How to decide which tracks to buy: a listening checklist
Listen properly, ask seven questions, then cut again on shopping day. A checklist for deciding which tracks deserve a place in your DJ library.
On this page
- Why a checklist helps
- Set up the listening session
- The checklist
- 1. Do you love it on its own?
- 2. Where would it go in a set?
- 3. Does it fit your range?
- 4. Does the production hold up?
- 5. Is it the right version?
- 6. Will you want it in six months?
- 7. Do you already have something that does this job?
- Make one decision per track
- Cut again on shopping day
- Why tracks usually fail
- The checklist on one card
- Doing this with CatchIt!
- Summary
To decide which tracks to buy, listen to each one on its own, on good headphones or monitors, and run it through a short checklist: do you love it outside a mix, where would it go in a set, does it fit your range, is it the right version, and will you still want it in six months? Keep the tracks that pass, then cut again on shopping day and buy only what survives the second pass. Being strict here does more for your sets than buying more.
Why a checklist helps
Digging produces far more "this is good" than you can play. Without a rule, tracks get bought on the strength of one great moment in someone else's mix, a chart position or a hyped release, and end up sitting unplayed. Will Lynch, writing for Pioneer DJ about digging, is blunt about it: "Be as brutally selective as you can. Kill your darlings." His reasoning is that a small crate you know thoroughly makes you a better DJ than a big one you only half know.
There's a practical side too. Every track you buy needs a beat grid, cue points and a few plays before you trust it in a set. A handful of new tracks a week fits into one evening of prep. Several dozen becomes a backlog that grows faster than you can play it. How many tracks you need for a DJ set is usually fewer than it feels.
A checklist makes the decision repeatable. You ask the same questions every time, so you aren't relying on your mood that evening.
Set up the listening session
Decisions are only as good as the listening behind them.
- Use proper headphones or monitors. A phone speaker hides the low end, which is where many club tracks live or die.
- Make it the only thing you're doing. Tracks that play while you answer messages blur together: you remember a mood, not the track. Give each one your full attention for the minute or two it needs.
- Listen in batches, not all week. One focused session is better than tracks trickling past while you do other things.
- Skip to the parts that matter. Listen to the intro briefly, then jump to the first drop or main groove, the breakdown and the outro.
The checklist
Ask these seven questions about each track. A track should pass all of them to make your keep list.
1. Do you love it on its own?
Not in the mix where you first heard it, not because of who played it, but on its own. Lynch suggests listening "purely for your personal pleasure, without picturing yourself playing it to an imaginary crowd". If it only worked inside someone else's blend, it's a reject.
2. Where would it go in a set?
Name the moment: warm-up, building, peak, after-hours, closing. Then name two tracks you already own that you'd mix into it or out of it. If you can't place it, you probably won't play it.
For example, a dreamy, beatless track might be lovely at home. If you play two-hour peak-time slots, though, there may be nowhere for it to go. That's a reject for your crate, however much you like it.
3. Does it fit your range?
Check tempo and key against what you usually play. Beatport's chart rows list BPM and key for each track, so you can see this before you even press play. A track far outside your range isn't a no, but it needs a clear reason.
4. Does the production hold up?
On good headphones, listen to the low end, the space in the mix and how it sounds at volume. A track that sounds thin at home will sound thinner on a big system.
5. Is it the right version?
Look at the words in brackets after the title. If the one you liked was a remix, a dub or a long club cut, that's the file to buy, not whichever listing comes up first. For DJ use, extended versions with longer intros and outros are usually easier to mix.
6. Will you want it in six months?
Some tracks are made for one season. That's fine if you'll get enough plays out of it this season. If it's a novelty you'd tire of in a month, skip it.
7. Do you already have something that does this job?
If a track is a weaker version of something already in your crate, you don't need it. If it's better, consider buying it and retiring the old one. And if it's the very same track in another listing, how to avoid buying the same track twice covers the checks before you pay.
Make one decision per track
At the end of the checklist, decide keep or reject. Don't create a "maybe" pile: it becomes a second inbox you never empty.
There's one exception worth respecting: the grower. Lynch notes that growers "often provide deeper pleasure and a longer shelf life than music you like right away". If a track intrigues you without convincing you, keep it for now and let the second cut decide.
Cut again on shopping day
Your keep list from the listening session is a shortlist, not an order. On shopping day, go through it again with fresh ears:
- Apply the hesitation rule. Lynch's version: "If any part of you thinks something might not be worth buying, don't buy it."
- Set a cap. Before you open the store, decide how many tracks you'll buy this week, based on how many you can prepare and learn before your next gig. A cap changes the question from "is this good?" to "is this better than the others on my list?", which is easier to answer honestly.
- Buy on the same day every week. Lynch recommends a fixed buying day for two reasons: you can see how much you're spending, and new music arrives in amounts you'll actually get through. How much DJs spend on music shows how to turn that into a monthly budget.
- Move cuts back to rejected. A track you drop now shouldn't haunt your list next week.
Then buy what survives in the format you need. For WAV vs AIFF vs MP3, Traxsource's help center notes that "Most Pro DJ's choose AIFF files", for uncompressed audio plus tags and artwork. Beatport vs Bandcamp for DJs helps you choose the store.
Why tracks usually fail
Most rejects fail for a handful of reasons. If you notice the same reason again and again, fix it earlier, in how you dig.
| Reason | What it usually means | Fix upstream |
|---|---|---|
| Only good in the mix you heard | The DJ's blend did the work | Listen to sets' tracks on their own sooner |
| No place in your sets | Good music, wrong job | Dig closer to the slots you actually play |
| Wrong version on the store | The cut you heard isn't the one listed | Note the mix name when you first save a track |
| You already own its twin | Your crate has this job covered | Check your library before you keep a track |
| Hype faded | You liked it because everyone was playing it | Wait a week before you keep chart tracks |
The checklist on one card
| Question | Pass if… |
|---|---|
| Love it on its own? | You'd listen to it outside a mix |
| Where in a set? | You can name the moment and two tracks around it |
| Fits your range? | Tempo and key make sense, or there's a clear reason |
| Production holds up? | It sounds full on good headphones |
| Right version? | It's the version you heard and liked |
| Still want it in six months? | It's not a short-lived novelty |
| New job in your crate? | Nothing you own does it better |
Doing this with CatchIt!
CatchIt! is a Mac app with a free iOS companion. It's built around this two-pass decision: keep or reject in the Inbox, then a second cut in the Wishlist before you buy.
- Fast keep or reject. In the Inbox, Return keeps a track (green) and Space rejects it (red), then moves to the next one. The arrow keys drive the player, and the player bar has 15-second jumps (60 with Shift) for skipping to the drop. See Core concepts.
- No double judging. When a track you've already decided on arrives from another source, it shows its previous decision. The Previous filter can hide those tracks entirely.
- Listen in place. Tracks play through Apple Music, or through Spotify with your own Spotify developer Client ID (full tracks on Premium, 30-second previews on Free).
- Second cut in the Greens. In the Wishlist, Demote → Red moves a track back to rejected, with Undo. Done marks what you bought, and the Status chips separate Pending from Done.
- Then shop. Each row has Bandcamp, Beatport, YouTube and Google search links, plus a copy action for a clean "Title Artist" line.
Summary
- Listen properly: good headphones, no distractions, skip to the parts that matter.
- Run the seven questions; keep only tracks that pass them all.
- Keep or reject, no maybes, with room for the occasional grower.
- On shopping day, cut again, set a cap and buy what survives.
This guide is part of where DJs buy music. For the routine around it, see a weekly new-music triage routine for DJs.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you know if a track is worth buying?
- Listen to it on its own, on decent headphones or speakers, and ask whether you'd play it, where in a set it would go, and whether you'd still want it in six months. If any part of you hesitates, leave it for now.
- Should you buy a track you're unsure about?
- Usually not. Will Lynch, writing for Pioneer DJ about digging, treats any hesitation as a no. If you regret passing on it a week later, you've learned something about your taste, and the track will still be in the store.
- How many tracks should a DJ buy at once?
- As few as you'll actually learn. Lynch's guide mentions a digger who never buys more than two records at a time from a pool of about 50 candidates. Digital tracks are cheaper, but the time to learn them isn't.
- What about tracks that grow on you?
- Growers are real. Keep an intriguing track on your shortlist for a week and listen again before you buy. If it still pulls you back, buy it. If you've forgotten it, let it go.
- Should you check BPM and key before buying?
- It helps. Store chart rows on Beatport show BPM and key, so you can tell at a glance whether a track sits in your usual range. It shouldn't decide for you, but it can save a listen.