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I presently own the following editions of The Blue Max:
1 - Intrada;
2 - LLL
3 - Goldsmith at Fox vol. 1 LLL
...
In the past, I also owned both the Varese and Legacy CDs (not counting re-recordings like the excellent Tadlow).
Similarly, I have owned, at different times, 4 versions of The Great Train Robbery of which I kept the Intrada and the Quartet editions (mainly, in this case, for the different artwork, booklets).
And so on.
At this point, it is a very safe bet that I won't be buying any future editions of The Blue Max, The Great Train Robbery, Total Recall, Basic Instinct.. etc. regardless of any given upgrade. However, I know that there are still many titles where I would splurge for just one more edition. (The Final Conflict, The Secret of NIMH, Damien: The Omen II... etc.)
How many iterations are enough for you?
Which titles would you put the brakes on?
Note: I used Jerry Goldsmith as an example because of his perennial popularity (who am I kidding, he has no peers), but any composer will do.
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Not counting buying re-recordings and originals (in which case I would have to include Rózsa’s Quo Vadis, Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, and Julius Caesar), I usually try to get to get one copy and leave it at that. That said, there have been occasions where I’ve double dipped such as Ben-Hur (Rhino 2-Disc and FSM) and Prince of Foxes (FSM and Kritzerland Henry King set, where I also double dipped on Captain from Castile).
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Ha, I considered starting a somewhat similar thread some time ago.
Indeed, there are a number of soundtracks I have bought multiple times, and others I have not. And I have bought remastered and expanded editions that, on second thought, I really could have done without as the prior edition was well enough.
I think the score I have purchased most often is probably John Williams' Superman, I have the original Warner Double LP, the original CD, the Rhino CD, the FSM Blue Box CD, and the LaLaLand release, so it's a total of five times that I picked up that particular recording. (I didn't count the re-recording.). I'm definitely done with that one I think. Or hope. 
There are other scores I purchased several times.
I found that upgrading many earlier Goldsmith recordings from their 30-40 minute runtime to the more expanded and or complete releases that came out since the end of the last century gave many of these score a more symphonic flow and musical structure and thereby greatly enhanced the musical listening experience. That's not true for all of the titles though. For example, I got Intrada's expanded CHINATOWN, as it is one of my favorite Goldsmith score, but even there I usually turn to the album edit for listening, which was very well done. So I got three copies of CHINATOWN, the LP, the first Varèse Sarabande edition, and the Intrada. But I had to get that more because I'm such a fan of both the score and the movie. But I'm done with it. :-)
It's a case by case decision for me. I pick up a newer addition of a film score if one or more of the following is true:
1. There is a vital and/or substantial amount of music missing from the previous album
2. The newer edition promises to have significantly improved sound quality
3. It's a favorite score of mine and the new edition offers an especially tempting "package" (liner notes, cover, sequencing, etc.)
For example, I bought Jerry Goldsmith's PAPILLON several times: first on Silva Screen, because I love the score, than on MCA France, because it contained the vital cue "Butterflies" which was missing before, and finally the Quartet edition, because that had WAY better sound than any of the previous editions. I suppose I'm done with PAPILLON now too.
I bought Quartet's The Thing even though it contained no new music. It promised slightly improved sound, but it had a much better packaging (I love the use of the original poster/LP cover art). So here it was the packaging mostly. But I'm done with that one.
I bought Quartet's The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, because it promised better sound and better packaging and more music, so it is more or less "definitive", and I guess I'm done with that one too.
I didn't buy some albums I was on the fence on, like Intrada's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, because the original album turned out to be so well already that I did not feel the need to "upgrade".
As far as BLUE MAX is concerned, I have the Varèse Sarabande 1987 CD, and the Intrada release (and of course the Tadlow, but that's a different recording). I did not buy the LaLaLand because the Intrada was already very good, I didn't expect significant improvement. However, I DID buy the LaLaLand Planet of the Apes box, even though I already had all the scores, because the packaging was just too tempting for me to resist (and I love all the scores). But I'm sure I'm done with them too now.
So there are quite a few scores I bought two times, and some I even bought three times, but it's a case by case decision.
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One iteration can be enough if it's done perfectly from the get-go. 
Yavar
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One iteration can be enough if it's done perfectly from the get-go.
Yavar
AGREED! I wish this was always the case!
Overall it sounds like I'm similar to everyone else here.
THE MATRIX from Varese is a great example.
I had the original 10-track release and then later got the Deluxe Edition because it seemed to present the complete score. I was happy with that until I learned that the Deluxe Edition is NOT complete and now Varese has a new one out. BUT - the Deluxe was CLOSE to complete.
Though I am a completionist so I will buy the new release, especially since I like the score.
BUT - this release doesn't contain the album versions of the songs which I think is important. Like the track "Threat Mix" - only 1 is on this CD set, but the Deluxe Version was neither the film or album version, so I'd be buying this CD knowing that since now 3 versions of that track exist (from the album, from the Deluxe, from the Film), I'm not quite getting the true "Complete" version.
Others come down to the competency of the release and trust in the label.
Concord's release of the INDIANA JONES boxed set was an immediate buy because it had SO much missing music. At the same time I knew there was also more music missing so there would inevitably be another release.
BUT - we don't know if there is access to the additional materials, and WHEN that will happen. That release was 13 years ago so I'm glad I bought it then.
In terms of label TRUST - we've been talking about Disney releasing STAR WARS and I have zero trust in Disney to do a competent, complete release. I wouldn't be surprised if they have ALL the material, but do a very Disney-Vault-esque multi-stage release over many years - like: Year 1 - 75% complete, Year 3 - 85% complete, Year 5 - 95% complete, Year 10 - 100% complete, Year 12 - REALLY 100% complete because we "just" found some new material we didn't know about before).
In general though, I assume these labels are doing their best to give us everything they can get and in a few rare instances there is a followup with additional materials.
But that's an informal social contract that can be broken over time. Let's say for example that Varese had these Matrix elements and could have released them on 2-discs back in 2010... that would make me think they're shady and untrustworthy.
But that's just a fictional example - again, I'm assuming labels are working in good faith to bring everything they know of to a release.
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But that's an informal social contract that can be broken over time. Let's say for example that Varese had these Matrix elements and could have released them on 2-discs back in 2010... that would make me think they're shady and untrustworthy.
I'm sure that for most of their older Deluxe Editions Varese could have included the complete score (The Omen, The Final Conflict, Poltergeist II, Justine...) I don't think I'd describe them as shady and untrustworthy for not doing so; it was a different time when "Deluxe Edition" merely meant "expanded", not necessarily "complete". Goldsmith himself was also still alive and I've heard he nixed cues from some expanded releases he had input on, like the Omen expansions. Other composers do that too (Christopher Young and David Shire are often opposed to complete and chronological presentations of their scores).
Also, the Varese Deluxe Matrix from 2008 was not even close to the complete score, much further than say the old Deluxe Edition of The Omen was (missing about six minutes). It was merely everything they could fit on a single disc. If you look at this spreadsheet you'll see that the previously unreleased cues total between 12-13 minutes, but there's even more music premiering here than that because both the OST and 2008 Deluxe Edition had tons of micro-edited cues which were shorter than the versions as recorded for the film. All of those cues are now here untruncated. I'll be curious to see how the final running times compare, but for now here's a comparison document:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a6O7S8txNoETkuSihPuOBZfFCQEtdaVStJBBUZ4xWZg/edit#gid=0
Yavar
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I don't need every score "complete", but rather, if the newer presentation and or music adds something to it. As I said, I am perfectly happy with the original album of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, that is very well put together, but I all but hated the original album for A.I.. The music itself was wonderful, but it was a terrible hack and paste job, with poor musical flow (even interrupted by pop songs), vital music missing, other music pasted twice into tracks.... Now the A.I. was done justice when LaLaLand released their 3-CD set, and the album is now among my favorite John Williams albums of all time. So I had to buy that. On the other hand, I was already happy with the original album for JURASSIC PARK and LOST WORLD and have not upgraded to the LaLaLand edition there.
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Any re-released favourite score that adds content or sonic improvement I’m likely to go for. The Star Wars film might be my most purchases across multiple editions / formats - yet I’m still hoping the saga gets the definitive treatment it deserves. It surprises me that consistently Star Wars falls short in the presentation of such landmark content. Not just with the soundtracks, but equally with the many movie releases. The latest 4K scans fall short of the TLC many other less commercial heritage titles get in restoration quality.
But above all I am grateful for what I have, not for what I’m missing of have aspirations for potential upgrades. Hope for the best... listen to what you have. :-)
The conspiracy theory part of me thinks it is intentionally done with SW-related things, whether it's the films themselves, the toys or the scores, etc. Lucasfilm, now Disney, know they can milk that name and people will keep coming back for more and buying it all up, regardless how many times it has been released or tweaked with or altered. Myself included! lol There are some specific Star Wars action figures that I have easily bought 5 or 6 times at this point now because they come out with a new one every 9 or so years.
Also, I 'm pretty sure that a definitive presentation of the scores - boxed or not - represent an infinitesimally small amount of cash for them, smaller than the margin of error.
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