For Vinyl-Lovers Only

For those of us who prefer a better way to listen to music: the vinyl record.

About six months ago finally got around to getting a new turntable. I've started up a new collection. Very weak at the moment, but hoping to change that.

Just put in an order for the Acid House Kings: Music Sounds Better With You and Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit. The latter being probably one of my all time favorite records. I know it has been out of print for some time, but Amazon is showing a half dozen in stock. I ordered one hoping they might have found some laying around.

So far it has been getting pushed back, so might initial high hopes are fading fast.

So, perhaps we can talk about records? Record players?

Anybody else prefer vinyl over that crap MP3 sound? (MP3's are nice for being portable, but if I'm going to have a proper sit down and enjoy music, vinyl is the way to go).

You very much have a kindred spirit in me, Moore.

I started collecting vinyl as a novelty and collection. I had a few given to me as gifts, and my father had a record player, so they weren't useless. When I started listening to music more, however, I began to hear the difference in vinyl and other mediums, even CD. Certainly they are clearly better than MP3s, but CDs even have their minor imperfections. I clean, unscratched vinyl has a perfect, unadulterated sound. There's nothing like it.

Now, I'm a believer. I by more records than I do any other form of music. The best thing about collecting vinyl is the shopping for them, too. I'll go through racks upon racks of random crap to find a gem hidden among the dusty stacks of records that used to belong to someone else who doesn't realize how relevant of a genre it is becoming again.

Of course, more bands are releasing new records on vinyl as well, and there have been collectible reissues. I had a thrift store owner who sells a ton of great records tell me that vinyl sales were projected to outpace CD sales in the next few years.

This Christmas, my parents bought me a portable record player so I would have one of my own. The speakers aren't great, but it is portable, which is nice, and I can hook up some nicer speakers to them when I can afford some.

I couldn't tell you all the records I have from memory, I'm amassing that much of a collection. If you consider you standard cube-shaped plastic crate, I've completely filled on of those.

Some of the highlights are probably my James Bond vinyls (TLD single, YOLT soundtrack, TSWLM Soundtrack, and FYEO soundtrack), Abby Road - The Beatles (reissue), What's the Story Morning Glory - Oasis (reissue), Thriller - Michael Jackson (original - I don't like the Thriller reissue), Gone With the Wind Soundtrack, Paul Simon - Greatest Hits, Etc...

Those are just a few right off the top of my head. I should really catalog them, because at this point, I'm a bit afraid of accidentally making duplicate purchases. You tend to see a lot of the same things where you buy records.

While we're on the subject, something called record store day is coming up: http://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues. I think there's supposed to be a lot of special collectors editions of certain records and singles. That will also give you some tips on where to buy records in your area. There were a few for my area I didn't know of.

lalala2004 wrote:

Now, I'm a believer. I by more records than I do any other form of music. The best thing about collecting vinyl is the shopping for them, too. I'll go through racks upon racks of random crap to find a gem hidden among the dusty stacks of records that used to belong to someone else who doesn't realize how relevant of a genre it is becoming again.

My favorite part. Going to a record store and finding a dozen of little gems no one has heard of or forgot of. And you get it for a few bucks, if that.

Moore wrote:

lalala2004 wrote:

Now, I'm a believer. I by more records than I do any other form of music. The best thing about collecting vinyl is the shopping for them, too. I'll go through racks upon racks of random crap to find a gem hidden among the dusty stacks of records that used to belong to someone else who doesn't realize how relevant of a genre it is becoming again.

My favorite part. Going to a record store and finding a dozen of little gems no one has heard of or forgot of. And you get it for a few bucks, if that.

I've been noticing a lot of the more popular records, particularly the Beatles and The Rolling Stones (and some Elvis, at that) are often kept in a "collectibles" area and sometimes run between $40 and $150. I had seen the same records for $20 or less in the past. Should have bought them then....

The more privately owned antique type stores tend to be better on price because they don't hold things back like that. Price is based on condition and not much more.

I was recently given an album and it reminded me of how much I loved the ceremony of shopping for them and then bringing them home to review and play.

I remember the exact path one of my favourite albums took from the time I saw it. It was an old Sgt. Pepper's album.... but it had the original cut-out paper insert in perfect shape. It was selling for $2. I bought it and played it so many times over so many years that I was surprised it didn't wear out. But I always made sure the insert was kept safe.

As times changed, it went into storage. The cover deteriorated but the insert did not. In 2007, I framed the insert and gave it (and the rest) to a friend as a birthday present because he is such a huge Beatles fan. That gave me as much joy as all those years of listening to the album. (I'm such a sap sometimes.)

Thing is, I know where and when and why I bought much of my vinyl... I don't have the same recollection for CDs. I wonder if that's just that things like that meant more to me when I was younger or if there is truly something different about playing a record (other than the sound quality, obviously).

There's a warm and natural sound to vinyl IMO which just beats out any other format. There's a physicality to it which I just don't get with all this digital s***. It's also the only format which properly showcases the lost art of the great record sleeve, in a format more suitably sized to showcase artwork, not to mention the classic a-side/b-side structure vinyl lends to a listening experience, as opposed to the "just lump 11 tracks anywhere on the disc and hope it holds up over a full uninterrupted listen" aspect of CDs & MP3s nowadays. The only thing I don't like about current vinyl releases is the price; I feel like I'm being pushed into sometimes still buying CDs, as a new album on vinyl is usually around £16 or so, sometimes even more than that, as many new albums are annoyingly spread across two records when they could easily fit on one. And I buy a lot of records, so that price difference hits me in the pocket.

So yeah, vinyl till I die. Couldn't even begin to list my collection though.

After the donut scene comes a bit that reminded me of this thread.. and this forum. We should get this elitist here.

Lazenby. wrote:

It's also the only format which properly showcases the lost art of the great record sleeve, in a format more suitably sized to showcase artwork, not to mention the classic a-side/b-side structure vinyl lends to a listening experience, as opposed to the "just lump 11 tracks anywhere on the disc and hope it holds up over a full uninterrupted listen" aspect of CDs & MP3s nowadays.

Absolutely. An album is supposed to be an art form. It should flow and have some sort of coherence to it. Otherwise, it's just a random list of songs.

Lazenby wrote:

The only thing I don't like about current vinyl releases is the price; I feel like I'm being pushed into sometimes still buying CDs, as a new album on vinyl is usually around £16 or so, sometimes even more than that, as many new albums are annoyingly spread across two records when they could easily fit on one.

This really does help with the sound quality, though. A record doesn't have the clarity of sound when a bunch of songs are crowded on to one record. Then again, I have to wonder if spreading out to something like two or three songs a side (like my Oasis album) is really necessary....

lalala2004 wrote:

This really does help with the sound quality, though.

Yep, that's the awkward part, because as much as I want great quality, I also need vinyl to remain affordable. That said, I've still got plenty of 5/6-a-side albums which sound great to me even in the very old-school pressings, some just as good as the more recent heavyweight pressings.

lalala2004 wrote:

Then again, I have to wonder if spreading out to something like two or three songs a side (like my Oasis album) is really necessary....

That's another big irk for me. Loses that whole "album feel" and breaks the flow too much when you come to a side of a record which only has two/three tracks on it and then you have to turn over again.

Lazenby. wrote:

lalala2004 wrote:

Then again, I have to wonder if spreading out to something like two or three songs a side (like my Oasis album) is really necessary....

That's another big irk for me. Loses that whole "album feel" and breaks the flow too much when you come to a side of a record which only has two/three tracks on it and then you have to turn over again.

That's truly the only downside for me when it comes to vinyl. The whole having to get up and flip the record thing. I just chalk it up to laziness....

It certainly is a con if it is as you mentioned every 2 or 3 songs.

Besides that it is nice. I bought an automatic player so I have no choice to listen to all the songs. I prefer it that way. In the digital age there often is time to sit down and just listen to a record from beginning to end. Taking in the music as a whole, not just a song here or there.

Some records surprise you.

I love Belle and Sebastian, but always found The Boy With The Arab Strap one of their lesser efforts (although, for them a bad record is still brilliant).

However, when you listen to the whole thing beginning to end it gives you a better look. It certainly is one of their most consistent, well plotted records. Still not my favorite, but it made me appreciate the record because as a whole it flows so well together.

Unfortunately, I won't have access to my record player for another two months. What a shame. I have a pile of vinyl building up that I bought at local stores waiting to be tossed on.

I have the Plasmatics' Butcher Baby on red vinyl. Probably the only survivor of the Paleolithic era.

If only I still had a record player.

ambler wrote:

If only I still had a record player.

You could get a new one :-). They aren't to unreasonably priced, IMO.

Sign that you have a vinyl addiction: On payday, you immediately go buy 6 records.

Hi, my name is lalala and I'm a vinylaholic.

I got a really good deal, though! 6 for $30. I decided I wanted to add some old school R&B to my collection, so I picked up some Shirelles, Four Tops, and something else I can't remember.... Then I bought a Paul McCartney - Tug of War and The Beatles - Let it Be. To round up the list I bought an ABBA Greatest Hits album.....

ABBA is a guilty pleasure :oops:

There will be a vinyl LP for the new Duran Duran album soon (see my avatar)...

I haven't played vinyl since the early 90s but I do miss the album sleeve artwork that looks so much better on a 12' record than 5' cd. Plus that new record smell

My Top 5 Vinyls:

1. Beatles - Revolver: Mono UK version (The US Capitol Records version omits 3 tracks!)
2. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
3. Velvet Underground & Nico
4. Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
5. Emitt Rhodes - Emitt Rhodes - BUY THIS RECORD NOW! :D

Can't go wrong with Emitt Rhodes.

Nice one Moore ;)

Gotta Love Emitt. I met him recently at a screening of his documentary "One Man Beatle". He hasn't had the best state of affairs, but a good hearted soul.

Lucky to get the chance to meet him. Yeah, seems like he got some bad breaks. I've been trying to track down some of his stuff. Shame more people don't know of him.

Rave and I spent a few hours in the Bond and Beyond record library earlier today. We enjoyed a good long root in the singles section.

7 or 12 inch?