I Miss Record Albums

[gyopsy]

When I was a kid, I collected them all of the time. They were so cheap. And I had some bizarre fascination with watching them go around and around whether they be 33 or 45 rpm. And I liked to manually slow them down and then listen to how they sounded at the wrong speed.

My parents bought me a Fisher Price record player when I was only 3 and I have loved vinyl music ever since.

I have never been fond of CDs. I listen to them because that's how you listen to music today. I held onto my audio tapes until 2002 and that's when I finally decided to switch to CDs full time.

CDs just aren't fun. You can barely watch them play at all and even when you do, they're usually just a blur.

The strangest part of all this: I was born in 1984.

[Skittles]

1. I miss album covers

CD covers are just too freaking small.

[bif]

6. Amen! How about those linear notes!?

Could they use a smaller font?

[BlackVelvetElvis]

18. Album covers were a great canvas for designers and artists

Not to mention the ones that were interactive (Zeppelin, etc.).

[Intelsucks]

2. I still buy records all the time. In fact, I buy more now than at any

other point in my life. I even like the way they smell.


Used record stores

antique shops

flea markets

record conventions

mail order

etc.


The thrill of the hunt is fun.

[INTELBYTES]

13. Oh don't get intelsucks started.

He paid big bucks for a record player with a high dollar needle. Of course he is to frickin uppity to call it a record player or needle. It's a turn-table with a "stylus".

Why would you pay over 3 grand for a record player that doesn't even have the speakers attached to the side? Believe it or not, it doesn't even have an arm to hold more than one record at a time.

He got ripped off IMHO.

[ButterflyBlood]

3. I buy way more records than CDs

they still make them.

[gyopsy]

4. That's true

but I only thought they made them for dance music that is to be mixed together by a DJ. A lot of that stuff is special order and is probably kind of expensive. But yeah, that's a good point.

[ButterflyBlood]

12. wrong

just go into any indie record store, there's plenty of new vinyl, almost all indie bands make it as do most hipster bands...

[Mrs. Venation]

5. I Am On The Fence

I enjoyed my vinyl albums, but they were so easily damaged, and the sound reproduction could be very poor unless one paid for Original Master Recordings or for albums on virgin vinyl.

I have a ton of CDs; I think they have become too expensive, so I don't buy them often any more, but I do enjoy listening to them.

I think the last vinyl LP I bought was "Abba's Greatest Hits".

[chaska]

7. There's a lot to love about vinyl, but...

I'm about to move move 2000 miles - I'll be carrying 500+ LPs with me. Do you have any idea how much of a hassle that is? The weight alone.... I'd miss the artwork, but I would gladly trade 'em in for cds.

I understand the nostalgic impulse though.

[Whitacre D_WI]

8. You can get LPs and 45s for any kind of music.

They're very easy to find, just about any independent music store has them. Don't look in the mall, though -- mall stores usually just have CDs. Look in the yellow pages under "compact disc, records, and tapes -- retail."

[Westegg]

9. I just bought an LP on Ebay for $28...

...A near-mint copy of Be-Bop Deluxe's 1977 (semi)classic "Live In the Air Age," the first disc of which is on white vinyl. Ever since I saw this white disc (a limited release) at my buddy Stew's house in 1979, I knew I had to have it. Thanks to Ebay, I've now coralled a copy. In fact, now that I 've grown up and have some dollars in my pocket, I've been able to track down some classic albums from my teen years (in the '70s), which I was too dumb to hold on to or preserve at the time. Such as The Who's "Live At Leeds" with all the original inserts, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side" with its two posters and two decal sets, Wings' "Venus and Mars" wiith poster and inserts; Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" in the original opaque cellophane, with postcard. Etc. People who didn't grow up with vinyl can't understand my passion for it. That's okay: it means something to ME!!!

[DancingBear]

10. The audiophile view

Properly cared for vinyl is so superior in sound to CD that it's almost laughable. Simply put, vinyl is analog, and that is how music "looks" - CD is digital - a series of 1's and 0's. No matter how many times you sample an analog wave, you STILL can not transfer the nuances in the music to a series of on/off impulses.

Besides, what's better than a gatefold LP....

(takes out +1.50 magnifiers to try and read CD liner notes)

[tigereye]

11. I do think the vinyl sounds better if it isn't scratched

There is a warmth there that CDs just don't have. CDs are okay. A lot easier to carry. And the MP3s are even easier to carry. Soon it will all be on a chip you imbed in your brain anyway...

Those 45s were pretty cool in the old days, carrying them around in one of those 45 holders. Listening to the Archies and Donnie Osmond. Well, we just didn't know any better.

[DancingBear]

14. Paging intelsucks

What type of turntable?

I run a Clearaudio, myself. :)

[Intelsucks]

15. VPI Scout w/Benz L2 Wood Cartridge. Man do I love it!

I was using a Linn Basik for about ten years. The VPI crushed it like a grape. The audiophile pressings sound incredible... Better than I ever thought they could.

[DancingBear]

16. Nice

I'm about to visit my friendly audio guy Walter in NH for an amplifier upgrade (getting a set of monoblocks) - I'll have to chat him up with regard to his 'table recommendations.

Yes, audiophile pressings (180 gram) are fabulous - of all things, the Creedence stuff on 180 gram is unbelieveable!

[Intelsucks]

17. Ooooh monoblock amps! I wish I had the money and the floor space

The #1 upgrade that I've ever made to my system was after-market power cords. They can be ridiculously expensive, but they open about 40 windows into the music. Once you hear them, you can't live without them. All other upgrades seemed irrelevant up against the power cords.

[DancingBear]

19. Again, we agree

I use Cardas cords on the amp and the pre-amp, and an Analysis Plus cord on the CD player. Sometimes people look at me like I'm crazy, but when you've been around this stuff as long as I have (I used to work for Mark Levinson, but I'm a tube guy now) you know what works and what doesn't. Black Diamond Racing cones under the components work pretty well, also.

I still haven't convinced Mrs. Bear about the need to get the music room tuned, but she has grown rather fond of the loudspeakers as part of the room decor, so that's a start. :)