Not THE Rapture, But...My Rapture

Given the central role music plays in my life, it's notable how few new complete recordings I've acquired over the last several years. How much of a change have you noticed in your recent buying habits with music?

My buying habits aside, we were recently with friends we hadn't seen in quite some time. That night, I was like a kid in a candy store; his I-tunes library has 50,000 songs! For the remainder of that evening, meaningful conversation with me was problematic. Imagine my rapture scrolling through his treasure. Before seeing this collection, I'd been aiming at a library of 1500 tunes, a number equal my brother. And though that number may seem modest for a music geek, my rigorous criteria (don't ask) for what gets included in my library makes it harder than it sounds.

But now? With 50,000 songs to choose from? My biggest challenge is scheduling several future get-togethers with these friends without making my hidden agenda too obvious. I started by picking 20 tunes my friend then kindly burned onto a CD that first night. To avoid potential institutionalization, I'll skip saying how long it took me to make that first selection of 20. But man am I pumped up now - 50,000 songs - my own magic number is well within reach. Stay tuned, if you dare.