Why Vinyl Records Matter

The excitement that comes with going out and getting the record - The act of venturing out to search for records. Whether if be just browsing or on the hunt.

The joy of record stores - The ambiance of a record store is comforting to music people. Rock music posters often line the walls, great tunes are being played through the speakers, and helpful folks from a local business are always willing to help you.

The ability to hold a hard copy of it - To pick up a record album, review it like a book, own it, refer to it.

The album cover art and inserts - Taking in the cover art and checking out the inserts records often come with is an awesome thing. Not only do you have the music, but you have a piece of art with a playlist.

The discipline of listening to the whole record, changing/flipping the record - Currently we're all spoiled by the ability to hear any song at any time. But there is something to be said about putting on an album and listening to it all the way through. Many classic albums are meant to be listened to this way, like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." Getting off our butts to flip a record has been and will always be worth it.

Vinyl is making a comeback - Articles about this are plentiful, "In the last six years, vinyl sales have tripled; in the first part of 2014, Billboard counted 6.5 million units sold. Currently vinyl makes up 3.5 percent of overall music sales, according to music tracker Nielsen SoundScan; a decade ago, that figure was 0.2 percent."

Events like “Record Store Day” get the fans out together annually - From Record Store Day is a chance for businesses to thrive; "I think we provide a sense of relevancy in a world of digital," Kurtz said. "When I want to shop for music ... I go to a record store. And Record Store Day basically reinforces the importance of that on the big day."

For the most part, record players are easy to find - You can find record players of many kinds at places like Goodwill, Target and even Urban Outfitters. I got mine from Target, which was a combination player with radio, CD and cassette.

Comments

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