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Discographies
If your goal is to research the recordings of a particular performer, record label, musical genre or country, then these resources are a good place to start. Discographies can include data on supporting performers, composers, recording date/location, matrix & take numbers, record label & catalog numbers, and reissues. The critical approach found in these works distinguishes them from other types of catalogs or guides (ex. Schwann) that are simple listings with minimal data.
- Discography of American Historical RecordingsDatabase of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era
- Jazz Discography OnlineDatabase covering all genres of jazz from 1898 to the present (Harvard Key required)
- Discographies in Harvard Library collectionsPrint and online discographies in Harvard libraries (Harvard Key required for online versions)
- Charm (Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music)Online discography containing data on The Gramophone Company and other labels
- International Bibliography of DiscographiesSearchable database containing entries for current and historical works of discography
- The Reference Library: Free Online DiscographiesProvided by the Mainspring Press blog (discographies may be downloaded free of charge for personal, non-commercial use)
- Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound RecordingsA discography of Canadian 78 rpm recordings, with selected digitized audio, biographies, historical background, etc
- Afro Disc (African Discographies)A collection of African discographies covering recordings on shellac, vinyl and CD
- Cuba Canta y Baila: Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban MusicCristóbal Díaz-Ayala's discography of Cuban recordings issued between 1898 and 1960
- Russian-RecordsWeb resource containing data on cylinders, pre-revolutionary and Soviet recordings, as well as digitized record catalogs, periodicals and sleeves
- Discogs (format: Shellac Recordings)Database of user-generated, but moderated data on sound recordings (link leads to a subset of early recordings on shellac discs)