Bibliographies and lists of recordings are known as discographies. These can range from large, comprehensive listings to highly detailed listings on a specific topic. Individual discographies can be found in the library under classification ML156. Discographical listings can also be found as part of general catalogs and databases. The library subscribes to periodicals which review recordings, such as American Record Guide, Fanfare, and Gramophone. Recent issues can be found in the current periodicals section.
Schwann Catalogs. (Available to current Middlebury College ID holders only.) Woodland, Calif.: Schwann Publications. Ref. ML156.2.S The Schwann catalogs list recordings in every format that are currently available commercially. Schwann Opus lists classical music recordings alphabetically by composer, and Schwann Spectrum contains listings for popular music and jazz. The Schwann Artist Issue indexes classical music recordings by the names of performers. All are issued annually. The on-line database is updated continuously.
All Music Guide Ann Arbor, Mich.: All Media Guide. A comprehensive guide to recordings of all genres of music. Short biographical information about artists, groups and composers is followed by extensive discographies.
The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes. Ivan March, Edward Greenfield and Robert Layton. Completely rev. and updated. London; New York: Penguin Books, 1999. Ref ML156.9.P45 1999 and Ref ML156.9.P452 2000/01 Of the thousands of recordings available, the Penguin Guides cite the most noteworthy. This guide is restricted to classical music recordings and is arranged alphabetically by composer. Each recording is rated on a scale from 1-5 and brief evaluations of the performances are given by the authors.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc. Richard Cook and Brian Morton. 4th ed., completely rev. and updated. London; New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Ref ML156.4.J3 C67 1998 The same as for the work listed above except for jazz recordings.
The Jazz Discography. Tom Lord. West Vancouver, B.C.: Lord Music Reference; Redwood, N.Y.: Cadence Jazz Books, 1992- Ref ML156.4.J3 L6 1992 This discography includes jazz recordings beginning in 1898 through the present. It is arranged alphabetically by lead performer with each recording listed under the name in chronological order. All of the titles of the pieces and names of the perfomers are listed along with the label name and number. Indexes to the names of performers and to the titles of pieces on albums provide access to this information.
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Adam McGovern, ed.Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 2000. Ref ML156.4.W63 M87 2000 This recording selection guide covers world music musicians of all types and genres.
WorldCat Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 1972- . (Available to current Middlebury College ID holders only.) This is the database of the Online Computer Library Center which contains citations to materials in thousands of libraries throughout the world. It has one of the largest databases of citations to recordings. Although the database was established in the 1970s, it contains information on much older materials as well. At the beginning of a search be sure to limit by type to "sound recordings." This will give more accurate results -