Record Suggestions?

[BigWilson87]

Hey everybody! I'm new to the forum here and just thought I would introduce myself. I'm 18 years old and just got into vinyl after discovering my dads old Yamaha PX-3 Turntable. I have zero vinyl records at the moment, so I'm asking for your suggestions as to what to get to build a solid foundation. I like everything from jazz to punk to ska, so any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

[jc_the_trucker]

If you can get an early copy of The Doobie Brothers-The Captain and Me, you probably wont regret it, assuming it fits your style. It is an excellent album in terms of the music and the quality of the record is one of the better ones that I've found. Anything by Pink Floyd or The Doors. Same goes for Rush. B. B. King is great to have. I don't listen to much punk and ska; but for jazz its hard to go wrong with Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wynton Marsalis.

But I don't know this stuff is so subjective, you'll probably end up seeing everyone just putting 90% of their collection on here. Best bet, go to the used record section and start grabbing anything that grabs your attention. Stock up on records that are cheap; and then when you find the ones you really really like, that's when you go buy a brand new or excellent condition first pressings.

You may be surprised, your favorite modern bands may very well have vinyl releases.

Happy Hunting!

[BigWilson87]

Thanks JC! I'll definitely pick up that Doobie Brothers record. I'm going to the record store tomorrow, and I plan on stocking up on some cheap used vinyl.

[megatrends]

Thanks JC! I'll definitely pick up that Doobie Brothers record. I'm going to the record store tomorrow, and I plan on stocking up on some cheap used vinyl.

You can score some cheap vinyl on eBay but be wary. On eBay you cannot listen to groove damage before buying or trust a seller will tell you the opposite side of a record pictured has a large scratch in it.

BUT this being said if you hover around the $2.00 mark for records you won't be disappointed. Most sellers include shipping tracking numbers as the shipping costs are low anyway in the US with Media mail being about $3 nationwide.

I found Uriah Heep albums for 99 cents and also 1.99 and one of the three was a little rough to listen to but the other two should have sold for much more and were quite good.

Always scout out Craigslist, sometimes you'll see someone getting rid an album collection of maybe 100 records for like $30 just to get rid of it. I scored one of those once. This is a current ad I am getting in touch with the seller for. it is a small drive to get them but looks promising! "170 records $50" http://maine.craigslist.org/for/2971383140.html

Another thing I do is frequent Goodwill Stores, they have records for 99 cents and while a great many are in rough shape about half are excellent. I made so many great finds there this year it is truly shameful.

Best of all they have every style of music all mixed together. I found a Megadeth album in mint shape which sells for $25 easily on ebay and I got it for 99 cents.

Welcome to vinyl by the way ... with a decent system and a decent turntable you will immediately notice why vinyl sounds better than cds. Pay attention to the hi-hats and cymbals and vocals when comparing the two. If you have a good ear you can hear digital compression compared to an honest analogue sound.

[BigWilson87]

Thanks megatrends! I'll have to check the Goodwill stores. There's a few right by my house so I'm definitely going to see what they have. Thanks again!

[Hermionediamond]

Try some of the 'classics'. Van Morrison's Astral Weeks is worth a listen, as is some Pink Floyd (perhaps The Wall or Animals?). Who's Next by The Who is a great listen too.

Wishbone Ash are touring Stateside at the moment so you could try Argus, Wishbone's finest IMHO! On a more contemporary note Jack White's Blunderbuss is wonderful!

[Travis G.]

Try picking up some of your favorite albums to hear the difference between vinyl and whatever format you're accustomed to. You'll notice a big difference with jazz, in particular.

Also, I assume you're familiar with The Specials? If not, get 'em!

[danieldust]

My first suggestion is to ignore other people's suggestions. Sounds like you're ready to dive into record collecting. There's a few different approaches to record collecting, but the best one is to buy what you like. Don't buy what others say you should like. Don't try to build a "well rounded" collection. All you're doing then is bowing to other people's tastes. If you like jazz, punk and ska, then collect jazz punk and ska.

On the other hand, an important part of record collecting is discovering new things by accident. If you're open minded, you'll find stuff that looks interesting, and that will open new musical horizons. If you hit garage sales, record stores, flea markets and thrift shops, you'll find cheap records that intrigue you. Buy those and listen. The ones that you like, research them. Find out who the musicians are. Find out who else they played with and who influenced them (this is especially big in jazz). Eventually you'll be into music that the taste makers have never heard of, and you'll be schooling them on what to listen to.

Don't waste time and money on sites like eBay/GEMM/Discogs/Musicstack until you're looking for a specific item that you can't find locally. Much of what's on eBay and other sites is at rip-off prices, and then you have to pay for shipping on top of that. Wait till you get an idea of what records are worth (some are very valuable, most are not) before you get into the internet shopping game.

Enjoy and good luck.

[shropshire lad]

I second what DanielDust says .Don't follow the herd and search out music that suits you . If you like what other people suggest then that is great , but just remember , even if you spend two lifetimes looking you will never find all the good music that is out there . So I have two sugestions . Start with some music that you are familiar with and like ( obviously) and go to YouTube and see where it leads to. Do the same on somewhere like Amazon . I have discovered lots of new music over the last few years by exploring these two avenues .

[BigWilson87]

Thanks everybody for all your input! Keep em coming! I really appreciate it. I was just searching around craigslist and came across this http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/for/2974862152.html . That's about a 10 minute drive from me. Do you guys think it's worth it? Thanks again everybody!

[Travis G.]

That's a great Stones record visible on top there, but they haven't been stored properly and could be warped. Someone who's store their records face up in a bin like that probably didn't handle them carefully, so watch out for scratches and scuffs. But it could be worth your time to check them out. Just examine them closely before handing over your money.

[Cabbage Patch Elvis]

Well, the CL ad is lacking in details, but it is one way to get an instant collection going! And it's hard to go wrong with the Stones (except for maybe Dirty Work). I'd check out what other titles are there, what kind of condition they're in, and of course, the price has to be right. Good luck!

[Alec124c41]

Hey everybody! I'm new to the forum here and just thought I would introduce myself. I'm 18 years old and just got into vinyl after discovering my dads old Yamaha PX-3 Turntable. I have zero vinyl records at the moment, so I'm asking for your suggestions as to what to get to build a solid foundation. I like everything from jazz to punk to ska, so any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

That PX-3 is a very fine turntable. Enjoy it.
With records going so cheap at yard sales and thrift shops, you can afford to try things for curiosity.
Learn to clean records well.

Cheers,
Alec

[BigWilson87]

Wow! Thanks everybody for all of your suggestions!! I'm going to go around to a couple garage sales this weekend as well. Thanks again and please keep those suggestions coming. It's really appreciated!