And are there any artists whose albums you purchase whether they're acclaimed or not?

There are about 30 artists whose albums I will buy regardless of any reviews/acclaim.

The number of albums I listen to or purchase in a given year varies on the quality of the releases and the number of releases by the above 30, but I generally listen to 10-30 albums per year.

I probably buy about fourty-fifty new albums a year. That total used to be much higher – priorities do shift as the years pass, of course.

There’s a small handful of performers/bands whose new album I’ll always buy regardless of quality:

The Fall (whose last album stunk quite badly in my opinion)
Bob Dylan
Go-Betweens and Grant McLennan, which isn’t applicable anymore with his death last year, of course.
Smog/Bill Callahan
Pernice Brothers
Scott Walker (does it count if the performer only releases an album every ten years?)
The Handsome Family
High Llamas – I haven’t picked up the new one yet, however.

There are likely others I've forgotten, but those are the main ones.

I buy 100 records by year : 30 to 40 from the current year, 60 to 70 from the past.

My purchases are based on my 17 years experience of hearing lots of music (I'm 30 years old) and on what I read on the "big four" (rateyourmusic/last.fm/metacritic/acclaimedmusic).

I buy mainly from the past - more important to load up on the classics first before worrying about new albums which aren't nearly as good.

I'm afraid it's no more than 10-20 new albums a year.
Artists that I'll chose whatever the critics :
neil Young
Tom Waits
Springsteen
Robert Wyatt
Radiohead
Divine Comedy
Johnny Cash
Björk
Beck
Wilco
etc.
in general when I really like an artist, i'll listen to his/Her/their new release without any advice.

Artists whose I always buy new albums whatever the critics are :
The High Llamas
Ed Harcourt
The Flaming Lips
Belle & Sebastian
Primal Scream
Sondre Lerche
Mojave 3
Broadcast
Super Furry Animals
David Mead

I purchase approximately 40 new releases per year; however, only about 60% of those survive more than 5 years in my collection. The rest eventually make it to the trade in pile.

Established artists whose albums I buy regardless of reviews include Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Bjork, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Sloan, Beck, The Cure, The Tragically Hip, Nick Cave, etc. I've also been picking up everything from relative newbies The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, New Pornographers, Rufus Wainwright among others.

Canada Rules!

Twice in my life I've lost an entire collection of well over 500 CDs--in a robbery 15 years ago and in a house fire last year (at least the second time I had insurance). Since my collecting was reset to zero, I've mostly been downloading music; the CDs I buy now tend to be stuff that is either not available on iTunes yet or just something where I think it makes sense to have a physical object (jazz CDs, double albums, box sets). I probably hit the record store about once a month, and probably average about $30 per visit.

And the only artists whose new stuff I would always buy regardless of reviews are R.E.M. and Blur.

That would be terrible losing all your music collection
I'm afraid of that happening to me one day

I generally buy 30-40 albums a year. A mix of CDs, iTunes, vinyl, 8-tracks, wax cylinders, etc. lol Kidding aside, my library is mostly digital; it’s practical, easily searchable, and just utterly amazing at times.

Artists whose albums I’ll get regardless of acclaim? Pearl Jam and Radiohead are the only ones that come to mind right now, although I’m sure there are others.

Sorry to hear about your losses Schleuse. It would be terrible to lose a music collection.

Thanks for the sympathy, guys, but don't worry--my wife and I are both OK; we found a new home, and our friends and family have been immensely helpful.

But: if you don't have homeowner's or renter's insurance, GET IT NOW. Most people think it won't happen to them--and it probably won't--but, boy, am I glad we were covered.

Done and done. I got insurance a few years ago, for the very reason that I'd hate to lose my music collection. Gosh, it's painful just thinking about it. The albums, the bootlegs, the b-sides, the rare stuff! All gone.... I couldn't imagine.

I frequently backup my collection and keep one of my drives here at work, just for ease of mind. Smart, or overkill? It's a fine line. Are any of you as paranoid as I am? It would be nice to know that I'm not alone here. lol

Last year I got like 100 albums due to discovering this website, normally I don't get more than 10. I listen to a whole lot more, downloads mostly.

And Anthony, I have my entire physical collection back-up'd together with the digital songs it makes around 75GB which is stored on 3 different HDDs on 2 different computers. I hate losing stuff too. :)

After my collection reached approximately 1000 titles (now over 1600) I looked into getting supplemental insurance because normal household insurance does not extend beyond a couple hundred titles. I found out it would cost me as much to insure my collection as it does to insure my car. Thus - no additional insurance. If my collection is ever stolen I will hunt down and....