To be honest, in recent times as the ipod and digital files have seemed to render the CD useless, I have found myself going back in time considering I've always had a turntable. I have started becoming a vinyl enthusiast in the past six months or so, and I don't think I could've picked a better time as more and more recent albums are coming out on LP (I've picked up Coldplay, Portishead, R.E.M., Janet Jackson, Madonna, The Killers, The Ting Tings and Hot Chip's most recent ones on wax). I think with a decent stereo setup, vinyl can sound AMAZING. Plus, with stores like Half Priced Books selling used albums for 25 to 50 cents in their clearance bins (just the last time I was there, I picked up Def Lep's Pyromania, Journey's Escape, Sheila E's In Romance 1700, Hall & Oates' H2O, 3 Gary Numan LP's and several others alltogether for about $3.), it's easy to stock up on older classics as well as current faves.

Has anyone else been bitten by the vinyl bug? To me, vinyl looks so much nicer on the shelf than CD's and vinyl can sound amazing as long as you take care of your collection.

I prefer vinyl over cds. Especially stuff from the 50's and 60's that were originally in mono. Nothing like mono versions of the early Bob Dylan and Beatles albums.

yup, I've been picking vinyl up lately, the good thing about newer ones is they come with a mp3 download for my ipod, while i can listen to the vinyl on the couch.

Just found copies of Moving Pictures and Led Zepplin IV last weekend - need to revisit that store again. $3 a pop.

yep I've noticed that too, also the latest from Coldplay, R.E.M. and Madonna have bonus cd copies as well. I am liking the little vinyl renaissance that's going on and hope it keeps up. A lot of classics are being reissued on vinyl as well in 180 gram. I just bought Pet Sounds last week like that.

There's an awesome store in LA (can't remember the name right now) that sells tons and tons of vinyl records (this isn't Amoeba records, this place is on Pico and sells way more vinyl than Amoeba does). It's a two-floor store, and the bottom floor has near-mint to mint records, usually starting at about $25 a pop, but upstairs is all bargain bin records. Singles for $0.25, albums for $1. These have some light marks on them, so you'll get the occasional pop, but nothing that really ruins the experience. I got a ton of albums from them, but I haven't had a turntable in a while, so they've gone untouched. My parents still have a turntable though. I should head over there and throw some of these albums on.

And, for what it's worth, the vinyl market has really picked up in the last few years. A lot of audiophiles are claiming that you really get a fuller sound than on CD, and you've got a lot of artists releasing on 180 gram vinyl. I picked up the entire Beatles catalog on 180 gram about 10 years ago.

Yeah vinyl is where it's at, I've been a house music junkie since the summer of 1991 and I love it. I have a full JBL M-Pro nightclub PA with Rane Mojo EQ and Crown & QSC amps and there's just nothing that compares to wax on the decks. The sound is just so rich and deep. MP3's sound completely flat and dull in comparison.
Jon

The new Matthew Sweet, as well - on top of which, the vinyl also has four bonus tracks not on the CD version.

If you've got a Newburry Comics near you, they are having a 30th Anniversary sale this weekend (the 12th - the 14th), and ALL regularly priced vinyl is on sale at 30% off. I just picked up Jeff Buckley's Grace (on 180 gram) and The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream about an hour ago.

is this online as well? We used to have one nearby but it's long gone

Pretty sure it's in store only.

However, here's a link to what NewburyComics.com does carry for vinyl.

Yep, been buying a lot of vinyl lately. Picked up some Otis Redding on eBay.

They were a little scratched, but something about spinning the black circle really comforts me.

I started only buying just vinyl about 2 years ago and I havn't stopped. Hell today I just picked up on vinyl the new Metallica album, Radiohead's Ok Computer and Kid A, Tool's Undertow, and Sleater-Kenneys The Woods, All Hands on the Bad One, and The Hot Rock. The sound is warmer, and sounds more uncompressed than a cd does, which I think makes it closer to the way the album should sound in the first place. And it's a great thing that most new vinyl comes with a coupon to download the album on mp3 or in some cases, like the new Against Me! and My Morning Jacket albums, they came with a copy of the CD along with the LP. Some new high end players also come with a jack or a port that you can plug the player into a computer and burn the album from the vinyl. Hell some come with a cd burner built right into the unit. I'm just very happy that most companys have came around to releasing many albums on vinyl at the same time as the CD. Hell I was suprised to see that Best Buy of all places was getting the new Metallica album on vinyl this week, even if each store was only getting 2 copys of the LP that still gets the word out that vinyl is coming back. Some other good places to check for albums are any Goodwill or Hospices centers, yard sales because most people don't know the value of some vinyl or they will sell a colection off really cheap, and Hot Topic of all places sells new vinyl cheep. I found Undertow for $11 there compared to the $16 most places want online for it new, and Ok and Kid for $19 each compared to most places wanting $25a piece for the albums.

I do...mostly used/crated 70s stuff, but I know they're releasing Hotel California on 180-gram and I kinda want it...

they do have some unbeatable prices, most of their stuff is a bit cheaper than Amazon or the local indie shop I go to (Ear-X-Tacy) for recent wax. Most of their stuff is $5 or more cheaper than it is at those places. I think I might order a few things there

it's nice to see I am not in the minority here. On another music board (UKMix), I talked about my love for vinyl and a bunch of people were all "why would anybody buy records in 2008?" and "it's insane that there are people out there who would buy current music on vinyl", etc..... Of course, the reply that had me rolling on the floor was a "vinyl? that's so ancient" from someone who has "punk" in their screenname. Hmm, obviously someone who thinks Good Charlotte and Fall Out Boy are punk then because friends I know who are truly into punk music know the importance of vinyl in that genre.

I was tempted to make the 2 hour drive to the grand opening of their new store in Norwood, MA - their biggest store yet. Check out the size of that vinyl department in these pics. (fourth down on the right). The one near me is only about 4 rows in one bin.

Yes. I buy and listen to vinyl. St. Louis has a fantastic record shop: Euclid Records.

I buy quite a bit. Unfortunately, my turntable recently bit it so I currently have a stack of new vinyl to listen to and nothing to listen to it on. I want to buy a nice turntable this time - my last one was decent, but my biggest issue was it rotated slightly too fast at 33 1/3 which was quite annoying - but money is a bit tight now too. So I wait and the vinyl goes unlistened...

I've been playing around with the idea of getting into vinyl for quite some time now since everyone seems to rave the sound compared to a cd. What's stopping me is that I didn't grow up with LPs, too young, so I know next to nothing about vinyl in general. I wouldn't know how to work a turntable or know what a 45 is.

Does your gear really make a huge difference in the sound quality? Should I not even bother if I buy a cheapo record player?

^Gear makes a *huge* difference! Do *NOT* purchase a "cheapo record player" and expect to get good results. Cheap "record players" (in conjunction with a cheap cartridge) can damage your vinyl. It's been a while since I've looked at the turntable/cartridge market, but it was once the case where a higher quality turntable did *not* come with the cartridge. Lower end models usually include a cartridge but typically it's of inferior quality and you would want to replace it.

I agree. If you don't have at least $500 to spend on a turntable and a phono stage, there isn't much point. You can spend less than that and go the used route, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you're already pretty comfortable with vinyl gear.

Oh wow, if it's going to set me back around $500 to get decent gear, I'll have to hold off on it for now.

Thanks for the info.

shop around used places. I've seen people finding amazing turntables for $20-50 at thrift stores that will work perfectly. With the right speakers and everything, it will blow you away. I got mine as a present a few years ago (I was begging for a stereo with vinyl and got a turntable only instead that you can hook up to a stereo) and the quality I get from a lot of the records I play sound better than CD's ever have or will.

I think it really depends on your musical taste. My taste generally runs 60's to early 90's and then I didn't really start getting back into current music again until my mom died in early 2004 and I started discovering more and more music to help me through my depression (which was around the time more and more current albums started getting pressed on vinyl after a generally vinylphobic 1990's) so it works out for me since there's only a handful of mid/late 90's artists I really would want on vinyl.

Plus, the savings pay off if you check conditions before purchasing. Like I said in my first post, a few days ago I picked up 11 albums for 25 cents each at Half Priced Books and Music, all 70's and 80's and in good to like new condition. You'll never find those that cheap on CD (hell, the Sheila E one, I'm a big Prince fan, is only available as an expensive import on CD), and vinyl is easier to keep minT than CDs IMO.

I have been buying vinyl but still don't have a turntable that works However, I was wondering what you folks store your vinyl in? I would love to get some ideas.

I've been using an old record player, but have been considering the Ion USB one - what's the concensus on that as a player? I'm not looking to hook it up to my computer, but to the receiver...

No turntable now so no vinyl. I never cared for the pops and scratches anyway. I'm too lazy to change the records too.