5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Collecting Vinyl Records

Whether you're new to collecting vinyl records or you've been around the block a few times, these are some important points to drive home in your brain. It's easy to get hoodwinked by marketing and advertising, especially these days, but these tips will hopefully help your journey go as smoothly as possible. Please leave a comment with any important tips you think I missed!

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Fluance RT81 Turntable -

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Audio Technica AT-LP120 Turntable -

Nagaoka MP-110 Cartridge

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[andyshacks]

So glad you called out the BS around 180g It’s the cutting and the pressing which determine the quality not the thickness of the record. Also 180g records seem to be worse for static in my experience. My tip would be - just buy what you like and not what people say you should buy. It’s your collection and so it should reflect your tastes. Ok off my soapbox lol. Cheers Matt for a great video 🙏

[Parasyte]

Just collect whatever you want. Don’t get peer pressured into genres, artists, or albums. You don’t like a “must own” record don’t buy it. People think your music taste is too generic and “normie” who cares. Your music collection should be a reflection of you, not whatever people say you should own.

[scottylovesthings]

#4 is the tip I wish a lot of collectors would learn to live with. I’m a bit older, and started my love of music with vinyl when I was a kid. I actually don’t mind a little surface noise at all, as long as it’s not obnoxious, like you mentioned.

My only tip, mainly to myself, is to only buy albums on vinyl that I know I’ll listen to more than once, even if the album is a super collector’s edition. And the albums I usually end up selling are those I realize I’ll never listen to again. I’ve departed with some nice ones because I was brutally honest with myself about how much I would listen to them. But I also don’t collect vinyl just to own it. I collect music to listen to it, no matter the format.

[pilon]

I had albums when I was a kid that were scratched and had pops and skips but I played them anyway, now I own better copies but my brain still adds and expects to hear the imperfections every time I play them. All:part of the music and memory delight.

[evanfoster]

Thank you! Finally an intro to vinyl video that's more than just "store vertically" and "don't touch the grooves."

[abbibishop]

I agree with the one about imperfections on vinyls because there is something so comforting about listening to an old album and then there's those little pops and crackles

[mileshigh]

Don't cheap out on a turntable! If you start with a low end or suitcase style one, make sure to plan to upgrade, so you do justice to your vinyl, and you will also notice a big sound difference!

[mikepotter]

When I first got back into vinyl, I assumed I was in a very slim minority of the population and thought I'd have no trouble getting what I wanted. I wish I had known earlier on that when something comes out that you really love and want, you should not wait on it because there are more people out there buying up copies than you think. Plus, it seems the labels know the demand pretty well and always under serve the public with how many they release...with the exception of Adele apparently.

[janoskis]

Great video, Matt. My advice for novice collectors would be to try and buy most of their records in person, at least initially. Look around where they live, find record stores or record fairs. Ask around in their friend group for people that are vinyl lovers and connect with them in person. This fucking pandemic is isolating us, but whenever I can, I visit my local record stores and have friends over to spin some records. That's the best part of this hobby. There is an undeniable endorphine rush when you hit "Buy Now" on an online purchase, but it just can't compete with holding a record in your hand and deciding to buy it, then taking it home and putting it on the turntable. Speaking of... a lot of people wet clean their records, then put them in antistatic inner sleeves before they let their stylus touch the grooves. I always though that to be a bit overkill, but I do understand where they are coming from. So another one of the pieces of advice could be to take good care of your records - they (as well as your stylus) will thank you.

[jamestomlin]

Vinyl is imperfect. That's what I like about it. It has character.

[AKLabs-xlre]

I really love the 4th one that you said. I think those that have issues with imperfections of vinyl are just collectors that displays them and does not play them or just have an OCD. It’s sad that I see newly bought vinyl being sold online half it’s original price just because it has creases on it’s sleeves or have noticeable warps. Personally I don’t have any issues with these as long as it has no skips. It’s all about music.

[T-ui]

As a vinyl DJ, I can tell you that 180 Gram records are harder to cue. Where the platter should be able to still rotate freely under the record with the slight pressure of your finger on the edge of the record, many 180s causes the platter to slow down or stop.

[sailornamaste]

I liked how you mentioned checking reactions on discogs. Sometimes I might look for an album and a certain color variant will peak my interest, until I read the discogs comments and learn that maybe it was a bad pressing. It’s saved me some money to do that little bit of research before spending the money for the “shiny object”.

[francescotenti]

I have been listening to records/albums, no one called them vinyls back in the days!, for many decades, since it was the only medium to listen to music, besides tapes and FM radio, all analog. When a new album, or a single, was released we ran to the record store and bought it, that simple! Now buying records has become "collecting vinyl" and the industry, smelling money, has gone completely crazy. "Collectible" special editions, limited numbers, deluxe sets with booklets, photos, you name it, 180, 200 grams, why not 190 or 225?, audiophile pressings...., and with all that prices gone through the roof, no thanks, not for me, I never fell into the trap of "the must have", sit behind this keyboard and put my credit card(s) on overdrive. I still go to record stores for new and used ones and thrift shops and garage sales and you can still find "gems" for pennies on the dollar, plus you can see/touch what you're getting. Buying online? Never.
New to your channel, nice video.

[octoberstorm]

A lot of records I first got when I was uneducated on vinyl care are now off the market and in high demand making them go from $35 to listings of $200-900. It sometimes makes me nervous to play them !! which defeats the purpose. I collect them for the joy of having unique pressings but now that I have a high end turntable and vinyl cleaning gear I spin my records much more. A wonderful recording passion to have 💛

[vinylsolution]

All great points sir.
I don't sweat the imperfections anymore.

[billa]

Pops, clicks and surface noise often exist on the best sounding early analog pressings of many records. If you can train yourself to ignore it, you can enjoy all the better analog sound quality over a modern reissue. Of course there are exceptions with some reissues being done better than the original but not the norm. I prefer a VG+ OG press over a NM or M reissue in most cases.

[rubysroom]

I have a chuck berry's greatest hits vinyl from 1978. On the back of the cover is a mini biography about Berry. Now this was written before he passed away in 2017, so it's oddly nostalgic reading about him in the past tense. It's weird because I'm 14

[shinrasboy]

Everything will be repressed.

Yes, yes, yes. I actually just received the advice last year and taking it really benefited me. We’re even getting to the point where records that have never been available on vinyl are being pressed.

Just the other day, Utada Hikaru’s entire discography was reissued. Preorders sold out immediately but still. Lost in Translation got a reissue, the soundtrack to Her got an LP, Corinne Bailey Rae’s debut, Sade’s discography. Hell even the highly sought after Almost Famous soundtrack. Worth waiting!

[fetamean]

As a fairly new collector, the only tip I can give collectors' is this: Spend a fair amount of money on your turntable. I was turned on to the Audio-Technica LP120 after originally buying a Victrola suitcase from Wal-Mart. Let me tell you, the Victrola suitcase for $65 was TERRIBLE. Even my record store guy was like, "I know why your records are skipping. You have a Victrola suitcase, don't you?" And he was right. I spend about $400 to buy all the setup I needed for a good turn table and I do not regret it. The sound quality is pristine. I got the LP120 because everything on it is upgradeable if something breaks. With other cheaper turntables, that's not the case.

That final point about getting the original vinyls that are pressed with the MASTER recordings is a BIG ONE. My guy that I go to guarantees that he only gets master audio file recordings. If you go to a website like "freestyle vinyl" or one of those sites that can print you your own vinyl "mixtape, " sure, you can do that but you might sacrifice a lot of quality when you give the site a bunch of Mp3 recordings of the songs you want. Getting the original masters is not something very easy to come by, unless it's your music, so I would recommend talking to your record guy and making sure he gets you the original analog masters when he special orders your vinyl. A-A-A.

I didn't realize that 180 gram was a scam. I always assumed it was a thicker pressing for a less-easily damaged product, but if you say it's a scam, I could believe it.

The imperfections thing is something I wanted, in a way, when I got into vinyl. I like hearing the pops when a record ends and spins off the tracks to the center. I like hearing the imperfect pops even when a song is playing. Especially on an old Neil Young record that was pressed in 1971. It just feels like the past. However, that doesn't mean I expect skipping or imperfections on every record I buy. For most new record presses I've gotten, they sound perfect with minimal pops/scratches.

I think we forget just WHY vinyl went out of style in the first place. When compact discs were coming out, people liked that they removed the imperfections. No more pops! It was only until CD's had been around for a decade when people realized that they're imperfect, too and vinyl could've stayed. I personally think that CD's have their place but what kills me about CD's is the "glass" jewel cases that are easily replaced but so cheap and dingy, I couldn't force myself to collect them, or even buy a good hi-fi stereo to play them. I just don't care. I'd prefer vinyl to that. Few CD's I own like Tyler's "Scum F*ck Flower Boy" are a cardboard case rather than the plastic glass jewel case and I'd collect far more CD's if they were all like that.