Records Overview
In an era where you can find and stream almost every song ever recorded online, the main question here is... WHY SHOULD YOU BOTHER WITH RECORDS?
Every record is unique - the imperfections, wear, and dust lead to the popping and crackling sounds that are part of the iconic vinyl sound. A record with some character beats clean lossless audio for me every day of the week.
Audio quality - some call it 'warmth' but playing an album on vinyl has a different sound to CD or streaming. Playing a record from the 80s or older has a time-travel quality that digital re-masters just can't replicate.!
You own the album - no need to worry about the music disappearing from your streaming service, or the internet being down,
Large scale artwork - better than a thumbnail you can hold a 12"x12" version of the cover art. Not to mention the back, inserts, and any additional booklets (📸 Mastodon / Oasis)
The Listening Ritual - the process of removing your record from the jacket, cleaning it, pressing play, and concentrating on just your record (sometimes with a beverage of choice) is extremely satisfying, and can even feel therapeutic.
Supporting musicians - small & medium artists often ship them directly, with special notes and extras. They get a bigger cut from sales through their website or places like Bandcamp. Local artists also sell direct through record shops.
Thrill of the chase - the buzz of finding a good copy of your favourite album out in the wild is something else!
Investment - although it shouldn't be your main driver, a record collection can grow in value over time. If you hit hard times you can offload your entire collection, or even just bits of it.
Local / Historic - Before huge record labels dominated the music market there was a period where a big chunk of music and records were extremely localised. I have some niche and obscure local pressings that aren't even on websites like Discogs, and 'live' music nights or comedy recordings from local venues that don't make much sense to anyone outside of the city