2023 - Did Your Vinyl Purchasing/Collecting Habits Change? Any Record(s) You Were Most Excited To Have Snagged?

[firebird1]

11 hours ago, xgrantx said:

 I'd buy anything John K Samson without hearing it too but he's in a place where he doesn't want to release much physically. I've been trying to get him to let me release Hold Music or Vivat Virtute EP or the random singles he's not released physically forever.

 

I'd buy anything JKS too. 

 

Make it happen!

[Portsi]

I the year 2023 just quit bying records completely. The prices were just too much + all the super limited variants just started to get annoying.

 

Sometimes I'm sad about it, but mostly I'm happy that I have more money to spend for other hobbies and life in general. I will continue to support bands I like via bandcamp and going to the shows.

[whoa]

I'm finding I'm waaaaay less immediate about preordering/buying, unlike pre-covid where I would splash the cash a bit more. I'll will really wait it out until the album is out and I've given it enough time before I purchase anything, and even then, I'd like to buy a bunch of other records I've liked in one fell swoop to reduce postage (and probs better support for the indie retailer too). This would happen maybe once every 4-6 months now, instead of as and when a PO/release happened. It's much easier to keep track of my outgoings on this bullshit that way and it's nice to buy stuff that's actually in stock instead of waiting forever.

TBH, I'm sort of glad I've reduced this buying habit as I can spend the money on "us" (family/friends/causes/excursions/hobbies/life) rather than "me".

[Corgipants]

16 hours ago, jhulud said:

 

I am slowly getting back to catching as many shows & concerts as possible if and when I'm able to swing it. That is the one thing that I am not going to curb much cuz you never know if and when there'll be a next time to catch a favorite band or artist. 

 

 

This. Especially with the sad state of Florida and bands basically not coming here anymore (or at least less so than usual). 

 

According to my Discogs I bought less than I did in 2022, but I've noticed myself being more picky. Like others have said kids and other commitments get in the way and I find less time to sit down and actually spin a record. Spotify is king in our house currently. 

[hallowken78]

19 hours ago, lexicondevil said:

Another way that I am dealing with FOMO is to tell myself that if I really want that record a year from now, it won't be a big deal to pay say $100+ for it, because I have already saved so much money not buying at standard retail. It all adds up so quickly. I'd rather have one amazing record than 4 that are good or okay. I think this will also make my collection more carefully curated, rather than blind buys of things that I listen to a few times and shelve. I'm actually proud of the self control I have shown, recently.

This is precisely what I've tried to tell myself, however, I've let that logic lapse a few points throughout the year.  I panic buy so many POs becasue I'm fearful that the price will skyrocket, and I won't be able to obtain one down the road.  But let's face it - that is just silly.  Everything gets re-pressed.   And as you point out, even paying double or triple the price on the aftermarket for an album I develop a true affection for will still limit my spending (and space) in comparison to blind buying everything I anticipate enjoying or digging a single from.    

I accidentally stumbled upon some old vinyl invoices in my email from Deathwish and SoundStageDirect a couple weeks back...stuff from 10+ years ago.  Seeing the price difference is just staggering.   And it's not just the price hike, but the shipping hike.  I buy 99% of my records online, so shipping costs have stopped me from pulling the trigger on numerous occasions throughout 2023.

[tipyourbartender]

My record buying habits have changed drastically. For one, there is a tiny number of bands/artists that I will preorder a new record from without needing to hear it first. New records not only have to be amazing, but I must legitimately see myself listening to them regularly. No buying records just for the sake of collecting or completing a discography. 

No duplicates of albums. If a better/nicer pressing comes out, I will sell my old one. 

My number one new rule: be patient. Wait for sales and scoop up whatever variant is the least popular. I could not care less what color the record is. The only color I care about is green. 

[Billich0986]

2023 was the year I realized I was buying records just for the sake of buying records. Blind purchases of new albums from bands that released one great album in their career. Band released a new album I really like? Go buy their entire back catalog. Just really dumb purchases overall of albums I may listen to once and never touch again.

I looked at my collection and thought to myself, "There's probably only a couple hundred records here that I would realistically ever sit down with and critically listen to." So unless I am able to listen to the full album first, and can envision myself ever taking the time to sit down and put the record on and critically listen to it, I don't purchase anymore.

Additionally, I realized my music tastes have vastly changed. I've been going through my collection and re-listening to everything to determine what is really worth keeping. So I've also begun selling records as well.

Pretty much just echoing the sentiments of many others that posted in this thread already.

[LIGMA_BALLZ]

I know you’ve all been dying to hear my 2 cents so here it goes…

I’ve curbed on buying a lot of new releases and focused on grabbing 1st presses of my favorite records.  Early rev stuff, first presses of some equal vision releases.  I feel like I kinda hit the wall with new music and not many new hardcore bands do it for me.  But I’ll find out about some old band and go after that collection like most recently Unwound and codeine, which thanks to numero isn’t too hard!

 

The price of records hasn’t really dissuaded me from buying infact it’s encouraged me.  I’m an independent contractor and we have a record player at work so I write off all my record purchases.  I understand this is 100% not ok, but I don’t give a shit.  And if anyone on here works for the IRS I’m just kidding.  

[skycriesmary]

I have not bought as much this last year as in previous years as I really don't have that many holes in my collection any longer. I'm always looking for first presses of GD, Neil, Floyd, Cave, etc and will buy when I find depending on condition and price.

I tend to be a completist as well so I've continued to show discipline in not adding on groups that I'm not a huge fan of. That being said, I'm about 500 albums in and looking to trim back so I can add white wales when found. 

Last year I went to Japan and found a number of first and second year pressings of Floyd and GD,  complete with obi strips. I was pretty stoked about that. I also couldn't pass up a couple copies of PJ Harvey's 'To bring you my love' first pressings that came out to about $60. I think that album is criminally undervalued. 

[ntslash]

I bought more than ever in 2023. I need to slow down. I have no space left for more records. But there are so many albums I want to add to my collection. I need to come up with some sort of plan for purging and then develop strict criteria for adding new albums to my collection. I have so much stuff I've only listened to once. 

[mitchard]

Definitely slowed down a bit. Still picked up quite a few things, but nothing like the couple years prior. Rising costs was one factor, another was the fact that my 5x5 Kallax is almost full. Plus I had some other hobbies that took up some of the cash I may have spent on vinyl normally. 

As far as stuff I got that I was pretty excited about goes, it was the year of long overdue represses. Or stuff coming onto vinyl for the first time. Did manage to snag a few older things I have wanted for years too!

• Refuse- Demo '89 / All three variants, including the test pressing. Pretty obscure if you aren't a Northwest Hardcore nerd. The band eventually evolved into Undertow. First time on vinyl, or any other format outside of the original home-dubbed demo cassettes.  
• Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight (RSD Repress)
• NFG - Calalyst (First Pressing... finally)
• Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You (Repress)
• His Hero is Gone - The Plot Sickens: Enslavement Redefined (1998 Pressing)
• Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide (2000 Pressing)

 

[Shitty Rambo]

Like eveyone else in this thread my buying habits are at an all time low. I probably only bought maybe 6 records total last year, but still spent as much as I would've if I were buying 20 in 2015. I will only preorder albums from bands I trust to put out quality releases. I'll only buy represses of things I don't own in any capacity (for example the repress of Further Seems Forever - How To Start A Fire), but I always go for the cheaper indie release variant or if a holiday is near I'll wait for the label to do a sale and get whatever is available. Variants don't matter to me at all anymore.

 

My biggest gripe with the wildly inflated prices is that even small DIY bands have followed suit. In the early 2010s and late 2000s buying records was my primary way of checking out new bands and artists. Figured since I wasn't going to shows as often it was a fair way for me to support smaller artist, and these boards specifically pointed me in the direction of some killer acts that have become lifelong favorites, but I just can't afford to do that anymore. I pay $25/month for YouTube Premium (family plan), and it's worth it for the music streaming and video features, but I definitely have a much harder time finding new bands to check out.

 

I need to start putting whatever I would've spent on records into stock piling ammo. Clearly Mexico is finally taking back the South West and I have to be prepared to become a nomad when the shit hits the fan 🤣

[dawhizz]

Most of what I pick up anymore is new releases/new reissues.  I've pretty much plateaued with my older records, as I have most of what I want to have and am down to maybe 10-15 records on my Wantlist on discogs that I'm pretty convinced I will never own because they are either too expensive or too rare, or are only available overseas and I can't quite bring myself to pay overseas shipping for them (or some combination of those).  I do still really like collecting, but it's pretty rare anymore for me to be excited about a find in a record store - I used to travel for work and went to a lot of records stores when I traveled, so I've been to enough places (and really good stores) that I was able to find a lot of what I wanted over the years, but I also know that the things I still want I'm probably not just going to stumble across at one of my local stores in St. Louis (though there's plenty of fine stores).  I do still really enjoy "THE HOBBY" although I have cut back on buying, and have pretty much sold off my variants (like others have said) except for a couple of certain things.  It's probably irresponsible financially given my life with two kids and a wife who limit what I can put on the turntable unless they are all out of the house, but I figure I need a hobby of some kind and this is as good as any because I'm still pretty passionate about music and like to support the artists I like.  I'm probably due for purge I keep putting off.

 

As far as purchases in the last year, it's been things I'm fairly certain no one here cares much about but have been on my Wantlist for ages and I finally found at a good price, like Strange Bird by Augie March, Strange As We Are by Campfire OK, and Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits, and then reissues of things I didn't think I'd ever own on vinyl - The Frames reissues, Before These Crowded Streets, and Razia's Shadow by Forgive Durden.

[Sad Heart]

9 hours ago, dawhizz said:

Most of what I pick up anymore is new releases/new reissues.  I've pretty much plateaued with my older records, as I have most of what I want to have and am down to maybe 10-15 records on my Wantlist on discogs that I'm pretty convinced I will never own because they are either too expensive or too rare, or are only available overseas and I can't quite bring myself to pay overseas shipping for them (or some combination of those).  I do still really like collecting, but it's pretty rare anymore for me to be excited about a find in a record store - I used to travel for work and went to a lot of records stores when I traveled, so I've been to enough places (and really good stores) that I was able to find a lot of what I wanted over the years, but I also know that the things I still want I'm probably not just going to stumble across at one of my local stores in St. Louis (though there's plenty of fine stores).  I do still really enjoy "THE HOBBY" although I have cut back on buying, and have pretty much sold off my variants (like others have said) except for a couple of certain things.  It's probably irresponsible financially given my life with two kids and a wife who limit what I can put on the turntable unless they are all out of the house, but I figure I need a hobby of some kind and this is as good as any because I'm still pretty passionate about music and like to support the artists I like.  I'm probably due for purge I keep putting off.

 

As far as purchases in the last year, it's been things I'm fairly certain no one here cares much about but have been on my Wantlist for ages and I finally found at a good price, like Strange Bird by Augie March, Strange As We Are by Campfire OK, and Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits, and then reissues of things I didn't think I'd ever own on vinyl - The Frames reissues, Before These Crowded Streets, and Razia's Shadow by Forgive Durden.

I still need to grab those Frames reissues. 

[Alan P]

2023 was a major shift for me; I went from being a completist (not variants, but full discographies by my fav bands) to being OK with just having 2-3 records each from my fav artists. I was nearing 1000 records, but sold almost 300 this year and my goal long-term is to have a collection of around 500. I used most of that cash to fund vacations for my family and to go to concerts. I have committed to going to way more shows rather than buying records moving forward.
 

As others have said, much of my purchasing is well-done reissues; lots of 90s albums that had never been on vinyl before. I used to pre-order anything and everything that sounded interesting, and then sold off the albums that didn't grab me months later. Now I am doing the opposite, as in Nov. and Dec. I finally purchased physical copies of my fav 2023 albums I had been listening to digitally (either on Bandcamp or Apple Music) all year.

 

I do have 5 new release pre-orders in from some of my top artists, and lament the costs. In general, if cost of pre-order plus shipping is over $30 I pause and usually wait as I know I can probably get it cheaper used or from a store later on. Although I break my own rules--this week I pre-ordered the new Waxahatchee deluxe edition which was $39 + $9 shipping. 😬

Finally, maybe my favorite purchase of 2023 was Stars- "The Five Ghosts" 7" box set. I had an OG version of the 2010 album, but always wanted the box set as I am a sucker for interesting and well-done packaging. It does not disappoint! It is a pain to listen to as it is 12 songs over 6 records, but it is gorgeous!

[HardlineKid]

I've been buying way less than usual. Seems to be the case in general because I've also been getting great deals on used records through discogs. People aren't as crazy about spending $100 on a record as they used to be. 

[CatsNJazz]

I sold almost half my collection amd have not bought a new record in a long time. I think the only record I purchased this  last year was the Repress of Slip by Quicksand and I probably only listened to it once. Everything is overpriced and almost everything that was hard to find 10 or so years ago has been repressed at this point and that kind of takes some of the fun out of it. I think most new vinyl buyers have ruined the Golden age of the 'Revival' and after all the delays for new releases post covid I completely stopped pre ordering new releases (Which coincided with me becoming a parent) so my interest in new bands has dropped almost completely. The absolute worst has been how Discogs pricing has just become the norm. It is almost impossible to find a good deal anywhere because everyone record store just prices based off Discogs. 

[Derek™]

I'll chime in if not just to mix things up a little bit.  I've been chipping away at this reply on and off in a separate tab for like a week now.  Forgive any redundancy or incoherentness, I feel like it's probably all over the place.  But the thread is starting to sputter out so... why not?

2023 felt no different than any other year of the hobby™, barring a few exceptions.  In terms of how much did you end up buying?, the answer for me is – a lot.  I'm either doing something very right or very wrong.

But the biggest differentiator to years prior, I think, boils down to 1 concept: patience.  Sometimes it took months for pre-orders to go live.  Other times a release was riddled with delays for weeks or months on end.  I've come to accept [some years back] that we no longer get the luxury of spinning a record the same day an album is released digitally.  If a record shows up on release day – or early! – it's a rarity, and one I appreciate.  But it's absolutely not the norm among the artists and labels I frequent, and that just is what it is.  The silver lining there is that we sometimes get months to allow the dust to settle and decide if that new album is truly worth picking up.  With that in mind, sites like Zia, Bull Moose, and Rough Trade were all key-players in my 2023 preorders.  Any site that doesn't charge until shipment, with easy 1-click cancellations – those were my bread & butter.  Can't tell you how many cancellations and re-orders I'd place with Bull Moose to maintain free shipping.  Sometimes that meant that I'd receive a record 1-2+ months after everyone else, but it felt worth it.  Again; patience.

Record MSRP has been ass, I have nothing to really contribute to that discussion.  I think Covid was just the perfect maelstrom of opportunity to up the price of records; a nice trajectory of record sales, crippled supply chains / materials, and newjack collectors thinking $50+ is acceptable to drop on a double LP because they've never known better.  The wrong people took note of how willing collectors are to wait extended periods of time to receive a lackluster product of something they overpaid for... and here we are.  Imagine spending $39 PPD for a bare-bone, no-frill, flimsy ass colored 12" that you had to wait 6 months to receive.  You probably don't have to use too much of your imagination, because I bet that's happened to every single one of us in the last year or two, and I just see it more and more.  Shit sucks.  On the subject of MSRP, I will say I try my best to vote with my dollar.  Labels trying to produce the bare minimum for $40 will probably still sell out of a limited release, but at least I won't be contributing to those sales. 🤷‍♂️ There were some pretty rare exceptions here and there since those are tough guns to stick to.  Those Hum reissues were one of my favorite releases of 2024, and they were $40 a pop I think.  (But also double LPs with nice jackets, and lots of love into the mastering and pressings.)  Or Nouns' Still Bummed, which has been desperately overdo for a vinyl press.  Also $40+ spent mumbling under my breath, but having the opportunity to own a cleaned-up mix on something that's not a lathe?  Had to be done.  (It was also released on the band's own label which they just opened.  Overpaying for stuff sucks a little less when it's going to DIY roots.)

Trying to think of what else felt different in 2023.  I think I definitely coordinated a few more imports with friends, on stuff that was only available from abroad.  Gotta' soften that blow as much as possible, when possible.  Also being real with myself when cheaper options were offered.  Do I need the extra 12" of remixes I'll never listen to, housed in the exclusive boxset casing, for an extra $25 imported?  Or could I probably settle for an equally boring variant in a normal gatefold from Bull Moose and get free shipping?  This was something I'd always ask myself, but I guess in the last year or two, I've become much more comfortable not going nuts to butts on every single pre-order I was excited about.

It's cool to see more people become disenchanted with the idea that owning all releases for an artist is mandatory if you want to call yourself a true fan of said artist.  There are some artists I thoroughly enjoy with an album or two that just suck.  And no amount of bells and whistles on a fancy reissue are going to change that for me, so I'm not taking that bait.  (Especially when said reissue is probably $30+.)  On that note, I think in 2023 I've just placed more priority than ever on respecting the bang:buck ratio.  People dropping $37 PPD on a 15 minute EP is cool, I guess, but it ain't for me – even if the EP is enjoyable.  At the end of the day, I've found that no one gives a shit if you own every obscure split, 7", 10", comp, and cassette tape for an artist that you're into.  Chase all that stuff if you genuinely love the hunt and it scratches some kinda' itch for you, but it's nonsense to feel like you need that stuff on your shelf to prove that you can hang with the "real fans".  I see that mentality constantly on Reddit, it's wild.

The last thing I'll touch on is that the people who are really assessing their shelf estate and wondering "am I really going to spend time listening to this more than once?" – 100%, that's the ticket right there.  I've gotten pretty good at being honest with myself over that question, as years have gone on.  I can shrug off quite a few "impulse buys" I know I'd never listen to.  And I think I have a pretty good track-record on preordering stuff with confidence and not getting stung by it.  (The new album from Grails was my 1 dud purchase of last year.)  But with everything costing as much as it does anymore, absolutely ask yourself if it's worth actually owning, yeah.

At the end of last year, I actually added a new feature to my collection's spreadsheet – an Attachment column.  It's just a 1-5 rating on how attached I am to a given record in my collection, considering a few key factors (the music, the exclusivity, variant / packaging / press quality, the current value, sentimentality, etc.)

At its essence, it's like asking "if I lost this record in a fire, how bummed would I be about having to replace it?"  (A 5 would be crushed; very expensive or time-consuming to find a replacement in the condition my copy is in.  And a 2 or lower would be indifferent or carefree.)  I'm now in the process of revisiting everything I own and assigning it a rank, and the idea is to identify anything that's a 2 or lower to weed them out.  It's not a perfect system, especially since it leans so hard into my own personal value which is purely subjective.  But it's already helped me spot a few things here and there that I could live without, and with the size of my collection and amount spent in 2023, that's a healthy thing.  I know I'll have a problem if I start accumulating anything from 2023 / 2024 that becomes ranked a 2 or lower, because it means by ability to sniff out staying power or replay value is dwindling and that's bad news.

TL;DR – still bought a ton in 2023, but relied more on bundling for free shipping... even at the cost of waiting an extra month or two to receive my order.  Coordinated with friends for imports.  Avoided gimmick releases like usual and tried my best to "vote with my wallet" to dodge stuff excessively priced.  Still plenty of good stuff to be had for fair prices and reputable labels, especially if you're fatigued on splatter variants and have no interest in paying extra for them.  Still gunning for preferred variants, but also realistic with myself in not needing the best-of-the-best mega-deluxe-slipmat-boxset-signed-insert-bullshit version of everything, all time.  That's about it.

[kurtz]

I have been purchasing less and less vinyl over the past several years, 100% due to price. I am still a sucker for physical releases though, so my CD collection has been increasing more. I can't justify $25-$40 for a new LP when I can get the CD for $10-$12. Pretty much any LP that I buy new these days is releases that are not available on CD.

 

It also bums me out that 7”s have largely gone away in favor of 12”EP's. Even at the current rate of like $10 for a 7”, I'd rather pay that for 4 songs than $25+ for 4 songs on a 12” with a B-side etching.

 

Still love checking out new bands, new music. 2023 had a lot of great new releases! Probably still spend the same amount on music that I always have, it just goes more to CD's and inexpensive used records.

[Bronchitis]

I’ve gotten older and have seen how the sausage is made. Music lacks the magic it had when I was a kid/teenager/in my early 20s. I still buy some records but due to the price hike and stagnation of my music tastes, there fortunately isn’t much out there for me to want to pick up anymore. I mostly keep up with vinyl hoping that something clicks one of these days and I fall in love again. The logical thing for me to do is just sell everything and put that money towards remodeling my house or beefing up my guitar rig. I can’t bring myself to do it just yet. 

[prowl20]

My record habits have honestly gotten much worse since the pandemic began. Around that time I had maybe 10-15 LPs that needed to be spun before filing away. Now I'm at like 100+ LPs and maybe another 50-75 7"s 😮 

I'm actively trying to get better about it.

[dangerbirds]

My buying took a huge dive last year. My current storage solution is completely filled up so I started being more judicious. Even then, I preordered enough LPs I thought for sure would sell out instantly only to see them for like half price like 2 months later that I sort of just stopped pre ordering all together. Prices haven't helped either. The Early November albums DT just released were some of my grail records, but I still haven't been able to justify the price of them. There have also been some really lazy presses that turned me off even more (*cough* War All the Time). My guess is in 2024 I would buy maybe 5 LPs, whereas in 2022 I probably bought 20 or 30.

[ParallelofDeath]

I bought a lot in 2023, probably more than I ever will in the future. The pace was unsustainable and recently I've really been winding down. But I checked a lot of old favorites off my want list and plugged a lot of holes in the collection, so no regrets. My remaining high-priority want list is pretty much all white whales that rarely come up for sale or are just too expensive. I'm happy with what I have.

 

There were lots of exciting pick-ups. I completed my little collection of Ebullition releases with screen-printed inside-out alt covers. Got closer to completing my Cave In, Coalesce, Botch, Unbroken, Pg. 99 and Disembodied collections (i.e. having the rarest first-press variant(s) and whenever possible TPs), along with adding plenty of other 90s emo/ screamo/ hardcore gems. I also picked up many great new releases (and went to a shitload of shows).