I agree with a lot of what's been said.

EPs: In the 90s I never bothered with EPs, but I realized in the 00s that sometimes it's a band's best work. Not just because the tracks are better, but because there's no room for filler and it can make for a much tighter release. Also it's a great way to check out a band.

Singles: I rarely bother unless I really like the band and there's an unreleased B-side or more. If it's an album track released before the album and I'm anticipating the album, I'll wait for the album.

Bootlegs: Never cared for these. I own one bootleg, a live Ministry album from the 90s. It's ok. I prefer to stick to official releases.

B-side albums: If it's a band I love, I definitely would pick it up. Fully expecting it to be inferior to real albums, but it's still nice to hear everything a band's done.

Live Albums: They're not my favorite but sometimes they really are good. I find that I like live albums more if it's the first release I hear by a band. If I've heard studio work first, I usually don't seek out live albums. That said, of the live albums I have, I do like the funny between song banter, variations in the songs, occasional improvisation, etc.

Ah, another type of release that hasn't been mentioned! Pretty much by their very nature these are hit-or-miss but I have a few I like quite a bit such as REM's Dead Letter Office (which is actually one of my favorite releases by them) and They Might Be Giants' Miscellaneous T.

I took it from Schizotypic's post. ;)

Ha-ha. Whoops!

EPs: I love EPs, they're almost always as good if not better than a band's full albums. Plus, there's almost never filler to deal with, which is always convenient.

Singles: On the other hand, I rarely ever buy singles. There's rarely ever anything good on them and if there is, the band usually releases a B-side album.

Bootlegs: I have 2 Grateful Dead bootlegs. So no, I don't like them.

Live Albums: These are hit or miss, sometimes I like them other times I don't but regardless I rarely ever go out of my way to track them down. If I see a band and they have a great show, I might try to find some live stuff.

B-Side AlbumsLike I said above, I usually like these. I always check them out if a band I like releases one. Sometimes they can be the best in a bands collection.

lots of hate for singles here. i think that the 'real thing' is kind of lame - you'll never pop in a cd just to hear two or three remixes. but digitally - that's a whole different story. gathering a bunch of singles from a band you really like and throwing them on shuffle can be quite nice...

live albums i do enjoy on occasion. some bands sound the same live as they do in the studio (like Cake - never spend money to go to their shows). but others sound really good live. i tend to stick to official live albums though, since i'm picky about quality.

but i have a few unofficial recordings of Sigur Ros that are really quite good...

That's the thing...if it's a band I really like, I have all the singles on the proper albums. I do, however, have a bunch of singles from bands I don't really care for. Nostalgic popular tracks from my youth, for example.

If I like a band I just get any extra thing I can find.
(e.g. I have more than 2.5 gb of extra Beatles material)
This way I can mix and match my favorite version of each song... and add some other unreleased favorites.

Same here. Many of them are of the hair metal variety I must admit.