record collectors?

Hey all. I was wondering if you any of you guys are record collectors. I am an avid collector myself. I work at a record store in San Diego CA and probably have a few thousand records... YOOOUUURR TUUURN

No. But I do have an IMPRESSIVE CD collection. Yeah, just waiting for their value to mean something, in this digital age it could happen. :-p

i wasn't born early enough to get into records. i have a couple laying around, but no turntable. usually buy them from shows. i do have a vast CD collection, but i wouldn't say i'm a "collector". a lot of them are damaged and they're just in a box somewhere.

i do prefer "tangible music" over innernette music any day. why pay $10 to itunes for mp3s when you can pay $10 to a record store, get a physical CD along with album art, booklet, and the physical CD that you can then rip to mp3s on your own time?

san diego was nice. went to pac beach for vacation back in june. saw ryan ludwick hit a home run against the royals, which brought back memories (but i guess he's not longer in SD)

I have a small collecton that was passed down
to me. A 100 45's. 3000 victrola records.
About 80' albums(38's I think) And my pride and
joy,a first edition copy of ""freakout" frank zapp.and
the mothers of invention =o

I only kept my favorite albums that I knew would never be pressed again.

I've only got about 30 records, and just recently gotten a new turntable(been without one for 8 months).
I've got a lot of Van Halen(first 7 records), Dokken(all but the live), and some others like Montrose, Foreigner, Cinderella, etc. lots of 80s(including Journey). Also bought a beautiful copy of ...And Justice For All by Metallica, and I have some Megadeth, Testament, Overkill, and Kreator records.
I just bought Hatebreeder picture disc today for $13 :D
I love records XD

I miss having a turntable. I have'nt had one for a long time. The cool thing about records is that once you put the needle down, you are commited to a listening experience. I also used to be somewhat of an audiophile. I do believe the sound quality on a good turntable setup is better than a CD. Digital has gotten so much better and convenient though that it's not that important to me anymore. If I had the money though I would get one!

personally i don't see the turntable vs. audio quality difference. i've listened to 128kbps .mp3s, and i've listened to lossless digital audio and i can't tell a bit of difference (on decent speakers mind you).

now on the other hand, if you get an mp3 that is something

I have about 7 feet of records. I keep dumping ones I don't like as much as I have 7 feet of storage space. I have a picture frame I put a record jacket in to admire. Right now it's Stevie Wonder...Hotter Than July.

I have a few mono Beatles and some old Elvis that's collectible. Some of the DJ beats records get stale quickly.

I think records sound more acoustic - not nececarily better...just unique. But not bad-unique like cassettes.

Hmm.. This is my take on records and why I like them.

And this is coming from a 25 year old so I did not come from the vinyl age.

Why vinyl is better (to me)

1. Artwork. 12 inches of artwork. Inserts. Its the difference between watching a movie on a computer or a big screen.

2. Extras. Specially compared to downloads you get way more. art. inserts. pluuuus. most times these days new vinyl comes with a download card so you get the best of both words.

3. Sound. It maybe not be "better" but to me it sounds more appealing. The bass is a little heavier and rounded and deeper and the highs are cut a little lower then digital. This natural curve appeals greatly to me.

4. macandkanga says it best. Once you put the needle down you are committed. You hear every song on the album and you dont feel the need to skip around constantly... mostly because its hard work.

5. Its physical... to me this is huuuge

6. It maintains its value or gains value which digital NEVER does and cd's do maybe .0001 percent of the time. Certainly only rare rare releases.

7. and perhaps most important. A lot of my favorite music is VINYL ONLY...

Also... ladies love em. I make money with em djing. I just love the hunt of it all and I am off to the record store cause this post is giving me the itch plus my 2000 records are probably worth around 15-20 grand which i dont think can be said about any mp3 collection.

Dont mean to hate on anything else.

Vinyl sucks cause you cant take it in a car. you have to be carefull with it. you cant listen riiight before you go to bed (depending on the turntable cause you have to lift the needle on the end. you cant download vinyl for free. and its suuuper heavy. trust me moving 2000 records is a biiiiitch. there are a lot more downsides but to me its the only way to go.

Great points dsesh!

Another cool thing, I think, is that sales of vinyl records and turntables have gone up 50% which means prices come down.

Am I right about this dsesh? You're in the biz.

Hmmm.. well

some interesting facts that I dont think people realize.

Vinyl sales have gone up every year for the past 10 years plus. There is a huuuge resurgence. My store sells more vinyl then cd's and Most new cd's (at least the ones that we stock and we stock over 1000 new records) are pressed to vinyl. Along with most older and great records being repressed.

As far as prices go. They range generally from about 10 to 25 dollars with I would say 13-20 being the norm.

I dont really think prices are going down unfortunately. Sometimes a single record is 25 dollars which drives me nuts because I am trying to convince people to buy vinyl and you can download the music illegally for free. I hate to say but I dont think many major labels care about the consumer at all.

Now for independent labels I think that they do care and they try keep there prices low. in the 12-17 dollar price range for a single record and 17 to 20-25 for a double record.

One thing to check out is something called record store day. or RSD. It has single handedly boosted the whole music industry something like 8 percent this year. Lots of one day only vinyl releases that are only sold at independent record stores. This one day keeps most record stores in business.

My record store is quite famous. We are small. Last year we only had 3 employees and we were rated top 15 record stores by spin magazine and even we are in no way raking in the dough.