Collect all of your CDs and decide where you want to store them. It may be best to keep them where you are going to use them, such as a home library or entertainment center. Organize the CDs in a way that makes sense to you. Alphabetize them or, if you have many CDs, group them according to performer/artist, composer or genre of music. Place the CDs on their own shelf in a bookshelf. If there are hundreds of CDs you may need to dedicate the whole bookshelf to the CDs. Remember to maintain the organizational system throughout the bookshelf. Place placards with the first letter of the name of the artist in that section of CDs if you have lots of music to keep organized. This method is similar to how a record store organizes its CDs.
Place your CDs in a CD stand -- which may most easily be purchased online. Depending on the type of stand you get, you may use the placard method. After placing the CDs in a two-tiered stand, for instance, you may organize them using the technique listed above by having a placard with the name or first letter of the name of the artist at the beginning of that section of the collection. If you have an extraordinary amount of music, place the CDs in large, flat plastic containers which can be gotten at a home goods store or large department store. Place the last name of the first and last artist in the container on a label on the side of the container. Separate the two names with a dash. This allows you to always know whose music is in that plastic tub. Do this only after alphabetizing all the CDs included in the container.
Use a similar organization system for DVDs. First, organize the movies according to genre -- or alphabetically. Then place them on a shelf of a book case or in a DVD stand -- which may be purchased online or at a physical store. If there are many movies, then you may want to use an entire bookcase to store them in or place them in large plastic tub-like containers.