10 Reasons Vinyl Record Collectors Are Happier
Vinyl collectors get more pleasure from their music. For them, music is more than just pleasing sounds; it's a companion, a classroom, and a social lubricant. To be more specific:
1. The sound can’t be beat
Sure, there’s the occasional crackle, pop, or hiss, but that’s part of the charm. The rich, warm, lifelike sound of records simply has no comparison.
2. Listening to a record is an immersive experience
While it’s easy to cue up Spotify as a kind of background noise, the record-listening experience demands a bit more attention. For one thing, LPs must be flipped over or switched out from time to time, especially with multivolume compilations. Because of this, you can’t be a passive listener. It’s very absorbing to devote your full attention to an album -- and records make this second nature.
3. A record collection connects you to the world
I’ll let the great Nick Hornby explain this one, using a quote from High Fidelity. “It’s not like collecting records is like collecting stamps, or beermats, or antique thimbles. There’s a whole world in here, a nicer, dirtier, more violent, more peaceful, more colorful, sleazier, more dangerous, more loving world than the world I live in; there is history, and geography, and poetry, and countless other things I should have studied at school, including music.”
In short, while some collections disconnect you from reality, records bring you deeper into the human experience, with all its richness.
4. You’ll learn a lot about gear
Even if you didn’t originally care about turntables, cartridges, speakers, tonearms, pre-amps, and vintage consoles, you will come to know a lot about them, simply because they’re crucial to the listening experience.
5. Record shops are a great way to explore a new city
Some people like to learn about new places by taking bus tours, visiting fine restaurants, or buying T-shirts. And that’s all well and good! But you get a totally different perspective on a place when you visit its record stores. They’re a big part of a city’s music culture, and many offer free live music on a regular basis (Mushroom New Orleans does this, for example). Plus, a record is the perfect souvenir.
6. You’ll meet people who love music
When you’re not judging them for their taste in music or noob collector status -- or when they’re not judging you -- record collectors are some of the most passionate, educated, and, OK, obsessive people when it comes to music. It’s easy enough to befriend one. Just start up a passionate debate and invite them over to see your collection.
7. Records are more fun than any other medium
This quote from the Chicago Tribune speaks for itself: "I've never been excited about stumbling across a download online like I have a rare record in a dusty record store."
8. Vinyl retains its value
Remember all those hundreds or thousands of dollars you spent on CDs or iTunes gift cards back in the day? Money down the drain, baby. But unlike a digital file or technologically outdated CD, vinyl records can be resold, as long as they’re in good condition. Plus, it’s easy to build up a collection without spending a lot of money by frequenting flea markets, garage sales and thrift shops.
9. Records become like friends
As Jeff Tweedy of Wilco famously told The Guardian in 2014, “If you’ve got a 12-inch album with a picture of somebody’s head on it, it’s the same size as your head. You can sit it up and talk to it. Not that I’ve ever done that.”
Of course, you could make an imaginary friend out of an album. Why not? Especially since a market research study reveals 69 percent of record collectors are introverts. And let’s be honest -- when things are rough, listening to an album is way more comforting than listening to a friend try to cheer you up.
10. Because it’s all about the music
Ultimately, the best reason to collect vinyl is because you love music, and vinyl offers a listening experience that far exceeds any other. Best of all, as a medium, vinyl has stood the test of time and can bring you listening pleasure for years to come. Can you say the same thing for the cloud? Didn’t think so.
Mushroom New Orleans carries the latest record players, along with vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and more for sale or trade. Come check us out!
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