I'd consider an optical drive emulator like GDEMU so you can store your entire collection on an SD card. This ensures your physical collection lasts longer and loading times are shorter as well.
I dig it. My only other advice, is you could use backups to keep your originals in good condition, but I'm not sure if CD-Rs are more rough on the laser
If you ever have the opportunity, I would be interested in seeing your collection
I miss mine so much, my dimwit brother threw it away like 2 decades ago along with our Megadrive, and I occasionally remember that and get sad all over again