10 Best Media Shelves Reviews and Buying Guide
Table of Contents
Why You Need a Good Media Shelf?
The media shelve towers are a range of structures that lets you keep your CDs, DVDs, books, etc. in view, close to your media set. Available in the form of spinning towers, floor stands, and cabinets, these shelves come in different styles, construction materials, and capacity. All these put potential users in a dilemma on what model to choose.
To ease your selection process, we have done the preliminary work for you. As a result of our meticulous research, we’ve developed some strong criteria we think are essential for any potential buyer who wants a lasting, aesthetic and functional shelf.
Quick Summary
1. Editor’s Choice – Atlantic Mitsu 2-Tier Media Rack
2. Best CD and DVD Rack – Atlantic Element Media Storage Rack in Espresso for 230 CDs
3. Best Space-Saving Shelf – Atlantic Typhoon Media/Storage Spinner
4. Best Wall Mount Shelf – YouHaveSpace Storage Shelf for Wall
5. Best Freestanding Shelf – FURINNO JAYA Multimedia Espresso Storage Tower
6. Shelf With the Largest Capacity – Atlantic Media Storage Cabinet
7. Best Wire CD Tower – Atlantic Onyx Black Wire CD Tower
8. Best Rotating Multimedia Shelf – Atlantic 4 Tier Rotating Cube Espresso
9. Our Budget Pick – FURINNO Indo Espresso 8-Tier Media Tower
10. Best Wooden Media Storage – Sauder Multimedia Storage Tower
Editor Picks Media Shelves
1. Editor’s Choice – Atlantic Mitsu 2-Tier Media Rack
The overall best media shelf on the market is the Atlantic Mitsu. It’s made by Atlantic, a reliable brand in the furniture industry with lots of media cabinets. The media rack is stylish and adjustable to the size of your media items. The rack is made of plastic but it has a smoke finish. It can hold up to 130 CDs or 90 games/Blu-rays/DVDs.
It’s a good value for money utility with intuitive assembly. As for its stability, it moves a bit. For better stability, it is better to screw it to the wall with the brackets included, especially if used at 100% of its capacity. Otherwise, keep it away from your dog or the kids. But we liked the idea that brackets and installation hardware are provided.
2. Best CD and DVD Rack – Atlantic Element Media Storage Rack in Espresso for 230 CDs
The Atlantic Element Rack is a high-quality freestanding media storage with a beautiful coffee finish. You can pick from two distinct purchase options, that is, the maple or the espresso model.
It comes with a quite large media capacity, the design is not stylish enough but it’s beautiful. However, some reviewers mention that the rack is a little bit difficult to install as its dividers slide too easily.
However, the rack is constructed from high-quality solid wood and has a super stable structure. The storage capacity is Large. You’ll have up to 230 CD storage capacity. For DVDs, you can store up to 150. Like most Atlantic media storage types of furniture, it comes with one year warranty.
3. Best Space-Saving Shelf – Atlantic Typhoon Media/Storage Spinner
The Atlantic Typhoon is a nicely designed DVD rack that offers a lot of space. This DVD rack’s layout will suit your stereo system.
It is space-saving, compact, and is made of durable materials. It has a capacity for 216 CDs and 144 DVD capacity. It’s a freestanding shelf type made of wood.
It has a pleasing and nicely balanced price, is simple in design, and feels sturdy. The rack’s dimensions are 11.88 by 11.88 by 37.75 inches and it weighs 15.7 lbs. If you’re searching for a nicely designed DVD rack, then that is a good choice for you! It comes with one year of warranty.
4. Best Wall Mount Shelf – YouHaveSpace Storage Shelf for Wall
The YouHaveSpace Modern Wall Mount DVD Rack is a simple to install DVD rack that can be added to the children’s playroom or installed in the living room.
This shelf is easy to install, has a strong frame, and a lot of storage space. The CD storage capacity is not specified but it can hold 36 DVDs. The material is alloy steel and it comes with a warranty of 1 year. Many users have fallen in love with the media rack. It has a pleasing and simple design, it seems well made, and the general practicality is fantastic.
The rack’s dimensions are 34.1 inches by 6.5 inches by 1 inch and weighs 3.19 lbs. It’s a good option if you’re searching for an easy-to-install media shelf that can be used to modify the sitting room decor.
5. Best Freestanding Shelf – FURINNO JAYA Multimedia Espresso Storage Tower
This FURINNO JAYA Multimedia Shelf is a space-saving DVD shelf that has a decorative design. It’s a contemporary living room accent shelf type furniture.
Its design will blend along with a lot of indoor furnishings and decor and it also offers a lot of space for media items and decorative wares like flower pots.
It’s perfect for those looking for a space-saving media shelf. It had a versatile design, is well constructed despite its particleboard material. The media shelf has 232 CD capacity, 114 DVD capacity and comes with a one-year warranty. It comes with a home assembly and instruction manual for easy installation.
6. Shelf With the Largest Capacity – Atlantic Media Storage Cabinet
Need a multimedia storage with a showcase? The Atlantic Windowpane Media Cabinet comes with a tempered glass window pane on a pair of sliding doors. It can be used to store CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray media, memorabilia, and collectibles. This shelf can hold 576 CDs and 192 DVDs.
The media storage cabinet is in espresso and made of sturdy wood. Despite the glass panes and sliding doors, the cabinet looks quite minimalistic. However, it looks luxurious both inside and outside.
It remains quite light and sturdy. The espresso finish also gives it an elegant look. The non-glass parts are made from engineered wood and finished with maple. The furniture is most rated for its high value for money.
7. Best Wire CD Tower – Atlantic Onyx Black Wire CD Tower
The Atlantic Onyx Wire CD Tower is a simple and contemporary piece that offers a lot of space for storing media. The wire CD tower is very affordable, it has an appealing design. It holds up to 80 discs and the general aesthetics is first-rate.
The tower’s dimensions are 26 x 6 x 6 inches and it weighs only 6.9 lbs. The stylish wire shelf for multimedia items has a nice design. Made of metal, it has a sturdy and strong base. It is slim and stands freely. It takes just a little space. The CD capacity is 80, the capacity for DVDs isn’t stated but it should be able to hold at least 30.
8. Best Rotating Multimedia Shelf – Atlantic 4 Tier Rotating Cube Espresso
The Atlantic Media Storage Cabinet is a small media holder and organizer with a rotating base. The rotating disc shelf is a uniquely designed cube media shelf that offers a pleasing contemporary-day decor in your living room area.
The cube shelf had a cool espresso finishing. It has a unique style with a well-supported base. There are four cubes on the stand and each cube storage has two different storage areas and various storage possibilities. The cubes rotate 360 degrees. All the storage space will be able to hold 216 CDs and 144 DVDs. Although it looks like a metal shelf at a first look, however, it is made entirely of wood and looks elegant, thanks to its espresso finish.
9. Our Budget Pick – FURINNO Indo Espresso 8-Tier Media Tower
The FURINNO Indo Media Tower is a beautiful, lightweight, and affordable media tower that gives a lot of storage area, ease of use and adds to your indoor decor.
It looks precisely just like the product picture, the customer support is fantastic, it has a truly beautiful but minimalistic design, and the general capacity is awesome.
Easy to assemble and light in weight, the freestanding storage shelf has a capacity for a maximum of 208 CDs. The DVD capacity is around 144. It is made of particleboard but it comes with one year warranty.
10. Best Wooden Media Storage – Sauder Multimedia Storage Tower
The Sauder multimedia storage tower is a media storage furniture finished in Cinnamon Cherry. The storage unit is spacious and elegant, has a high-quality build, and is elegant and spacious.
The shelf is easy to assemble and the shelves are adjustable. This furniture is made from engineered wood. A very versatile storage shelf, you can place it along a wall. There is a lot of space for storing books, gadgets, flower vases, DVDs, CDs, and other media items. The media shelf is also ideal for keeping collectibles.
It can be divided into 5 spaces and each of them will fit approximately 50 boxes of video games. With this storage cabinet, you can have a shelf full of Blu-ray discs. The furniture can be installed by just anyone. It comes with assembly instructions and hardware for installing.
Top 9 Factors to Consider When Buying Media Shelves
1. The Materials to Store
Try to determine the function of your furniture. How are you going to use it? Would you need to deploy it alongside a TV stand with a flat-screen? Would you need a shelf for a complete multimedia set (DVD player, video game console, hard drive, sound amplifier, even home cinema, etc.)? In this case, you should opt for a media cabinet that has doors, shelves, drawers, large wooden or glass tops, etc.
2. The Room It’s Going to Occupy
A living room, a small studio, a large apartment, a teenage bedroom, or your master bedroom; the purchase of a piece of furniture must be considered according to its destination space and its users. Modular types, shelves on casters, upgradable shelves, corner shelves; you have quite a lot of options as well as possibilities.
3. Material: Wooden, PVC, Methacrylate or Metal Media Shelf?
The variety of media shelving materials is very wide. In some cases, you will find a single material or the composition of several. So as you will see below, you will need to take into account both the materials for both the interior and the exterior.
Wooden Shelves
Wood is a material widely used to make shelves. It allows for personalized and elegant finishes, with bright, matt or satin dyes or varnishes, which can be easily coordinated with other pieces of furniture. The wood can also be painted or lacquered to get modern shelves and with refined designs. A white shelf together with some neutral colored furniture is the dream of lovers of minimalist decoration.
The most used wood for shelves is usually solid pine. They are very resistant and easy to customize. Other popularly used materials include harder woods such as oak, birch or cherry. Also used are the bamboo and other exotic woods like teak.
The great advantage of solid wood shelves is their strength and hardness. They are very appropriate in building libraries capable of supporting the weight of many volumes. Yes, in the digital age, there are still those who prefer the smell and weight of books. However, the drawback of the wooden shelves is the price. They are generally higher than those of any other material.
Melamine or PVC Shelves
An option for those who like a decorative design or simply want to spend little money is the melamine shelves or those coated with PVC. These are made either with wood agglomerates or with medium-density fibreboard (MDF). They are then covered with sheets or papers that can present all kinds of designs and colors, from plain to imitation wood or stone, for example. Its greatest advantages are its versatility, and its weight, which is much lighter.
However, its load resistance is much lower than wooden shelves, especially those of thin boards. Obviously, they are what we will think about when we look for a cheap shelf simply to decorate a hole that we do not know how to cover or to separate a space. Even lighter are sheltered shelves.
Metal Shelving
Metal is the king of materials for storage racks. There is no storage room, workshop or garage that does not have a metal shelf or several. And your living room where you have your entertainment center should not be left behind. They are the most practical to use in this type of case since they are very resistant to the load.
Galvanized Steel Media Shelf
For the metal shelves that we usually have in the home, the most used material is galvanized steel. It resists places with certain humidity, such as a storage room.
Aluminum Media Shelf
For exteriors, aluminum materials are lighter.
Wrought Iron Media Shelf
Wrought iron is also used for shelves, especially decorative ones. This gives the room a vintage touch.
Industrial Shelves
Let’s not forget the industrial shelves for warehouses and retail stores. These are usually made of steel. Sometimes, they may be combined with other metals or with wooden platforms. This way, they can fulfill their function of supporting the heaviest loads.
Methacrylate Shelves
The methacrylate is a plastic material that is often used as an alternative to glass. Its main qualities are its transparency, rigidity, and strength. It is also lighter and obviously much harder to break. It doesn’t seem easy to confuse with glass. But be careful not to choose a methacrylate shelf when what you really want is a glass shelf.
4. Glass, Iron, and Wood or Metal Shelves? Let’s Combine!
The combination of materials for a media shelf or an auxiliary piece of furniture usually provides a decorative contribution, in addition to a plus of resistance. We can, thus, find glass shelves combined with metal (especially aluminum). These are more seen in showcases, exhibitors or as an auxiliary next to a low glass table.
The same or similar combinations can be done with methacrylate. Although this, as we saw, can be perfectly used without the need to combine it with any other material. Other frequent combinations that provide a rustic touch to the decoration are the iron and wood shelves. Wrought iron is preferred for such combinations and uses.
5. Shelving Measurements
For shelves used in the home, the height is calculated based on the number of shelves (two, three, four, five or more) they have. For a smart shelf with 4 steps, the height should be around 54 inches. To choose the most appropriate width, in addition to the space we have, we must take into account how loaded the shelves will be. For example, a chipboard shelf that has more than 30 inches should be combined so that it does not break. However, the appropriate width for narrow media shelves should be around 24 inches.
The thickness of the shelves is the other measure to take into account. This is an important parameter, especially when opting for a shelf particularly made of wood. The higher the thickness of the boards, the better the resistance and the load supported. This load is measured in kilos. Some of the shelves consist of square modules that have the same measurements on both sides.
However, it is possible to have some custom shelves. It may be somewhat more expensive. But it ensures that all available space will be covered.
6. The Design of the Shelves
Choose material, shapes, or colors in harmony with the destination room. For example, wrought iron or weathered wood will be ideal for a classic living room.
Invisible fixings and geometric shapes are ideal for a modern office and pastel colors for a nursery. Opt for forms adapted to their future content. A curved shelf is not practical enough to accommodate books.
7. Floating or the Stand-alone Media Shelf
Does the room impose constraints on the choice of shelves? How much space is available? How often will I use the contents of the shelves? Depending on the space you have, you may prefer the floating or wall shelves or the standing shelves to be fixed to the wall. For a less-spacious office, use the wall space. The high shelves will hold objects that are less frequently used. In an attic, opt for a long shelf. Ebern Designs’ Media Storage Wall Shelf and Toronto Media Shelf are good examples of hanging media shelves. Do not forget the practical corner shelves to save space in a small room.
8. Open vs Closed Shelves
If you need to hide your equipment when they’re out of use, choose a more secure closed media shelf or cabinet with doors (there’s the sliding or hinged option). You may choose drawers to store accessories, and possibly a cable storage system (or wire cover) to make the cables invisible. This last point can also be useful and reassuring if there are young children around.
However, for more accessibility and better aesthetics, open shelves are great options. These are also more economical.
9. The Resistance of the Shelves
Are they intended to accommodate heavy or fragile objects? And in what quantity? Estimate the weight of the contents to be stored, and select materials and fasteners accordingly. For books, wooden shelves are the most common models: to be placed on the floor, fixed to the wall, or supported by brackets. For the garage, thick steel shelves are more suitable. If they’re also going to house trinkets, you can consider the hanging wooden wall shelves or glass shelves. Know that a legged shelf will be more stable on a hard floor than on a carpet.
Conclusion
Media shelves are practical storage systems that can be placed, installed, or mounted on the wall or the floor. They are ideal for use in children’s playrooms or the living room. There are rotating, adjustable, and fixed freestanding shelves to choose from. Racks and cubes also fall under these furniture. They can be used for storing or displaying CDs, DVDs, video games, collectibles, gadgets, flower vases, books, kids’ toys, and anything you may think of.
Our Editor’s Choice is the Atlantic Mitsu, a 2-Tier Media Rack that impresses with its 130 CD capacity, affordability, adjustability, and brackets for fixing it to the wall. However, for those who want something more resistant, durable, elegant, and Atlantic Element Media Storage Rack. Those who want a shelf with a large capacity can choose the Atlantic Media Storage Cabinet.
There are a few important criteria to consider to choose the right media shelf. First, choose the material you like best. But you have to take into account the place where they will be installed. For example, do not choose a soft or untreated wooden shelf if you want a lasting piece.
Then think about the function for which you are going to use it. Also, decide the level of aesthetics that you are going to create with your decorative shelves and with what other furniture they should be accompanied with.
In addition, care should be taken when buying wooden shelves. You may come across non-solid boards covered with a thin wood veneer, at the price of solid wood. That is why it is always advisable to buy from manufacturers offering a guarantee and, if possible, from recognized brands.
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