Anyone Else Buying New Vinyl?

[restorer-john]

I haven't purchased any new vinyl since 1986. Picked up plenty of 2nd hand vinyl, including some incredibly good, or unused ones.

 

[mrbungle]

Last one AC/DC Razors Edge when it came out. Once I helped a DJ friend move. These things are so freaking heavy. So no, digital only for me, same with books.

 

[JeffS7444]

Brian Eno's score for the documentary Rams is pleasant enough:

The Iron Giant OST:

Frankly, the movie soundtrack albums offered by Mondo seem to be more about the album as a thing of beauty rather than something to actually listen to, because while the pressings are of very good quality, who actually listens to the music from movies like Back to the Future sans pop tunes by Huey Lewis et al?

 

[Frank Dernie]

Mark Liberman disagrees with the above statement Language Log » Peeve emergence: The case of "vinyls" (upenn.edu)
(Yes, I am 35yr old millennial)

Maybe its an Americanism.
Here they are called LPs by most people I know. The only time the word "vinyl" is used maybe would be somebody saying "I'm still into vinyl" but would still refer to LPs as LPs (and 7" records as "singles"). Maybe I am living a sheltered life!
Anyway vinyls offends me

 

[Helicopter]

Maybe its an Americanism.
Here they are called LPs by most people I know. The only time the word "vinyl" is used maybe would be somebody saying "I'm still into vinyl" but would still refer to LPs as LPs (and 7" records as "singles"). Maybe I am living a sheltered life!
Anyway vinyls offends me

I usually refer to the medium as vinyl. I completely agree, if your sentence structure indicates you can count them then you need a different noun. Since we are just talking about one polymer, PVC, you don't get to use the plural form of it. If you want to say how many of them you have, they need to be records, LPs, or something else you can count. Record is not perfect because it is too broad, and needs some context, LP is too narrow to include singles, 45s and EPs, and vinyl is imperfect because it needs some context and the right sentence structure.

 

[TLEDDY]

who amongst us was around for the 78s or the shellac records

Me!

In my 80th year…wind-up Victrola. The tweak was a bamboo needle instead of steel!

 

[TLEDDY]

OMG… I just realized I am f*cking old!

 

[sq225917]

The original microgroove long playing vinyl records were mono; stereo really didn't come into anything resembling widespread use until the early 1950s, and that was on tape.

I don't buy mono. They might not have put the words on stereo records since the Beatles, but I can assure you the specs haven't changed.

 

[Cbdb2]

I don't understand why a person would listen to a LP more intently than a CD. For me its about the music, how long can you stare at the cover? And if I can get 3 or 4 Albums on CD for the same price as an LP its a no brainer. And no rumble, ticks, pops or wowing. I get that some people are into antique cars but with cars nobody will deny new ones outperform old ones. And when I see vinyl thats not black I know there selling bling. Vinyl is black for a reason.

And for me (from when I was young) LP means long play, ie not a 45, but there both records (vinyl). Album refers to the content, a bunch of related songs (as in picture album) and CDs and LPs (cassettes) are both albums but 45s and 10"singles (vinyl) arent. Confused yet?

 

[LTig]

I don't understand why a person would listen to a LP more intently than a CD. For me its about the music, how long can you stare at the cover? And if I can get 3 or 4 Albums on CD for the same price as an LP its a no brainer.

When I listen to an album I close my eyes so no need for a cover. Recently I bought a box of 10 CDs by Dream Theater for 32€ and 2 days ago listened to the last 2 albums in a row - 2.5 hours of listening pleasure with one short interruption to change the CD. Why would I want to get the same in vinyl for 5 times the price or more?

 

[CSG]

I haven't bought a new album since Thriller came out. Regardless, I have about 500 albums that I bought back when vinyl was the medium of choice and love listening to my old collection. I guess I mostly stopped buying new records after CDs came out. Back in my day, once the Walkman became a thing, many of us dubbed our LPs to cassettes and I still have the best part of that collection. Still, these days, I stream more than anything else (subscriptions to Pandora and Spotify) and a few jazz stations that have internet broadcasting. I'm not one of those sit and analyze recordings or gear, I want to hear my music in a pleasing manner and the gear I have allows me to do that. I'm into the song/s, not the various remasters, etc.

Right now, I'm streaming Spotify and listening to Joni Mitchell's "Court and Spark". My album sounds a bit better but I'm doing other things and the streamed album sounds fine on Spotify.

 

[Mariner9]

Only if the track isn’t available as a download or on CD. Last purchase was the Joaquin Claussell and Brian Bacchus remix of Angela Johnson (still available on Bandcamp).

 

[MattHooper]

Oh hell yes I buy lots of new vinyl!

As I've mentioned before it's new vinyl that mostly got me back in to it.

The reason: Though I had a turntable that I'd occasionally throw in to my system over the years - particularly before the "vinyl revival" - it was mostly just to listen to my old records. Or the rare time I may have bought one at a used record store. To my vinyl was nostalgia, as "a thing of the past" and I associated it with worn, creased, ragged old records I'd owned since the 70's or 80s, and with dusty old "forgotten-looking" record stores. It wasn't cool or new.

But when the revival started really producing more new vinyl I started to notice all the new records appearing, especially sound tracks as I'm a huge soundtrack fan. Record companies were re-mastering and re-issuing old classic and very hard to find soundtracks, as well as many brand new soundtracks from current movies. And the packaging was just beautiful - they put tons of effort in to the aesthetics, everything from the artwork to the feel of the albums. I started purchasing them and just holding a Brand New Album in my hand, like it just came out of the press, was a new experience. The sound was often very clean "like a new record sounds." The combination of beautiful to look at and hold covers and records (I really enjoy colored vinyl too) and the clean sound made vinyl feel new and vital again. That's how I really got hooked.

Eventually I added in buying old records too, mostly form discogs. But always in "mint" because I'm really not a fan of the dusty dog-eared/scratched record thing.

I recently watched the movie Uncut Gems and had to get the amazing electronic soundtrack...on vinyl.

 

[MattHooper]

I don't understand why a person would listen to a LP more intently than a CD. For me its about the music,

One may as well also say "I don't understand why a person would listen to a high end audio system more intently than apple airpods or even youtube through a laptop. For me it's all about the music."

Well, people are different

For my wife who has no interest in high end audio, our smart speaker is all she needs. Not for me though.

Some people, even in today's world of ubiquitous "music everywhere at our fingertips," find they can still easily sit down and focus on a whole album's worth of music. Others have more trouble, even if they actually love music.

I found that when I have endless tracks available with the swipe of a finger, I tend to surf music the way I do the web, sampling more than staying, seeing "what's next." Always more to explore. I find it amounts to a sort of restless experience, and having to interact with another digital screen for the music, e.g. my iphone or ipad, sort of triggers my "want to look at the web" or check email or see what other music is available while I'm listening etc.

Whereas in listening to a record I'm able to totally unplug from digital life for a while, like curling up with a good "real book" to read. And I find, as many others have found, that playing records does indeed result in my ability to focus on the music, to sit and listen easily to whole albums.
This is a "real thing" for so many people, it's one of the most common comments people give, including millennials or younger who grew up listening to ubiquitous digital music, for the appeal of listening to records.

So it may not be a "thing" for you, if you have zero problem focusing on music streaming or whatever, but it's definitely a type of benefit for plenty of other people. I'm all about the music too, but I find vinyl is my medium for sitting and focusing on music.

(BTW, I rarely listen staring at an LP cover. I admire them as I take the album out and put on the LP, but I tend to listen a lot with closed eyes).

 

[Iavor]

Interesting thread. I have kind of stopped buying vinyl, but used to occasionally pick up something from Bandcamp if it wasn’t available to stream at a better quality elsewhere. I find Bandcamp a bit tinny when streaming, but like digging around occasionally for unusual sounds. Any LP bought via Bandcamp automatically comes with a high res digital download and I tend to listen to these - the LP being more of a nice toy that comes with it for another few quid (like a happy meal for audiophiles ). I don’t listen to LPs much though, it’s too much faff. Except on Sundays. We have a pact in the house to avoid phones and screens on Sundays (which I’m clearly breaking right now and today in general), so when we’re sticking to that I tend to put on the turntable. I do understand about putting on a record and this helping to keep the concentration going better than holding the phone in hand and skipping though tracks. Only problem I find is that the quality of my LPs, especially some of the new ones, is annoyingly and noticeably worse than digital, often quite a bit worse, at least the ones I happen to own. So why do I keep them and why do I still sometimes buy new ones - I would say a combination of a bit of hoarding instinct, enjoying playing with toys (audio toys) and to some extent just to be able to switch off all displays, the phone, the TV, the PC etc for a bit on (some) Sundays. The last new LP I bought on Bandcamp was Saint Guidon by Charlene Darling. I’m happy that I have it in both digital and vinyl formats though. It’s a cool record. Favourite track: Le Sports Imaginaires. I also have the Viagra Boys first LP. Sounds crap on vinyl and yet I’ll still put it on sometimes. Truth is the main reason I even own a turntable though is for the small handful of old LPs I have from ages ago, which I like to hear the way I remember them sounding. Yep pure nostalgia.

 

[Dackel]

I generally listen to streaming music. But if I like the album enough then I buy the LP sometimes. To be truthful I dont buy it for the sound quality really and the streaming (or CD) version usually sounds better. No I buy the album so that I simply have a physical copy with all the artwork in my collection and also due to nostalga. In many ways it is the same as any collector (of anything). Ps. A good analog setup can sound amazing if you know what you are doing with the set up and choice of cartridge to synergise with your other equipment and room acoustics (of course I admit that this adds up to an expensive tone control lol)

 

[Snarfie]

I have recently purchased several new vinyl releases. I like that with vinyl I will take the time to sit down and listen to whole albums while reading through liner notes and lyrics. I tend to jump around when listening to digital. My recent purchases:

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever (ships July 30, 2021):
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Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor's Version) (ships August 27, 2021):
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Taylor Swift - Evermore:
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Taylor Swift - Folklore:
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Martin

When listening to music i am browsing the internet for informatie about the recording, band than reading the booklets. The information found is way more indepth/current in many cases than a dated booklet can ever provide. I find it quite relaxing. One of the sources is 1001 albums digital or in book format a treath to read during listening.

 

[Galliardist]

Calling them lps is almost as anachronistic as calling them vinyl, who amongst us was around for the 78s or the shellac records that counterpoint those other two names?

Stereo microgroove long playing vinyl records anything else is just faddish.

78s we’re still being pressed in tbe late 60s. My sister has the family 78s including Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones. The market for them were 78rpm jukeboxes, I believe. Judging by the prices collectors pay for Beatles and Stones 78s, it doesn’t seem that they are even rare?

 

[Gorgonzola]

When I started in hi-fi about 50 years ago vinyl and tape, (8-track was still going strong), were the only options -- no digital at all or even dreamt of by typical music lovers.

I got my first CD player circa 1984, (when prices dropped to about Cdn$500). The sound to my ear wasn't really better than vinyl apart from being click & pop-free. CDs were, of course, easier to handle and bit less damage-prone than LPs.

However the last LPs I purchased happened in the mid '90s and only then because there were a few albums not avail on CD. Also, by that time CD players were sounding better; my next CDP I bought in 1991 which sounded much better than the first, mainly at the high frequency end.

Today I still buy CDs but I don't listen to them. That is, I rip them to FLAC and listen from computers. Much Classical music is most readily available on CD.

 

[Snarfie]

When I started in hi-fi about 50 years ago vinyl and tape, (8-track was still going strong), were the only options -- no digital at all or even dreamt of by typical music lovers.

I got my first CD player circa 1984, (when prices dropped to about Cdn$500). The sound to my ear wasn't really better than vinyl apart from being click & pop-free. CDs were, of course, easier to handle and bit less damage-prone than LPs.

However the last LPs I purchased happened in the mid '90s and only then because there were a few albums not avail on CD. Also, by that time CD players were sounding better; my next CDP I bought in 1991 which sounded much better than the first, mainly at the high frequency end.

Today I still buy CDs but I don't listen to them. That is, I rip them to FLAC and listen from computers. Much Classical music is most readily available on CD.

One of the reasons Cd's could sound a bit harsch around mid 80ties is because lots of record compagnies using the vinyl master than using the original digital master. Story go's that Nichols (sound engineer Steely Dan) did recorded the Nightfly from Donald Fagen fully digital 48khz at the time. In 82 it was one of the first records produced fully digital. So he was buying the Cd in a store. An was horrified by it sound comparred to the lp. Hé Found out that the record compagny used the vinyl master instead of the original 1602 digital master with it full dynamics an transients. Lately i got this original master Nichols referd to an the album is not harsche any more way more balanced an more dynamic. Nichols produced some years ago a surround version of the Nightfly on dvd you can find the 2 channel stereo original 1602 master version of the Nightfly on that dvd. Priceless