RollingStone Top 100 -

Collecting the Albums

A section of the top 100 panel being displaied at the Bears Den.

Nearly 30 years ago, Bob and his friend John McCrea shared a passion for music and record collecting. They would often visit used record stores, garage sales, friends' collections, and internet sites in search of lps. This hobby was a common interest that they both enjoyed. It was John who introduced Bob to the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the top 100 album lp covers.

Starting with the 91 Issue of Rolling Stone Mag

Knowing that his longtime friend Dave Carlson from Havre had a "lifetime" subscription to the magazine, Bob asked if he had a copy of the issue. Dave searched through his many stacks, found it, and gave it to Bob, thus beginning John and Bobs album collecting adventure.

A panel section of the top 100 being displaied at the Bears Den.

Putting it All Together

Bob had been collecting the 100 LP covers from the 1991 Rolling Stone publication for many years, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with them. Eventually, he was inspired by the idea of patterning display panels like the Asian room dividers, which can often be found in antique stores. This prompted Bob to create the display he currently uses to show off his collection..

Designing the Display

Allan Snell and his friend Mat met with Bob at his residence to discuss the design and preparation for manufacturing the panels. After this discussion, Bob approached Helena Hardwoods' owner Leonard Cloninger to discuss the manufacturing of the panels and arranged for him to work with Dick Harris, a local cabinet maker, to accomplish this task.

Start the Tour of the Panels

Special Thanks:

"I would be remiss to forget to thank some or all those individuals who would act as a sounding board for my developing Idea." - Bob Maffit

John McCrea - For spending hours listening to and discussing music, and visiting all of the record stores, internet sites, friends collections, etc. over the years.
Dave Carlson - For giving me the Rolling Stone Magazine and helping start the adventure.
Allen Snell and Mat - For discussing the design and preparations of the display.
Gayle Voisine - For drafting the initial design of the display.
Leonard Cloninger - for putting in all the hard work building and helping create the display.