris Strachwitz Chris Strachwitz (born July 1, 1931) is a German-born American record label executive and record producer. He is the founder and president of Arhoolie Records, which he established in 1960 and which became one of the leading labels recording a ...
(born 1931): over 44,000 items, comprising 125,000 recordings digitized by
Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was founded ...
as part of the Strachwitz Frontera Collection, the largest archive of Mexican and Mexican-American music. * David Freeman (born 1939): over 40,000 items, specialized in early country music. * Ian Dewhirst (born 1955): 38,000 items. *
Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...
(born 1961): over 35,000 items. * Bob Harris (born 1946): 35,000 items. *
Byron Coley Byron Coley is an American music critic who wrote prominently for ''Forced Exposure'' magazine in the 1980s, from the fifth issue until the magazine ceased publication in 1993. Prior to ''Forced Exposure'', he wrote for '' New York Rocker'', '' B ...
(born 1956): over 30,000 items.
https://www.vice.com, accessed 2011-12-29 * Augusto Arango Franco: over 30,000 items, which he plays in his bar ''La Música de Augusto'' in Medellín since 2001. *
Charles Delaunay Charles Delaunay (18 January 1911 – 16 February 1988) was a French author, jazz expert, co-founder and long-term leader of the Hot Club de France. Biography Born in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, Oise, the son of painters Robert Delaunay and Sonia D ...
(1911–1988): 30,000 items, formerly one of the largest private jazz collections. *
Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...
(born 1964): 30,000 items. *
Joe Bussard Joseph Edward Bussard Jr. (July 11, 1936 – September 26, 2022) was an American collector of 78-rpm records. He was noted for owning more than 15,000 records, principally from the 1920s and 1930s, at the time of his death. Early life Bussard ...
(born 1936): 25,000 items. * John R. T. Davies (1927–2004): 20,000 items (John R. T. Davies Collection), specialized in jazz, donated to the University of York Sound Archives. *
Brian Rust Brian Arthur Lovell Rust (19 March 1922 – 5 January 2011) was an English jazz discographer. Career Rust was born in 1922 in Golders Green, then part of the Municipal Borough of Hendon in Middlesex. He collected records from the age of fiv ...
(1922–2011): 10,000 items, primarily jazz.


Others

* Grandmaster Flash (born 1958): stores his collection in a dedicated building. *
Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word ...
(born 1959): collection weighed seven tons at one point. *
Tony Prince Tony Prince (born Thomas Whitehead; 9 May 1944) is a British radio disc jockey and businessman. He broadcast on Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg in the 1960s and 1970s, later becoming a programme director and then businessman. He was respon ...
(born 1944): claimed to have biggest record collection in the world. * Harry E. Smith (1923–1992): thousands, specialized in American folk music, tried to donate to Ash Records (later Folkways Records), instead partially released on '' Anthology of American Folk Music'' and other LPs. *
Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...
(born 1943): over 8,000 78 rpm records, including many rarities from the 1920s and 1930s.


See also

*
List of most valuable records The following is an attempt to list some of the most valuable records. Data is sourced from '' Record Collector'', eBay, Popsike, the Jerry Osborne Record Price Guides, and other sources. * Wu-Tang Clan's '' Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' CD (of ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Record collector list Collectors Audio storage *