Anybody still buy vinyl records?

by DanTheMan 40 Replies latest social entertainment

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  DanTheMan

  I haven't had a turntable in years, and I'm starting to feel all romantic about getting one and restricting my new music purchases to vinyl exclusively.

  Some reasons why:

  Longevity - CD's get to be pretty skippy after about 10 years, and after 15 or 20, they are pretty much useless. A vinyl record can last 100 years if taken proper care of. If I live another 40 years, I would like to be be able to go back and listen to my Satch records without having to purchase them new again.

  Environment - CD's contain all kinds of toxic chemicals, I'm pretty sure this isn't the case w/vinyl records

  Sound Quality - Since it is analog and therefore can store an infinite amount of information, vinyl has a certain warmth that can't be reproduced digitally (though I'm not sure how relevant this is anymore since many albums are recorded digitally these days).

  What I really wish is that record companies would produce an analog format, sorta like a miniaturized vinyl record, along with digital devices to play them, instead of the current digital format.
• 

  Finally-Free

  I still have a turntable to play all my old vinyl records. Sometimes I head down to a store that sells used records, tapes, CDs, movies, etc and pick up some items. Some records sell for as little as 99 cents.

  W
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  rocketman

  
  Dan, I wonder if you've been reading Audio magazine lately. They are generally advocates of analog playback, and still run ads and test reports on turntables.

  Analog does have its advantages, but when my turntable started to give me problems circa 1990, I gave up on analog audio, basically because of the headache of cleaning albums each time I played them, and always feeling like I had to make a copy on audiocassette right away to avoid excess wear on the grooved playing surface.

  I do agree that many early CDs sounded pretty lousy, but with remastering techniques applied over the past few years, many now sound great, to my ears anyway. I have never done an A/B listening comparison though, pitting a good analog setup against a good digital one.
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  tijkmo

  
  when i went to get the last u2 record i noticed it was a vailable on vinyl...so i got it in that format...walking down the street swinging a square carrier bag with an lp in it brought back memories of my youth...and is still way cooler than tucking a cd into ya pocket.

  spending an afternoon listening to individual tracks from records and then ending up with lps and sleeves and covers and inside sleeves and lyric books strewn all over the living room carpet is still time better spent than listening to a computer or thru earplugs

  good times
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  kid-A

  I do ! I bought a portable LP player from Crosley about 3 years ago. I find that Jazz sounds vastly superior on vinyl, which provides a much warmer sound than CDs. However, most of the other music I listen to is alternative/rock, and I find this actually sounds better in digital format. Jazz however, needs vinyl.
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  damselfly

  I love my record player! I think vinyl sounds much better. My receiver blew up this summer and I haven't had it replaced yet, I miss spending the afternoon listening to my LPs.

  Dams
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  DanTheMan

  Some records sell for as little as 99 cents.

  Cool! I also see people on Ebay selling large collections of vinyl for pretty cheap,.
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  DanTheMan

  I gave up on analog audio, basically because of the headache of cleaning albums each time I played them, and always feeling like I had to make a copy on audiocassette right away to avoid excess wear on the grooved playing surface.

  Yeah, I remember using these special dustcloths that my dad had whenever I played my records, and they still clicked, popped, and skipped anyway. :(
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  DanTheMan

  spending an afternoon listening to individual tracks from records and then ending up with lps and sleeves and covers and inside sleeves and lyric books strewn all over the living room carpet is still time better spent than listening to a computer or thru earplugs

  Right on! There's a certain tactile experience of listening to vinyl records that you just can't get from iTunes, or even CD's.
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  DanTheMan

  Kid A, I notice that Radiohead makes their albums available on vinyl. OK Computer is one of those albums that I'm almost certain I will still want to listen to long after my CD of it has given out.