What was it like buying vinyl 5-10 years ago?

[birdwell]

i have this old-ish saddle creek mailorder catalog (from 03 or 04) advertising the bright eyes album boxset for about 20 bucks.

wish i bought it back then. i missed out! same goes for looking through old no idea mailorder mini catalogs. sigh.

I bought that Bright Eyes box set....but the next day got a letter from my bank saying my account was overdrawn....so i had to e-mail Nate and cancel my order, I always thought, I'll just go back and buy that again....and now the mark-up on that thing is unreal...and I don't really listen to Bright Eyes much anymore, I guess i could've sold it had I purchased it.

anywho, first record I ever bought was BrandNew's "Your Favorite Weapon"...I just wanted the bonus track, I knew my parents had a Turntable in the living room so I could listen to it. that was probably only 9 or 10 years ago. I only have variants on records that I really like or bands that I really like that aren't really easy to come by, but aren't usually expensive if you stumble upon them either (Grade and Murder City Devils if anybody cares). I've always listened to albums of music...so playing records suites my needs, I always hated getting into some of my friends cars (hell, still do today) who'll just skip through an entire CD to get to 1 song and play that 1 track over and over again, then switch to another CD (why not just make a mix CD with these "crucial jams"). So having the ability to throw a record on and experience that album from top to bottom and just enjoy it is just a great experience for me.

That said, being that my first record I picked up was barely a decade ago means that I'm obviously part of this vinyl "trend" BS that has made collecting records more like a Beanie Baby thing, I can admit I get caught up in that from time to time and it sucks...but honestly, I kind of hope it keeps expanding. I enjoy being able to get a new album out on vinyl as opposed to a digital download or a CD (I have a horrible time keeping Cd's Scratch Free...and it's always the scratches on the top that take away the data as opposed to surface scratches that can be buffed out). I wish more artists were recording in Analog and actually using analog technology start to finish when pressing their albums on vinyl...it does seem silly to me using a digital signal to make an analog product. I know I'm relatively new and young to this whole vinyl re-emergence, but it's been nice being able to see the only record store in my home town close, only to find out my friends bought out all of his old stock and opened their own record store and are doing really well, it was nice moving to Tuscaloosa and going to the record store there and only having a tiny used section the first few years (Tuscaloosa used to have another Independent record store that closed the year before I moved there that was AWESOME, R.I.P. Vinyl Solution) and over my years there seeing their vinyl section explode....all of this made it easier for me to find records I wanted to own. I know most everybody in this forum Hates everything Virgil Dickerson...but Vinyl Collective was fucking awesome for me, between VC and a few other Distros online, I was stoked to be able to find such an insane variety of records that I couldn't get at my local shops. To everybody that pisses and moans about Pre-orders and such...I honestly don't see how it's any different than showing up at your local Record Store and waiting in line to be the first to purchase a new record, or to hopefully get a record before it's sold out...I remember waiting in lines to be the first to pick up Cd's in High School, skipping 1st period to go pick up whatever new CD was being released that Tuesday. I don't agree with the Pre-Orders going up months before the actual release date and using the money from the Pre-Order to actually press the record and then turn around the product...Unless this is made transparent from the start (KickStarter).

I'm sure the thrill of the hunt and the sheer ecstasy of finding that one record that you've been hunting for forever was much greater pre-Internet/Online Distro/Internet Pre-order...but I still get pretty fucking psyched when I roll into a mom and pops shop and stumbled upon something awesome in the used bin (OG Press of Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, Stooges etc. for $5-$6 a piece)

I guess I'm saying, I understand why some people are Jaded and hate the new vinyl craze, but I still think it's awesome that this medium is still doing well and surviving as a viable medium after seeing other mediums completely obliterated and others continuing to fail.

Edit/P.S. I realize how terrible my grammar and writing is....it's the only reason I haven't graduated college (completely warrented I know). I also realize most people on this board are about to have a field day ripping this post apart, so, enjoy.

[chutterhanban]

i'm loving @invinylwetrust's sporadic tasty bits throughout

[madtired]

I'm gonna comment as a house DJ.

Record hunting was both bliss and hell. You'd spend hours digging in crates at several locations and not find one thing. On the other hand, you'd have those days where you'd find an absolute gem for dirt cheap.

Music was more "rare" not only because vinyl was a lot harder to come by than CD's, but because half the time you'd never find out what song was playing in the first place.

How about that it was more rare because the only store in the area would buy 4 copies (2 of which went to DJ's that worked in the store) leaving 2 for every dj in the city.

I primarily bought 12"s 10 years ago and they were $8-12 a pop, usually 3-4 tracks a record, and usually only one or two that were any good on each. so $10 for one tune mostly. Got a gig on Friday? $100 on new tunes. A habit that got expensive quickly most definitely.. and the gigs mostly paid shit if anything at all.

About 600 12"s still sit on my shelves -- worth more to me there than they would be if I sold em (would be lucky to even get $500 I'm sure). Beatport and digital music in general completely killed the 12" market. Who wants to pay $12 when you can get it for $2-3 digitally? Unlike an LP, there is practically no staying power with electronic music on 12"s anymore.

At least I don't spend 5 hours on weekends at listening stations anymore..

[flood]

ironically my only collection of a trendy band is BTMI! and im pretty much the one who started the avalanche on that, so i deserve what i get

[scottheisel]

Record collecting was a pure joy. I'd comb magazines for used listings, stacks at anyone of a dozen shops and mail order from Fat and Epitaph.

Around 1999 a bunch of boys and girls with Romulon hair cuts descended on the scene. They took things way too seriously and spent every penny on records driving up the prices of the market. They operated under a banner of individualism yet they all thought as one and dressed as one. They made fun of kids like myself who enjoyed a good hi-five in the middle of a set yet never explained why they went to shows for bands they testified to hating. They hoarded records like a bear going into hibernation and overall made shit less enjoyable. Then they all decided that this phase of their life was over and broke up their shitty screamo bands and mostly work in mainstream jobs and drink coffee at the Starbucks they once held misguided protests against.

Related: I miss Skylab.

[twelvetwenty]

Ten years ago I think I first started to order things online... saulgoodman was my favorite site at the time... Before that I remember skipping school and taking trains into the NYC to go buy shit from the Go-Kart store or Moon... I remember scouring revelation catalogs and buying things solely on the description and the riyl's. Before I had checks of my own I would save my money so my mother would write a check for me... Mail and wait. Definitely had orders come back "return to sender" and had times when I never received what I had ordered... I find that I romanticize the discovery of music from those days. It bums be out that everything is as accessible as it is today, but I suppose that's off topic. I also agree with what someone else said about buying records because it was the only way to hear songs...

[lexicondevil]

"They operated under a banner of individualism yet they all thought as one and dressed as one"

Let's be fair, this applies to every facet of the punk/hardcore/emo scene

Ha ha - mostly yes but I wouldn't put a definitive word like "every" in there. No doubt I followed a few trends in my life - it's what happens when you're young but those overly serious emo kids really fucked shit up for a while when things were killer fun. It was really odd to see develop and even odder to look back on.

That's the same argument the early punks in the Masque scene had with these suburban kids going up to LA and playing the more violent punk rock- Middle Class, TSOL, Suicidal. It's the same way I feel when I go to punk shows now and see these kids windmilling their arms around like some cracked out capoiera dancers. By the way kids, it used to be called a "slam pit". I think Anthrax invented "mosh". Fuck I'm old.

[jeyzeus809]

I got into vinyl around Christmas time, my brother got me the receiving end of sirens between the heart and synapse[my favorite album of all time].

Anytime im in my car, or walking down the street, or even at home listening to music, i listen to the entire album. I don't usually "skip to a certain song" so i feel vinyl is awesome for me. You really get to enjoy the artwork for the album, read an insert while you're listening to it without having to hold something super small. its bad ass, and i love it. its such a better package than just digital, or CDs.

[mcm1610]

I got involved in 2006, and it hasn't changed TOO much. Pre-orders seem to be the big thing, but otherwise I don't notice too much difference.

[deadreckoning]

before the internets buying records was saving up ahead of big shows, which had tables of distros and kids selling their collections; piling everyone in the car to head to the record shop several towns away; searching bin after bin of used crap to find the few gems; buying records from xeroxed distro sheets where most of the records were already sold out (i think i still have a few credit slips from very and lumberjack); it was fun... Most older records were fairly cheap ($10 for a used 7" would have been nuts). New LPs were cheaper than cds (that's why i picked up a lot of LPs), pressing info was harder to come by, mostly word of mouth. It took some time to develop the knowledge base. However, it was fun to find a record of a band you liked that you never heard of or seen before. It was not as convenient, but an exciting time nonetheless and i look back fondly.

[chutterhanban]

before the internets buying records was saving up ahead of big shows, which had tables of distros and kids selling their collections; piling everyone in the car to head to the record shop several towns away; searching bin after bin of used crap to find the few gems; buying records from xeroxed distro sheets where most of the records were already sold out (i think i still have a few credit slips from very and lumberjack); it was fun... Most older records were fairly cheap ($10 for a used 7" would have been nuts). New LPs were cheaper than cds (that's why i picked up a lot of LPs), pressing info was harder to come by, mostly word of mouth. It took some time to develop the knowledge base. However, it was fun to find a record of a band you liked that you never heard of or seen before. It was not as convenient, but an exciting time nonetheless and i look back fondly.

yeah this is basically what i assumed, but didn't want to face the fact that i had missed out on it. as much as i was listening to music and being a diehard fan of a few bands back from like '02-'05, i never bought one record, and especially not blindly. though one time i did come close when i picked up copeland - in motion CD completely blindly from target because it was on that aisle's end cap where they usually had pretty rad stuff. GREAT investment

[imaxcowboyx]

I still get pretty fucking psyched when I roll into a mom and pops shop and stumbled upon something awesome in the used bin (OG Press of Sex Pistols for $5-$6 a).

Not completely related to the subject (as I've only been buying records since about 2006), but I just went into a nearby shop yesterday and grabbed an original copy of God Save the Queen 7" (1977 Virgin UK Press woop woop) for $6, $8 total with tax and The Drifters - Under The Boardwalk. I was pretty excited yesterday, so to answer The OP's question....I didn't have those two records 5 years ago, and now I do. That is what has changed for me collecting records.