For The Love Of All Things Vinyl

It's easy for me to understand the love of a good ol' vinyl LP. It's because it's what I grew up on! Whether it was heading to Carousel Records or  Recordland, flipping through the new and older releases was always for me. Even the music department at Meijer could hold my attention for a good half hour while my parents shopped.

Today, young and old alike are scouring thrift stores and yard sales all over for classic albums to add to their collections or to start new ones. Even turntables and old audio equipment is being snatched off of shelves as fast as it can be put out! What's even scarier, is that the trend of nostalgic audio is not limited to vinyl. Albeit a big part of the craze, 8 track tapes and players are also back in a major way. Although they are not fetching the premium that vinyl still holds, the bulky cartridges that may leave you hanging in the middle of your favorite song to change tracks, are being bought up by the arm load.

The popularity of certain albums has everything to do with it's value. A recent purchase of the Buckingham-Nicks (Lindsey and Stevie) solo release (prior to them joining Fleetwood-Mac) is a great example. What I paid a quarter for, fetches upwards of $100.00, depending on who has it and who wants of course. That and condition being everything. Why you ask? Because it was only ever released on vinyl and no issues of the album have been put to CD, cassette or 8 track. Any claiming such are false, although they do exist for those who have transferred the audio from vinyl.

Today, there are many special releases on heavy grade vinyl by new artists to commemorate special releases or add value to the music that they make. Even former White Stripes frontman Jack White, has started a company that presses vinyl called Third Man Records. His original factory, located in Nashville, has been pressing since 2009 and has recently added a location to his hometown of Detroit, pressing garage rock and blues titles.

So the next time you are off on a quest to find vintage vinyl to start or add to your collection, don't be surprised if you don't see one of two tings. 1) an empty space where the vinyl once was. Or 2) Me. walking away with an arm load of records and a smile on my face!

Happy Hunting!