I’ve found a very affordable way to listen to a wide variety of music for very little money. Sure, it’s great to surf around Amazon or the iTunes Music Store, but there’s no way I could afford enough music to satisfy my craving for virtually any kind of music. Inspired by the music listening habits of a friend, I recently purchased a turntable. With a sense of adventure and a little patience, you too can satisfy your musical cravings with records from a number of sources (usually for less than a dollar an album). Even new vinyl tends to run cheaper than Compact Disk, but some of the older titles you acquire can end up being quite valuable.
This go-with-the-flow approach to consuming music has exposed me to a great deal of music I would never have thought to seek out. I will very rarely, but occasionally I run into an album that I wish to listen to in heavy enough rotation that the vinyl format just isn’t convenient – so I rip ‘em. With the exception of an occasional pop or skip the sound quality is every bit as good as ripping from a CD. With a bit of ingenuity and alot of patience, one can manage to rip their vinyl to MP3 with GarageBand, but I have found that CD Spin Doctor, which is $99 or comes with Toast Titanium (also $99) works best. The cheap Sony turntable I got has a pre-amp and RCA outputs and hooks up to my computer nicely. Keep in mind that if you plan to purchase any 78s (really old records, Delta Blues, for example), that model will not play them.
There are a number of sources through which to get LPs:
- Family
- Just about everyone has family members with old records that are still sitting in the basement or attic, and in most cases, they never get listened to. This is the cheapest way to get the really prized records such as those by The Beatles, because you don’t tend to find those at thrift stores. Hopefully you can buy these with love.
- Garage Sales/Yard Sales
- It takes quite a bit of driving around to find a garage sale that actually has records, but once you do, you can generally get them for really cheap. Those selling the records will likely have little knowledge of their value, and even if they do, they just want to get rid of them quick. I have acquired some valuable records for very cheap this way.
- Thrift Stores
- These are pretty cheap usually. Goodwill charges 63 cents here in Omaha, and Salvation Army charges $1. $1 is getting pretty steep considering all of the sifting you have to do to find anything good (see Record Stores below). You will see lots of Lawrence Welk, Engelbert Humperdink, and probably a few dozen copies of The Gambler. My advice is to grab a copy of “The Gambler,” but avoid the others. Sometimes you will hit a cache of records donated by someone with exquisite taste. My two Kinks records and most of my best Soul/R&B records came from hitting such a pocket.
- Antique Stores
- Sometimes antique stores will know the value of each of their records, which ruins the bargain-hunting. Most of the time they don’t have them, but if they do, they concentrate more on pricing their other stuff. Thus, you can get some gems for cheap this way.
- Record Stores
- No, not Sam Goody. There are probably at least a couple of stores in your city that sell vinyl. The price is a little more, but things are filtered out alot better, the condition of the vinyl is better, and the title on the record will match the title on the cover of the album. At Antiquarium in Omaha, there are quality records of every genre. The more desirable titles are 2–8 dollars (if in excellent condition) with the occasional record that goes for 30 or more. There are also loads of LPs that are either less desirable or have a few minor scratches for 50 cents or $1 (Be prepared to defend your musical selections). The downside to record stores is that they tend to know the value of the records, so forget about running into a Near-Mint copy of Revolver for $1 using this method.
- Ebay or Other Online Record Stores
- If you insist on getting a particular title on vinyl, go for this, but because of shipping costs, it isn’t worth it to me since I aim to not pay more that $1 each for my records.
I have been collecting LPs for just a few months now using all of these methods (except online), and I now have well over 100 records. Many of them I acquired simply out of curiosity and so I’ll soon be selling some of those that didn’t make the cut. I’ll let you know if I find any good ways of selling records.
Once again, one of the great advantages of buying vinyl is that the cheap price makes it affordable to try out music you wouldn’t drop $10+ an album for. Also, some of these records are either unavailable on CD, or if they are, can only be acquired for $30 (my Commodores record is more than $100 on CD).
Here are some of my newest discoveries made possible by the affordability of vinyl:
Roger Miller: The Return of Roger Miller (not available on cd)
This album features this country music star’s best-known song, “King of the Road,” and is packed with other catchy and clever songs of child-like simplicity. Memorable lyrics from “Hard Headed Me”: She said if you aim to keep me, cut your foolhardy ways…How long is forever, that’s how long she’ll be gone.
I got this record for 63 cents at Goodwill. I bought 32 records that day for a total of $19.92. Some people with very good taste had parted with their records.
From recommendations from friends, I already knew that Pet Sounds was a piece of musical genius not consistent with the popular image of The Beach Boys. I had not heard about Holland, though, and I have yet to speak with someone familiar with it. How this got passed up as a notable album is beyond me. They abandon their trademark screeching falsettos for warmer, low key vocals. They recorded this album, through great logistical challenges, after moving to Holland in 1972. Favorite tracks: “The Trader” and “California Saga: Big Sur.” I got this one from family.
Marshall Crenshaw: Marshall Crenshaw
Unlike books, you can judge LPs by their covers. I just liked how this one looked, but it turned out sounding good, too. Very poppy a la Elvis Costello or Buddy Holly. This album is from 1982, but Marshall Crenshaw is still actively recording and touring. Best track: “There She Goes Again.” I picked this up at The Salvation Army.
The Call: The Call (apparently not available on CD)
The Call’s self-titled 1982 release is dramatic rock I would characterize as a cross between U2 and The Clash. I got this during the aforementioned trip to the Goodwill (I got some really good music that day).
So if you’re looking for a cheaper way to get music, or if you’ve grown tired of all of the new releases, try vinyl. It brings adventure and affordability back to music, and you don’t have to sacrifice your iPod.
(Yes, the title is a play off of 43 Folders’ Hipster PDA)
[UPDATE June 7, 12:38PM] Thanks to this article on digitizing vinyl, I have discovered that CD Spin Doctor will be included in Roxio’s Boom Box - Essential Software for Your iPod, which will be available for $50 starting June 24.
Tom said,
May 31, 2005 @ 3:19 pm
David-
I swear by Harry-O’s Groovee Records on 52nd and Military here in Omaha. Wayyy better selection that the Antiquarium and cheaper prices too, if you’re willing to dig through plastic crates to find the good stuff. I’ve scored several Zeppelin albums there, among other gems. Plus the proprietor is a cool guy. No defending your musical selections to him, he’s heard it all, and probably got an autographed photo of them on his wall…
-Tom
kadavy said,
May 31, 2005 @ 4:21 pm
Thanks, Tom. I will have to check that out. I think Donovan was telling me about it the other day.
John said,
June 1, 2005 @ 8:52 pm
There also used to be an awesome place in Bellevue. I got Quadraphina and filled out my Zeppelin at this location. Tom - do you remember the name?
And Harry O’s is 10x better than anything in the Old Market. Harry kicks ass and might know more about obscure music then PolyFro.
John
asmosis said,
June 7, 2005 @ 4:45 pm
welcome to the vinyl world DK. Vinyl is so nice. Kind of like tripping out on some strong grass in amsterdam… you just keep coming back for more.
Gregg said,
July 8, 2005 @ 5:03 pm
Hey David!
Shhhhhhh! Not so loud. Your going to make it harder for us vinyl junkies to find those really great albums at the Goodwill and Salvation Armys of the world. The nice thing about LPs these days is that if you took really good care of your vinyl you will be handsomely rewarded. There is some great software out there that will remove any surface noise, scratches, pops, etc from your final CD recording. If your albums are in great shape to begin with, then the process is so much easier. I have been collecting LPs ever since I was a kid, and now have close to 1200 mint and near mint recordings. Have fun with your collecting. BTW if you see any jazz LPs in great shape on the CTI label-grab it!
l i b ?© l u l a said,
December 11, 2005 @ 6:21 am
I posted something last night but apparently it did not really post…. oh well..
As I was saying I landed on your blog while doing some research on “lump in lip”… I found your information very useful.. thanks!!….
I am posting here becuase I am also a vinyl lover and I was wondering if you had ever read a novel by Nick Hornby called “High Fidelity” - if not I think you should and most likely you will enjoy it a lot.
Thanks again for the lip lump clarification!
l i b ?? l u l a said,
December 11, 2005 @ 6:21 am
I posted something last night but apparently it did not really post…. oh well..
As I was saying I landed on your blog while doing some research on “lump in lip”… I found your information very useful.. thanks!!….
I am posting here becuase I am also a vinyl lover and I was wondering if you had ever read a novel by Nick Hornby called “High Fidelity” - if not I think you should and most likely you will enjoy it a lot.
Thanks again for the lip lump clarification!
kadavy said,
December 11, 2005 @ 6:06 pm
Hmmm…I haven’t read the novel, but I believe that I have seen the movie. I remember enjoying it pretty well, too.
ira said,
December 14, 2005 @ 7:28 am
well done!
i have been trying to urge many of my friends
onto the wonderful world of crate-digging and vinyl records…sadly to no success.
most of my the best arguments (including the all-powerful “vinyl is WAY cheaper than CD’s” one) are touched on by you.
great minds think alike!
i also enjoy the mention of your latest digs. it’s exciting to hear about great finds, especially when they appeared out of nowhere and/or were snagged for a song and/or dance.
i happen to have recently started a business doing what you’ve described…recording old LP’s to CD for those who are unlucky enough to no longer have access to a turntable. business is just starting up, but already i have tons of customers (mostly co-workers) who have old records they’d either like to get rid of, or want transferred. in the recording process, you really get a change to expose yourself to knew music..and also in the process find some interesting tidbits to perhaps work with later.
i could go on and on and on about the treasures i’ve found..but i’ll save that for my pet project (an online music nerd community)…
keep in touch.
crate-diggers gotta stick together
ira
of VinylAgain (online community coming soon…)
kadavy said,
December 14, 2005 @ 7:35 am
Wow, that sounds like a dream job, ira. I’m looking forward to that online community. Keep me posted.
ira said,
December 14, 2005 @ 7:37 am
…aaand i blanked out there for a second, sorry..
in case anyone in cyberspace wants to drop me a line..always happy to talk music and the joys of being a perpetual vinyl junkie
vinyl.again@gmail.com
cheers.
ira
Ron said,
December 15, 2005 @ 6:11 am
I’m sure a lot of readers here are already hip to vinyl. I think it’s one of those things that either you’re heavily into or not at all. I love to hear people talking about vinyl though.
I remember one summer buying a used stereo system at a garage sale and some old records. Mostly bachelor pad stuff (a lot of Jackie Gleason orchestra), including my first listen to Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66.
I miss my vinyl collection and hope to purchase a good turntable (again) and start rebuilding a decent vinyl collection.
Hoku said,
December 17, 2005 @ 5:50 am
Check out archive.org for free, legal, downloadable live recordings from a variety of bands. Better have fast broadband. Creative Labs makes an analog to digital converter for transfer of vinyl and tape to digital. It’s cheap and comes with software filters to get rid of pops, hiss, etc.
bruce m said,
February 27, 2006 @ 12:55 pm
OK this is off the topic of vinyl, but for good, cheap music, check out allofmp3.com … thanks to our quasi-legal Russian friends you can find a wide variety of non-DRM’d music at super high bitrates (up to exact CD quality) and most albums are downloadable for around 1.50 or less depending on which quality you chose. This for better or worse is the future of music — wholesale prices, great selection, instant downloads. I’ve spent more on allofmp3 than I have on CD’s or iTunes, so if the record industry ever wakes up it will realize this is a win/win situation … i say let a thousand musical flowers bloom and everyone will get rich and discover great new music together.
alexandre said,
October 11, 2007 @ 3:26 am
Hi usually the decks can read 78 rpm, you must click at the same time on the 33 and 45 buttons
on mine it works (the two lights are on, and the speed is at 78 rpm)
(sorry for my english)
i’m pretty agree with you on what you said
alexandre