Is Vinyl Even "Collectable" Anymore?

[huedell]

So are you saying that the acoustic range of analog equipment is broader than digital equipment?

In which ways were the records recorded more organically?

Yep Joe. There's a lot more to the digital vs. analog debate than
broad or black & white statements... that's for certain.

[jp1969]

I had about 900 lps in my collection,that I got rid of after my divorce.
Had been collecting since I was a kid.I played those lps day and night and new them inside out.Have since replaced almost all with digital.
Whenever I hear helter skelter on the radio,I always expect it to skip once after 30 seconds,like my copy did.
I love listening to music,and I must admit I miss the hissing between tracks.
I would get back into vinyls if not for the space they take up.

[Remco Monster]

Vinyl is by FAR my preferred format.

As far as collectible, well it just depends. Pretty much the same as toy collecting. All about supply and demand. If you have some rare 1st pressing of a band that is really popular or has a cult following and it is in beautiful shape or sealed, it could be worth a lot. However, even if somewhat rare, if the album is wasted, the cover is trashed, and it doesn't have the original inner sleeve and/or inserts, you will be lucky to get $1.00.

For instance, a 1st pressing of KISS' first album that doesn't have the stupid Kissin' Time song can go for $50 to $100 depending on condition. But you will be lucky to get anything for say Frampton Comes Alive. Early pressings of Misfits records can go for hundreds. But a vast majority of vinyl is virtually worthless, simply because there is so much of it out there, and most people don't listen to it anymore. I HAVE seen prices rise a bit on old vinyl though, even some of the more common stuff.

Vinyl has gotten a huge resurgence in the last few years. Tons of new stuff is available on vinyl and tons of old stuff has been reissued to death. Some LPs I am a stickler for original pressings, others I buy reissues of. I like buying reissues, because it supports the format. I DO NOT buy vinyl for any collectible value though, I buy vinyl for my own pleasure.

I got a new turntable for Christmas this year, because my old one crapped out after 20 years. Then I found out about 3 other people I know getting one for Christmas. Now this post. Sounds like turntables made a big comeback this year. Awesome!

[Sandman9580]

One of the things I always liked about vinyl was that the covers were big, so you could actually see stuff.

I remember visiting my Grandma out-of-state when I was a kid and discovering my Mom's Sgt. Pepper album for the first time. When I got back home, I went out and bought the CD: it sounded a lot "thinner" and I had to squint to see the artwork. A different experience for sure.

[mazinz]

Early pressings of Misfits records can go for hundreds.

funny you mentioned this. A few yew years back on Ebay a certain Misfits record (7" 45, 2 songs and only 23 were made, official release when Glenn was trying to get the band's name out there) sold for a whopping 9 grand!

the value of many records has dropped considerably because of the internet, as what was once considered rare became "common"

Megoat said it best (page 1 of this thread) with this statement:

Most of the real action in record collecting is in the obscurities. Stuff that average folk have never heard of. Punk, Psychedelia, Rockabilly, Soul, Garage, Funk, Jazz etc etc all have super active collecting circles where rarities are traded daily for 100's if not 1000's of dollars.

[Blue Meanie]

Paging Blue Meanie...

CDs also seem to be recorded or produced with the sound turned up to ten most of the time, it subtle, but I notice the difference.

That's it in a nutshell. I've noticed that my Beatles "Blue Box" (Came out in the late 70's and early 80's and was all the British LP's in one box set) sounds BETTER than the stuff that Capital is putting out. I found the American Boxes were on the verge of distortion when listening to them. At first I thought it may be a problem with my ears...but there are a few Record collectors that I know that have said the same exact thing. A lot of the so called Re-Masters are re-mastered poorly. Vinyl does give you a warmer sound...it's all in the sound wave itself. Here's the comparison of the 2 waves...the top wave is an analog sound and the bottom is a digital sound...notice how smooth and rounded the top wave is by comparison to the digital wave on the bottom:



BTW, if you are going to burn a record to a CD from one of the newer turntables...do NOT burn them as MP3's. The MP3 format uses compression and it WILL NOT sound like the record. Burn your files as WAV. Takes up more space than an MP3 but you get a truer sound than an MP3. Hope that helps.

[jwyblejr]

I never even knew there was such a place...

They were on Bleeker St. They had two floors. Records on the main floor,toys and comic books on the second.

[cjefferys]

One of the things I always liked about vinyl was that the covers were big, so you could actually see stuff.

That's one aspect I love too. I just got the Beatles mono CD box set, and the individual album packaging is exact, shrunk down replicas of the original albums, right down to the sleeves and inserts, but you need a magnifying glass to read much of the writing on the back covers.

Early pressings of Misfits records can go for hundreds.

I still have all my original Misfits vinyl LPs, but I would love to own some of the early singles they put out. Very expensive though.

I'm currently putting together a stereo system in my office, and am definitely planning on adding a turntable to it. I haven't played my vinyl in quite a few years and I miss doing so.

[WannabeMego]

I've heard similar arguments with Photography vs Digital Photography...Old Fashion Photography wins hands down for me...anyway...

I'm a Techie, but...as good as technology gets, it's still sterile, it lacks life. Where records have space(silence), CD's have a void(nothingness).

Personally, I recommend purchasing a really good turntable and audio system and connecting it to your PC instead of buying one of those Turntables with a USB Plug if you want to really get your hands dirty with your music.

[Mr.Krusher]

Dunno really about the collectability of vinyl, but there sure is a LOT of it around here! There are SIX Goodwills stores within ten miles of us, and each one is packed to the gills with albums.

I love flipping through the covers, great stuff - Steppenwolf: Monster, Beatles, Queen: News of the World, (Probably my favorite...so awesome..) and dont forget the endless copies of 'Sing Along With Mitch'! (That guy always gave me the creeps...like you'd expect to see him sitting outside the schoolyard in his 1972 Chevy Van, wearing thick plastic-framed glasses and all...)

[MIB41]

I have a nice stash of vinyl and decided to go out on Ebay to price check some of my stuff. One which I though might carry some value was better than I thought - KISS Originals, which was a a box set of the first three KISS records and two booklet inserts. The price was anywhere from $35 to $275 a shot. I also noticed recently that the Great Escape has started stocking LP's again. Today's' generation are getting into it. I really love that. I think part of the appeal might be the appreciation of the album cover as an art form. Lots of good work done back in the day when packaging meant something. Anyone remember Alice Cooper's "From the inside"? I have that. What a great, great record and packaging. You go into the asylum as you open the cover.

[david_b]

There's a TON of vinyl die-hards out in the industry and society (Neil Young a biggie..).

IMHO, part of the problem was the quality of the '80s digital recordings, especially releasing vintage albums on CD. Most were very 'tinny', such as Arista's release of the Monkees albums, very bad productions until Rhino finally did it right in the mid-90s.

To add to Blue Meanie, I really loved the Japanese/German imports because they seem to have MUCH better sound quality, more 'earthiness' than the US recordings in terms of bass and warmth. That was due to quality of vinyl, correct..?

Also missing is the 'presentation' of the album cover as an artistic statement, etc.. A sizable amount of folks collect nice album covers for framing (I have a few dozen vintage Beatles/Stones/various LPs in pristine condition for this reason alone..). I've kept a good collection of vintage bootleg and commercially-released albums just to take to conventions for autographs.

Still trying to grab a good, minty Ramones album cover for my man-cave off eBay..

Do kids these days spend nearly as much time looking at the CD notes and extras as WE did with album notes, posters, other extras..?

[Mr.Krusher]

You guys that dig albums should post your wants here....we havent done the Goodwill circuit in a while, busy with the holidays and all, but we are going either today or tomorrow - I certainly dont mind picking these up for folks, just throw some titles at me....

[cjefferys]

One which I though might carry some value was better than I thought - KISS Originals, which was a a box set of the first three KISS records and two booklet inserts. The price was anywhere from $35 to $275 a shot.

Oooh, that's a good one to have, especially if you have all the inserts. Even better is "Originals II" which was only released in Japan (it contained "Destroyer", "Rock and Roll Over" and "Love Gun"). That one's worth a mint. I wish I had both of them.

[VintageMike]

I know a co-worker who is a collector and seeks outs certain records and also found a store specializing in "vintage vinyl". In going to the store the guy who owned even asked my co-worker about buying some of his records. This would indicate to me there is a market, I just don't how big.