Self-Imposed Exile: Have you ever 'banned' yourself from acquiring any more music?

I'm on a self imposed "no full price CDs" ban, mostly.

Damn FOPP though...

i have been "taking breaks" off and on for a few years now. During my buying phase, i'll buy up to 10 CD's a week (mostly used discs)as well as swapping gigs on my friends FTP site. Musical overload and lack of space make it necessary to take breaks. These breaks are great because i get a chance to catch up on the music i've acquired but not listened to. It's harder to fall in love with an album when you get so many at a time. Take a break, listen to what you got, discover lost gems in your collection, then get out there and buy some more!

I did it for a month once, and I should do it again. It's a good way to save a little cash and to force yourself to listen to stuff you already have but had forgotten about.

I essentially did this from 2001 until 2003. I didn't start really buying CDs again on a semi-regular basis until mid-2004.

Yep, I've done this sort of thing for years. Great way to catch up, etc., as others have said.

Things are a bit more complicated now, with CD/vinyl/mp3 formats ... each format will go through its own "bannned" period, allowing me to play catch up.

Don't stop buying...

Just throw out some of the stuff you don't listen to anymore...

You don't need SEVEN Ministry albums, ferchissakes!

Er, there's the whole "not spending money" portion of this that you don't seem to be grasping.

I've tried to in the past -- just to either (a) catch up on listening to the stuff I have bought and/or (b) attempting to save space.

Nowadays, given my limited space for new CD's (and having a child in the house), I'm trying to scale back and sell off the stuff I'm not completely ecstatic about (thus creating more space for new CD's I do want to get). Also, and this is probably more symptomatic of my age, with each passing year there seems to be less and less stuff I'm actively excited about enough to go out and buy.

Yes, I have done this as well but I have at least double what you have. The problem was that I d/l a lot during this phase and now will be buying the best of that. After not buying almost anything for two years I’m so ready for some new CD’s. My first purchase was 10 of those things. Going out now and getting some more, hoping to get some reissue Cure stuff.

i constantly insist im on a moratorium fir an undisclosed time, only to get over it next time i having a bad day and anywhere near Kim's or OM (which is daily).

it is a good thing.

so might be quitting smoking, but quitters never win

AlexNYC = why diminish collection due to child ? or is it that child himherself takes up a lot of space?

All = Who wants to take on the 'greater philosophical/intellectual' question of materialism/ state of satisfaction vs. wanting / aesthetic pleasure of the 'new' ?