Effort: HighCost: Free to $60

We understand that you have all sorts of nostalgia for your collection of analog media, but if you want to free up space by ditching your old turntables and tape players, or if you need to create a digital archive for posterity, we've got you covered. First, you can convert your old vinyl records or cassettes on the cheap by plugging their respective players into your PC's audio-in port and capturing the sound with the free, cross-platform . If VHS digitization is the capability you seek, you'll have to make a purchase: Either you can buy a DVD recorder and use your old VCR as an input, or you can buy and install a video-capture card (such as the Hauppage WinTV HVR-1800 MCE) for your computer, and then connect your VCR to it.

Effort: MinimalCost: $40