I STILL LOVE VINYL!

It Doesn't Go Away

When I grew up as a kid I had my 78 rpm turntable...

Played so many yellow golden records on it...

 

 Loved my "Bozo At The Circus" album from Capitol Records 

(still have it in mint condition)...

and all those other popular kiddy discs back on those early 45's...

Next I graduated to a turntable that could play 45's and 33 1/3's...

They were gigantic with teen girls...

Each week they would flock to the local record store 

and score the weekly top hits...

 

Then came my late teens

and my continuing love for for radio and records...

Searching bin after bin at the record store was fun...

And occasionally you ran across that neat NUDE picture...

Me check out album covers with naked women on them when I was 13?  

YOU BET!!! 

And BAD ALBUM COVERS...

So many that I'll tackle that issue in a later blog...

Got my 33 and 1/3's moving and groovin'...

Hit the air at KUSC and KVFM in the Valley 

and we spun NOTHING but album vinyl...

Other formats came along...

Four Tracks...EIGHT Tracks...Cassettes...Reel to Reel...

The the audio mother lode was discovered 

when the computer generation started getting into audio...

Welcome CD's...Then those digital MP3's were all the rage...

Napster allowed everyone to take whatever music they wanted and play it on their computer or wherever they wanted to move it...

Meantime many of us kept our record collections 

and bade our time...

As the audio clock spun around many realized how tinny and dull digital playback had become...

Missing was an audio "WARMTH" that vinyl offered...

Oh yea, you had the scratches and clicks and pops...

but we will live with those when you had that 

overall MELLOW vinyl sound...

Few years ago the Daily News ran this nice article that helped to explain the vinyl phenomenon...   

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/vinyl-album-sales-booming-article-1.1251477

These charts show how vinyl is on the upswing once again...

Not just old farts, but young folks are flocking to vinyl...

BUT...and that is a BIG BUT...

Vinyl still accounts for less than 3% of all music sales...

but it is a segment of music lovers who really and truly appreciate their music...

Lots of cities have record stores that stock old vinyl

 (some in surprisingly good shape)...

Several times I have scored an album over thirty or forty years old

that still had the shrink wrap on it...MINT!

Here was a recent trip for me to Zia Records here in Las Vegas...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1KMP5yraJw

Check out how much I got with CD's and DVD's this trip...

They had NO vinyl in gift bags that day...Too popular...

But in the past I have taken home armfuls of albums 

for pennies on the dollar...

Some dogs...Some really winners...It is an audio treasure hunt...

Some audiophiles spend thousands on esoteric turntables...

So don't get rid of your turntable yet my friend...

Still plenty of good tunes to play for you and the family...

Long Live Vinyl!

Keep 'Em Spinnin', Dude!