OK, Shakehurst...I like several of your ideas here...

First, regarding aliases, I like the focus on the producer/engineer aspects. But, let's not forget the artists either. Does anyone know who Winston O'Boogie, Eivets Rednow, The Glimmer Twins, The Bunburys, Suzy & The Red Stripes, & Percy Thrillington are? It would e nice to cross-reference these aliases with their real names...aka...John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Eric Clapton & The Bee Gees, and Paul McCartney (Last 2 musical disguises).

Regarding matrix numbers, there is the box underneath the "label" box for this type of entry...but regarding the inclusion of more images, that would be nice, but it would be good to have it optional. Suppose you want to just show an album cover, that's OK, but there would be an option (maybe a checkbox) where you could have 4 squares (You could show album front cover, album back cover...nice if you have a signed album on back, maybe to highlight tracklistings or liner notes...and be allowed to zoom in on each square...maybe when you put your cursor over each image, they would automatically enlarge...Then the bottom two squares could be for record label, or actual record...side one and side two...this would be good for 45's and picture sleeves...have the option for two squares to show side one and two of a 45'...four squares for sides one and two, plus picture sleeve front and back (on picture sleeved 45's). You could expand it to 6 or 8 squares to show front cover, back cover, side one, side two, plus inside cover art (good for gatefold albums, liner notes, lyric sheets, included posters, or any other such ephemeral details about a particular album that you'd like to add...picture of an artist, label close-ups, or whatnot...). It's a good idea, as sometimes the back covers can be just as interesting as the fronts, and I hate only having one option to download...What if I have an album, and I show the front and back of the standard album, but say I have a promotional release of that album with a different cover that I want to add? Having the option to put two photos in the artwork section would be nice for 12" remixes and maxi-singles, too. But I would encourage it to be an option that I could switch off for each individual album.

...Good idea for Racks and Tags, too...artists and composers should be listed and categorized separately...I like the idea on reissue information...I have many albums that were released much earlier, and reissued again under a different label, with different tracklistings, too, sometimes. I'll give you an example..."The Ventures In Space" was released on Dolton in the 60's, but later reissued on Pickwick, with some of the tracks missing, but the same title, and different artwork. Sometimes, when looking up an album like this, I only see cover art for the standard release, but it's harder to find the reissue art, or vice versa. Sometimes, an album is released with different covers on the same label...like the infamous Beatles butcher cover. Then again, you may have the same album released on the same label, but the titles are different (Sometimes UK titles were different than the US versions of an album...or an album came out under one title, then it was released again a few years later with a different title...confusing, I know!!!) Let's not forget that were actual reissues, such as 45's on Lost Nite, CD's on Rhino, Blue Note, and Collector's Choice...or Sundazed and Norton vinyl reissues of rare albums and singles.

I like the idea for multiple labels and catalog numbers, but again, it should be an option...I like the idea of being able to customize and specifically tailor each entry.

Some of this stuff it would be good to have checkboxes for.

Maybe, even an added drop down box for Customization (Next to Database...Album...Library...Query, etc...), where you could check off, or highlight circles for info or features that you want to include, but then again, it might be easier just to have the "optional" checkboxes on the pages they correspond to...like on the artwork page...off to the side, you could have the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, more...with circles next to them...highlight 2 and 2 squares appear...4...and 4 squares appear... you could copy and paste different photos or artwork in each individual window, and also have to option to delete, if you make a mistake...If you just wanted to show one album cover, that would be OK, too...that would be the standard...Just opening up the artwork window a bit would be a great improvement.

Regarding reissues and re-releases...I always go by first year an album was released, but it only gives you the option of putting one year in the year box. A lot of albums I have are reissues, too. The original may have been released in 1964. I have a reissue from 1980, or a budget reissue from 1972, maybe a re-release of the '64 album in 1966, say. I can only put in either 1964 OR 1972. I can't put in "1964, 1972" (2 years in the same box), so maybe a box for "Original Release Year" and a box below it (I don't know if this would be better standard or optional, though) "Reissue Release Year". It would be nice to have 2 boxes side by side or the option to put more than one year in the same box. The music may have come out earlier, but this is a different version on a different label of the album. Maybe I only want to put in the reissue year. It would still allow me to go to the next window, whether I entered in an original date or a reissue date. I hate having to put in info, when I know it's not TECHNICALLY correct, just to use the program, but I guess I'm a little anal in that regard...

A lot of these ideas can be obtained by workaround solutions or by playing around with the software, but it would be nice to have more options in the software to deal with these little issues when they come up. Maybe we just have to deal with these "workarounds" and get used to them, even though the pages can look messy, cluttered, and/or ugly...But one can always improve, I say...