Free Republic

Technology is changing the huge global market for record collectors. As music dealers like those immortalised in the book High Fidelity disappear, will vinyl and CD rarities survive the download revolution? Second-hand record shops are becoming almost as rare a sighting in the UK as a first edition Beatles EP. The days of shuffling into grubby backstreet stores in search of that obscure Pink Fairies seven-inch are on their way out as dealers succumb to the march of online auction sites and MP3s. CURRENT RARITIES U2's Trabant car: £6,000 Queen 12" single: £10,000 Withdrawn Nirvana CD: £500 Led Zeppelin seven-inch:...

There's something about vinyl - I don't want sonic perfection. People aren't perfect, after all Adrian John Burrus National Post Monday, June 16, 2003 A while back I visited home and decided to steal most of my dad's old records. "What are you doing with my vinyl?" he asked. "Just borrowing them," I lied. I recently purchased a record player. It's definitely a step backward in our world of constantly advancing technology. Imagine using gears, belts and needles in the age of sensors, microchips and lasers. Yet that's exactly the way I want it. To start off my collection, I...