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This discussion is becoming more and more interesting.
I see many aspects being covered with a lot of smart ideas.

While I was trying to understand which of the proposed features/solutions would best fit my needs, I realized I first had to classify my needs.

Here is my basic list, for simplicity's sake I named the six basic needs.

1. INVENTORY: keeping track of what cards I have
2. DECK LISTS: keeping track of decks I "like"
3. MY DECKS: keeping track of decks I have currently built
4. STORAGE: keeping track of where my cards are physically located
5. WISH LIST: keeping track of the cards I need
6. TRADE LIST: keeping track of the cards I'm willing to trade/sell

and here is how I see DB supporting me so far:

1. INVENTORY: with the latest release I'm pretty much ok, the only thing missing is the ability to distinguish between BB and WB foreign first editions. Almost there. CHECK
2. DECK LISTS: I can keep track of decks regardless if I have the cards to build them or not. CHECK
3. MY DECKS: I can keep track of decks for which I own cards. If I want to distinguish DECK LISTS from MY DECKS I believe the only way is to use separate folders. Not the most flexible option, but it works CHECK
4. STORAGE: I have binders, large and small boxes, you name it. MISS
5. WISH LIST: significantly improved after multiple-pictures feature in the latest release CHECKED
6. TRADE LIST: significantly improved after multiple-pictures feature in the latest release CHECKED

So STORAGE is a problem.

I do agree with Moxy about ultimately having to go 1 physical card = 1 database record in order to have impossible-to-beat accurate tracking of a card's conditions. This, from my point of view, would allow both perfect INVENTORY and perfect STORAGE tracking.

What scares me, is the usability. If I have 200 Swamps same edition/language/conditions and in the same box. I'd prefer entering the information just once rather than 200. Also, when I look at my inventory, I'd like to see one line with 200 identical swamps rather than 200 identical lines. But this can be managed regardless the granularity of the database, I assume.

The other interesting point I wanted to discuss about is TAGs. In general I'm not a fan of tags, actually I'm a bit scared about freeform tags as they can be a very powerful organizer but they can also become a nightmare if not properly managed, especially with large inventories and multiple tagging.

Said that, I like a lot scshunt's idea of separating deck lists from the cards I have in decks, and to use a Tag to indicate in which physical deck a card I own is currently placed. Simple and elegant. Love it. I have a feeling this same concept could be extended to manage the whole STORAGE problem.

If the whole MY DECKS + STORAGE could be managed through "controlled" tagging maybe it would help with sebi's concern about "working with these cards more difficult".

Last point, I don't see me using multiple/separate inventories but I understand why someone could need/use such a feature.

Not sure if I'm adding something useful to the discussion.
But I'm sure coming back to see how it evolves.