Issue #86: A Beginner's Guide To Collecting Vinyl

Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Compilations

a teeny slice of my collection randomly grabbed

By Natalie

I came to vinyl on the later side — didn't grow up in a house with a turntable or records (this was the CD and tape era), and then moved to a city where collecting anything is kind of a luxury (New York). Getting a little crappy set-up in the Bed-Stuy room I was paying too much for was the first step; obtaining my first Cannonball Adderley record, the second.

When I moved from the Northeast to Dallas, basically the only things I brought were clothes, books, records and the Technics turntable I eventually purchased from former WNBA player Kalana Greene (probably my most valued possession besides my wedding rings, and another one that I will have until I die). Now, I also have (along with, you know, furniture) child-sized speakers (in that they are roughly the size of a grade-school child), a vintage receiver that is delightful and also temperamental, and a record collection that realistically should have its own small room.

I'm as much a sucker for the ease of streaming as anyone — was a very early adopter to Spotify (boo) and have spent hours creating playlists and exploring musical history through it (and all its peers, obviously). But there's something really special about owning physical media rather than relying on digital jukeboxes. Records are so beautiful and tactile, with so much to relish not just in their analog audio but in their art and liner notes —- in all the information that has yet to be fully digitized.

At least for me, learning about vinyl was a long road of trial and error. Trying to understand how turntables work, what exactly a receiver is, what damage makes a record unplayable as opposed to charmingly fuzzy. This guide is basically a long message to my past self, some things I wish I'd known before I bought my first record.

To help out, I recruited my friend Laura Pochodylo who, along with her day job as the marketing manager for Sun Records, is an avid vinyl collector and co-host (along with her husband Casey Reed) of the fabulous vinyl-themed show Runout Numbers on Nashville's community radio station WXNA, which airs every Sunday from 8-10 am Music CIty time :) You can listen to the most recent episodes here!

What follows are a few things we've learned over the years, from tips on avoiding duds while cratedigging to Laura's go-to record-cleaning solution and so much more!

1) Figure out your record-collecting motivation

What interests you about vinyl? That will help determine how you go about shopping and listening (or not). "As a DJ, I like to buy stuff that's unexpected and that I can play and use," says Laura. "I'm not going to lock it away, and that's not true for everyone — I work at a record label, and there are plenty of people who have vinyl and don't own turntables." Laura started collecting records in middle school as a diehard Cher fan (yes, she was way cooler than most of us), trying to find Cher albums that never got released on CD. If there's an artist from the '50s-'80s (roughly the peak LP era) that you really love, that can be a fun entry point. Mine was, as previously mentioned, Cannonball Adderley — I still don't quite have every Cannonball album, but I'm close.

Maybe you dig new vinyl, and want to support artists by purchasing their records (requisite note that this will mean more to an indie artist than it will to, say, Taylor Swift or Adele, both of whom are responsible for much of modern vinyl consumption). Maybe you think records look really cool (and truly there isn't anything wrong with that! Just treat them right!). Whether it's an artist, a genre (jazz was really my broader gateway, as a genre where the vinyl LP is king), an era, a look or a sound, figuring out a guiding principle or goal will make the whole prospect a little less overwhelming (as in all things, really).

2) Get a record player

This one is pretty tricky to give brief advice on – about a zillion Reddit threads and YouTube videos exist on the topic (Reddit's Vinyl wiki is one place you could start for deeper info, to avoid endless Googling and tabs to be read…). No one will die if you get a Crosley, contrary to the sort of feedback you'll see on various vinyl freak forums; Laura cops to bringing one to college with her. The main problem with the Crosley and its ilk is that you can't adjust the tonearm — the part that holds the stylus (the needle that is touching the record) — and over time that will damage your records (and isn't the best for overall sound).

Basically, you need a turntable (the thing that spins and plays the record), a receiver (which translates the audio signal so that it can be broadcast from speakers), and speakers (self-explanatory). Sometimes, you also need a preamp, a small device that goes between the turntable and the receiver to boost the signal; other times, many or all of these components are built into one machine. My receiver, for example, has a built-in preamp. It's confusing!

Laura recommends the least-expensive Audio-Technica direct drive turntable (which is still not strictly cheap) "Just something won't wreck your records," as she puts it. "It's a great way to start understanding how to take care of equipment, which ultimately takes care of your records." It's also an example of a turntable that can be used without a receiver at all — it comes with cables that allow you to plug it directly into speakers (Laura recommends these ones), which is both one less thing to buy and one less thing to stare at in your living room (or wherever).

If you are interested in used or vintage gear, try to resist the temptation to purchase at thrift stores or estate sales (unless you have the ability to fully test all components of the item). As someone who has more than a few dud audio players in my garage that I thought were steals…take it from me.

Instead, take to Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and try to suss out people who have *multiple listings* for turntables, receivers or speakers. You are looking for those gems of people who remain committed to analog equipment after all these years, who know what they're selling and (probably) how to repair it when it inevitably has one glitch or another. They should demonstrate the equipment for you, and may be able to fully outfit you with everything you need (or close to it) — for a starter turntable, receiver and speakers, you might be able to get away with spending as little as $300-$400. "If you find your person and say, 'Hey, I want something simple because I don't really know how any of this works," says Laura, "they'll know to give you something that is a little less complicated — maybe from the '80s or something."

But! If a price seems outrageous (and we'll get more into this later), never be afraid to search the exact model online to see what it's going for on eBay etc. As I'm typing this, I'm realizing how involved this process sounds but it's all part of the fun! If you're not driving to a part of town you've never been to before to look at some person's room full of old audio equipment, you're doing it wrong.

3) Go to the record store(s)

Now, the fun part! Again, as tempting as it is to start in the thrift store or estate sale bins, heading to an actual record store is probably your best bet — both in terms of supporting what is almost always a local business, and finding something you actually want in decent shape for a fair price. Say you find a spot with solid reviews, you go in and head to the section/artist that interests you most. How can you tell if it's actually going to be a good place to shop?

a. Check the prices

"I have a couple of [used] records where I always know what I would be comfortable paying," says Laura. "As a Springsteen fan, when I see Born in the U.S.A. that better be like, $5 or less. If I see just a normal copy of it for $18, I'm probably not buying anything in your store."

Prices can vary wildly store to store; if you find something that seems pricey, it can be worth pulling up Discogs on your phone and searching for the record there. There are some caveats with this method, though: Discogs sellers will almost always have the record for less, because the convenience of going to the record store and digging in a brick-and-mortar is a value-add (and a very worthwhile one!). Also you aren't paying shipping at a record store! That said, if you see a record for $15 and there are hundreds of similar copies on Discogs for $0.50…you may want to skip that one (unless you just really want it! Again supporting local businesses is good!). As an aside, country is generally pretty devalued by record collectors, who tend to be more into rock and jazz (also, they were just printing truly unhinged numbers of country LPs in the '60s and '70s). If you want to start your collection with Bobby Bare or Crystal Gayle, you're going to be swimming in budget-friendly options :)

b. Talk to the people who work there

If you don't know where to start at a store, ask the clerks! Chances are they are full-on music freaks who will be happy to direct you to some cool stuff. That said, don't listen to anyone on the internet or otherwise who tells you that you "need" certain albums in order to be a Legit Record Collector. "No record cop is coming to your house," as Laura puts it. "You can just pick what you like." I've been collecting jazz records for about a decade and I don't own a copy of Kind Of Blue — not because I don't love it, but because for me digging for vinyl is more about uncovering random stuff than checking boxes (also, old pressings are hard to come by and I rarely want to pay $30 for a new one).

c. Take a closer look

So you found a record you like, and the price seems fair. Now take it out of the sleeve (unless it's factory sealed, obviously!!), look it over and scope out the condition. Some stores will mark their assessment of the condition on the price tag (VG = Very Good, VG+ = Very Good Plus; a full guide is here), but it's always worth taking a look yourself at what exactly you're buying. "The store expects you to check condition when you're buying used records," Laura says. "I know that's an anxiety a lot of new people have, feeling like 'I don't really know how to act in the record store or what's expected.' Don't be afraid to pull out the record, check it out under the light and use the listening station if you're unsure about anything." How much wear is too much wear? "The major problem is anything that crosses multiple tracks [Again, this is a thing I had to learn: an album's tracks are delineated by the 4-5 larger gaps between the grooves] like a deep gouge," Laura says. A little cloudiness or some smaller scratches aren't prohibitive, for the right price of course. The best record stores clean all their stock, but a little dust and grime is to be expected if not — these things can be 30-80 years old, after all!

d. Buy and clean!

Take your new wax home, post pictures of how cool it looks, etc. etc. But before you clean it, it's worth giving it a quick clean. There are plenty of record cleaning products for purchase, but DIY options are typically fine. Laura keeps a mixture of distilled water, a little alcohol and a few drops of Dawn dish soap in a spray bottle with a clean cloth (I use baby burp cloths, which you can buy in bulk and are pretty consistently lint free - cloth diapers are also good) next to her record player; she just places the record on the player, gives it a spray or two, and gently wipes it down while manually spinning the record. "I've never bought a record cleaning kit in my life," she says. "You don't need it."

e. Store it right

Records are not typically *that* fragile, but there are a few rules of thumb to keep them in great playing condition. Do not stack them; lean them upright (the way they are at the store), away from any heat source. Try not to leave them in your car for too long; if you must, out of direct sunlight is best. If your record is missing its inner paper sleeve, or you'd like to add an outer plastic sleeve like they have at most record stores, that kind of thing is easy to add/replace online.

4) Branch out

Because of the vinyl resurgence, most metros (and even some awesome smaller towns) have an abundance of record stores — visiting them is the most fun, if a little hard on your wallet. In North Texas, I love Doc's, Record Town and Josey (though you have to be careful with condition and pricing, I think because they process such a high volume of stock). I will say the most ridiculous prices I've ever seen were at Forever Young — it's impressively huge but as far as actual shopping I have not been back. Some stores stock a lot more new vinyl than used, so it really just depends on what you're looking for as far as what will be your ur-record store.

- There are plenty of places to shop for records, and sometimes deals to be had: At thrift stores, estate sales, antique malls, and used book stores, the people doing the pricing typically don't know much about records, which can lead to steals (if it's a rarity from an artist they may not be familiar with) and ripoffs alike. This is where it can be useful to employ that same Discogs trick, so you don't find yourself paying $30 for a Glen Campbell record at an antique mall (a price I have actually seen. If a Glen Campbell record is over $2 you're probably paying too much…).

- When it comes to choosing what to buy on vinyl versus what to buy digitally or stream, there is something to be said for matching the medium to the way it was recorded. Most (but not all) new music is recorded digitally, and so it's not…undermined by being played through a digital medium (a CD or an MP3 or whatever), whereas much of the music recorded during the peak LP era (and obviously before) was recorded using analog means (tape etc.) so using analog means to listen to it is offering you a different kind of fidelity. This is a super broad-strokes rule of thumb for a topic that is *extremely* complicated (please don't drag me on reddit, audiophiles) - it's just how I look at it. That's not to say that there's no value in the experience of playing digitally recorded music on vinyl; the ritual, and again the tactile nature of it can be a really nice way to focus your attention on the music. It's just something that guides my own collecting!

"Some of my favorite things — and these are really cheap, especially if you're just into exploring new types of music — are compilations," says Laura. "If you're kind of like, 'I want to check out some new stuff, but I'm not totally sure if I want to commit to a whole album,' I love a themed compilation, and you'll find that most stores will just toss them in a bin for a flat price."

- A pro-tip from Laura is to be really careful about what exactly you're buying online, if you're searching for a holy grail record. Those Discogs listings typically have a fair amount of fine print about the exact year of the release, where it was made/released, condition, irregularities, etc. and until you've spent some time in the vinyl trenches it may not all make sense. She still remembers her first online record purchase, which was of a rare Cher album called Stars. She spent $70 for what wound up being a Brazilian bootleg copy of the record — and wound up finding a promo copy for a dollar close to home a couple weeks later. "I still have both copies," she says — a window into the glories of her record room.

- "Another really fun thing is going to record shows," says Laura. "I don't often buy a ton there, just because people bring their best stuff and it's very collector oriented. But it's really cool to see it all, and meet other people who are into the hobby too."

Er 3,000 words later, there's your beginner's guide :) But seriously, there are no rules — just some jargon to get to know and a few practical steps to take. Cheers to taking more music listening offline, may your Kallaxes be overflowing and all your records near mint! Tell us about your favorite vinyl finds in the comments :)