Posted on 07/21/2023 5:47:11 PM PDT by DoodleBob
BENTON, Ark — How we do anything changes constantly— though it may sound vague, think about any electronic you use. You're upgrading every few months or years, using the latest and new greatest item.
The same is true for how we listen to music. We now live in the age of streaming, but just a few decades ago, vinyl records dominated the charts.
Since then, we've seen CDs, MP3 players, and streaming services take over, but there's always been a dedicated base of collectors, keeping vinyl records alive.
Recently, that base has been growing by groups you may not expect.
"I've got six year old's that come in here, and their parents let them pick out albums, and they're not just picking out kids albums," Audra McAnally-Parsons said. "They're picking out rock, and AC/DC, I mean they're picking all of it out."
McAnally-Parsons owns Retro Rose, a record shop in Benton. She opened her doors three years ago, trying to cater to any and all music tastes.
She said their client base is interesting, from customers listening to older rock and rap, and then younger fans interested in artists like Taylor Swift. It's an interesting trend for her to see— younger generations are getting interested in and collecting their own records.
"We have a big, like, young teenage range," she explained.
That's a base they're catering to. The night of Taylor Swift's release of her Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Retro Rose hosted a listening party for those fans.
That interest— from both young and new fans— has had record sales climbing.
Data from the Recording Industry Association of America shows that physical sales of vinyl records have climbed over the past three years.
A year-end report from Luminate, which focuses on music and entertainment data, has vinyl as the highest-selling form of physical copies of albums.
Taylor Swift is, of course, the biggest seller on the list, but the classics are just as high. Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, and The Beatles round out the top 10.
"I do think the statistics are crazy of how much it continues to grow," McAnally-Parsons said.
Of course, it isn't just Retro Rose that has been seeing the benefits of this spike.
"Thanks, Taylor Swift!" Wes Howerton said. "Taylor and Adele, and other people like that, really embracing the idea and pushing to have a lot of their records pressed."
Howerton moved back home from Seattle to start Control Records four years ago, and he's seen that rise for himself—as well as who's driving it. "When I first moved to Seattle, most record stores in Seattle were still like two-thirds CDs, one-third vinyl," he said. "Everyone is moving over, I don't even sell CDs."
This resurgence isn't one that surprises him, though. He said it's about more than just music.
"Just come in here and connect to something, whether they're connected to Queen or they're connected to SZA or Tyler, the Creator," he said. "I just, I think this is a thing that people get the chance to connect to, and this is the way to do it, you know?"
Connecting and collecting are really two sides of the same record. Some of the most popular albums can hold their worth for decades.
Websites like Discogs can help track those prices.
Howerton will tell you, while the rush to collect is great, it's best to build up your collection over time.
"This is a chance for them to slow down and engage with something," Howerton said. "I think that we as human beings, that's what we want out of life is to engage with something, and records are a way to engage with art and with music."
So whether you're a fan of the classics, or just starting out, this rise is something both shops want to see keep charting up.
"Every year it's better and better, so hopefully it stays on the uprise," McAnally-Parsons said.
Always looking for great vinyl to add to our collection.
I've had to unload a lot of my OMG level audio gear due to divorce or one thing or another. Now I'm down to a pair of Magneplanar 3.7is, and some mediocre electronics. I'm thinking of either an Emotiva or Burson stack at some point. The Maggies are current-hungry bastards, and few amps drive them right.
I have several turntables these days. A couple of Garrard Zero 100s with complete immaculate dust covers that I picked up at auction for $35 apiece. Working on restoration of the pair. I've also got a Thorens TD126 mkIII that needs a decent tone arm and cartridge. And, of course a few thousand LPs to go with. And tons of CDs.
There are lots of places that have turntables now. Just look around. I bet you a place that sells vinyl now can put you in touch with so one who has working turntables at a reasonable price range.
Peaches was great!
Good vinyl isn’t scratchy, skippy, or hissing. Also, change up or clean your needle.
We have between 500-600 vinyl records. Also have that iPhone. We use both. We love both. Do you only eat chocolate desserts, or do you like fruit desserts, too? You can have both! It just depends on your mood.
Very nice!
Good. Maybe my heirs won’t be as p’ed off as I thought.
I’ve been slowly adding to my small collection and am up to about 200. That’s two lower shelves in a bookcase which feels like about the right size. I try to keep it lean and mean with no filler.
Digital is great for convenience but LPs do have a specialness about them.
I ‘be got a pair of Infinity Quantum Jrs, and my albums sound great, even with a few pops.
Well I have some 5000 albums sitting just feet away. Its all there...But they don’t get played anymore. I use ipods or iphones I actually signed up for apple itunes and its endless amount of music available at my fingertips and through my various apps I can record those digital streamin albums..
and dont forget tela.sugarmegs.org all live music you will never sleep again. and yes I have a Tony Bennett concert I recorded but the gal next to me was a screamer and unfortunately the recording is almost too “hot” a tick more and it would have been ruined. Then all those other sound boards from blues festivals over the years. Yeah—I like music...
Look around for a used/ recycled record store in your town. Chances are they will have a used equipment section filled with old analog stereo gear. I.e. Akai, Roberts, pioneer, Technique,etc. you can assemble a good quality stereo system for a few hundred dollars. But don’t delay, that stuff is going up in value every day!Also be sure to get the old speakers to go with it. The new digital stuff does not pair well with analog equipment. Get a set of Pioneer speakers or Altec Lansing’s something along those lines and then sit back and enjoy those albums the way they were meant to be played!
you are correct, vintage stuff is getting expensive. anything tube, dynaco Marantz McIntosh or solid state (silver) including Kenwood and pioneer is expensive.
anything carver for some reason. and hk also for some reason
early Sony ES. I have an x77es black CD player. simply amazing build quality.
but not so impressed with the matching amps cause I have 2 dead ones
old speakers are hit and miss, most all need surrounds unless they were accordion or rubber.
you can buy decent modern speakers or even make them. many sites will sell you parts and plans.
“ Look around for a used/ recycled record store in your town.”
I live in northern Virginia, home to some of the richest counties in America (thanks to the internal colonialism that transfers wealth from the makers to the eaters), and the Salvation Army here often has some amazing deals on audio and recordings.
I go to Youtube and find some song I like and then copy the web address then click the paste button in 4K Video Downloader https://www.4kdownload.com/-52 and save the file to my desktop. I can play the file with VLC https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ which plays most every video and audio file. You can also take screenshots of video.
The only drawback from Youtube is the quality varies greatly as it is users who upload.
Here's something interesting: I can't remember the percentage, but I recently read an article that said a large number of the folks who buy recently released vinyl don't have a turntable. Crazy!
Records are cool. I'm toying with releasing a single or two, or maybe an entire album, on vinyl. I'll see.
Their cost has gone through the roof!! $50 per album? I about fainted when seeing that in walmart. I expected 20-25 but 50?
And to think I boutht my first 45 for 78 cents, and my first almum gor $3.00! When you only got paid 50 cents an hour for babysitting, 3.00 wasn’t exactly cheap, but not nearly as expensive as today’s prices. Even $10 wasn’t as hard to come by as today’s prices.
You and I have similar histories in this stuff. I wasn’t quite so high end, though I did have a pair of ess amt 1b monitors bi-amped by an hitachi stack. If you saw the picture of my stuff you’ll notice I’ve downsized the speakers considerably.
One of the guys I worked with ended up managing the Bellevue Magnolia hi-fi for quite a while, and one of them, as of a couple years ago, at least, still works at Definitive Audio on Roosevelt in Seattle.
Although a lot of my vinyl was purchased in the 60’s and 70’s, most of it was purchased in box lots at estate sales at the beginning decade of the 21st century for pennies on the dollar. Usually entire boxes for around $10.
I got a lot of junk that way, but a lot of really good stuff too.
And the vinyl experience is simply fun. It makes listening quite interactive.
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