"No 91/100"

All things come to those who wait. Anyway, that is what people tell you in your hour of need. In truth, in most cases you are waiting in vain. I have waited ten years for a physical copy of "One Year Lost At Sea", read more here (opens in a new window). This isn't just any hard-to-find album. The difficulty level is insane. Only 100 cdr copies were made, which were sold at concerts in the Boston, MA area. I live in Sweden, a remote country far away from where it - however unlikely - could be found. I have never seen it for sale. Until recently. Now, I have a copy of my own (numbered 91/100). Well, I didn't see that coming. I'm overwhelmed and find it hard to take it in. Maybe I deserve to succeed for my efforts, but it defies all statistical probability. "One Year Lost at Sea" is placed as number 1 on my list "10 rarest albums in the gothic country genre", read more here (opens in a new window). Hard-to-find albums is a chapter in itself and goes beyond the scope of this blog post. What makes an album rare? Firstly, the number of copies. Secondly, if it's a self-released demo or debut album (often co-varies with number of copies). Thirdly, the demand for the album (always co-varies with number of copies). There are 100 copies of "One Year Lost At Sea". It's Reverend Glasseye's "fourth" album (a demo). That being said, even an obscure cdr album could have its hard-core collectors willing to pay top-dollar for a copy (two interested buyers is enough to drive the price upwards). I practise several search methods. Systematic and random trawling is one of them. Monitoring through wantlists, wishlists and saved searches is another. Contacting, stalking and harassing people is a third method. Adding to this, you should be mentally prepared to accept adversities and challenges with a resilient mindset. When it comes to albums in the gothic country genre I have been equipped with the patience that withstands a comparison with Job.