dropped a pretty penny on vinyl in KC

[Randy Bey]

at the Record Exchange.

At first I was mind-blasted by the (literally) millions of records on the shelves.

Then when I started actually pawing through them, I discovered that most of the VG selection was between $8 and $80 a pop.

Wow, like do I feel stupid for selling my old record collection now.

There must be a better way to collect vinyl. This makes my last trip to the goodwill where I got 20 albums for $20 seem like nirvana. Even if it was all Firestone Xmas albums and Montovani. You can never have enough Montovani.

[lynnm]

FWIW

Some of my most interesting vinyl finds can be best be described as accidents. By that I mean that I will show up at a Garage Sale and find a bunch of LPs in a carton. Having established that there are at least a couple of albums that are worth having and the overall condition of the LPs seems reasonable I will ask the host " How much for the box ?? "

Frequently the seller will say $5.00 but you gotta take them all.

Typically the 2 or 3 LPs that I wanted from the collection are worth that much to me. Most of the rest of the collection will be of no interest but I have frequently found myself treasuring LPs from the box that I would never have otherwise given a second look.

Consider these two examples:

The Magic Box of Arthur Spink - Quality SV 1965

Cover:

A red headed fellow in full Scots regalia Kilt,Sporran,Kneesocks,Dirk,High laced shoes,Waistcot and a 120 Bass Accordion photographed in a generic city park scene

The cover didn't grab me (to say the least!) but as part of a bulk buy my cost was 20 cents +/-. I tossed it on the TT tonight and my jaw is hanging open an hour after the third playing !

That boy can play the squeezebox !!

Spotlight on Sy Zentner - Design DLP-153

Design was a label which was noted for two traits - Like their parent label ( Pickwick ) - They nearly always got it wrong but when they got it right ..............

On this one they got it right and in Spades !

This LP was released in 1962 and features Sy Zentner,Charles Teagarden,Stan Getz and many others playing in Zentner's band. This is among the best Big Band LP's I have ever encountered. It was included in a batch of 20 LP's I picked up for $1.00 Not only are the performances first rate but the "sound" of this LP is one of the most dynamic,clean and immediate I have ever heard.

[garymd]

Randy,

If you go back, see if they have a copy of NRBQ's "At Yankee Stadium." I'll pay whatever they ask plus shipping plus a finder's fee. Can't find it anywhere. Come to MD and I'll show you vinyl heaven at my local library for 50 cents each. I just can't buy anymore. I have hundreds I haven't even listened to yet.

[Fish]

Funny you mentioned dropping a pretty penny.I found a record collection,looked like about 2k lp's,in great shape.I was blowed away when one after the other,box after box was full of killer albums.Every one was an all time favorite of mine,and I was like WOW look at this,look at that.They were priced at $3 each,I almost made an offer on em' all.It was almost enough to send me back to vinyl,but I have about 700 of them on cd.Still,there was something about seeing all those albums,covers,whatever that made me really want em',they even look better than a cd.

[No Disc]

I've only been at this a relatively short time, but the garage sales and estate sales are the way to go. It's hit and miss alot, but you do find good stuff. Hell, this is where the dammed record stores fill up on there stuff. Spend a few Fridays and Saturdays hitting them and you will fill up your collection in no time.

I've found my best stuff just by showing up at garage sales that didn't even advertise they had records. Sometimes they don't even have them out, you have to ask. They usually say, "oh yeah, I have a bunch in the house, you want to see them?"

tb

[mobile homeless]

The big cities also have some of the best vinyl around. I like used record stores in NYC the best. They have some insanely good stuff used with great jazz and indie selections. There are places also devoted to classical.

In my experience, most of the flea market stuff is really hit or miss with a mostly miss. IF you are starting from scratch great. But the stuff at these places is mainly the 1 out of 100 find.

Finding a good record shop is worth its weight in gold. My freak friend from Seattle drove all the way across country on a record buying binge that lasted 3 weeks. He arrived on the East Coast with a ton of great stuff. We listened for a week switching between the EICO and the Moondogs practically wearing my stylus out in the process. He has some amazing finds with equal jazz, indie racket, and electronica.

kh

[No Disc]

Chicago has some excellent records shops also. What I ment to illustrate, is that you can find excellent "Deals" from those sources. Estates sales and garage sales you can pick up stuff for $.25 to $1 per album. Yes, it's hit or miss, and there are lots of misses.

If your looking for specific stuff, then yes, the record shops are the place to go. I don't go there to find deals though, but to find stuff I could not find elsewhere. I know of about 10 decent record shops within 45 minutes drive from my place. I hit them all one week when I was on vacation. Came home fairly broke though. heh.

- tb

[Allan Songer]

It's funny-- I have been known to pop $600 or $700 on a LP if it's one of the Holy Grail titles (I do this maybe once a year--that last one was Jutta Hipp with Zoot Simms), but I STILL find great records for no money even with the advent of ebay (which drove prices UP and DOWN--some stuff that was thought to be valuable pre-ebay is now selling for HALF what it used to sell for and other stuff has TRIPLED in value--all in the last 4 years). The NM Curits Counce LP I sent to Kelly today I picked up for three bucks! I also scored a PERFECT Jimmy Smith "The Sermon" for the same price at the same place. Pretty cool.

I only wish I liked 70's and 80's mainstream rock--that stuff is FREE! That and Herb Alpert records. When I started scrounging yard sales, flea markets and used record shops it was 101 Strings, Jackie Gleason and Sing Along with Mitch! That just shows you all how OLD I'm getting!

[Randy Bey]

guess I gotta keep looking. The ME in KC had a "non-VG" section, huge, freeking huge, that had a lot of unpriced albums. I asked about them and they said they'd price them at checkout -- just what I wanted, scrunge through their stuff, find the good stuff, have them price it accordingly, and move it to the VG section with a plastic bag over it.

[mobile homeless]

Allan, thanks as always for the "prize" here. Looking forward to it. Anyone interested in buying one of Allans offerings should know that he is VERY good in the whole process.

I always read of geebers within here buying boxes of great deal LPs from flea markets, novelty huts, and Shack-O-Ramas. In my view, the music world is a lot like the world of literature; there is far more mediocrity than quality. Walking into a used book store is lesson in discernment; the same can be said for a Used Vinyl extravaganza. I had to chuckle at Allan's comments above. Most of the records you see submitted by walkabouts are plain horrifying with bad 70s-early 80s rock taking front row center. I find the 60s stuff far more interesting, even the bad stuff being good at times.

What I try to do is to see a collection that has the mark of a person with some sense of taste and musical knowledge. This is the rare find and the jackpot for the record hunter. If you see a collection with the earmarks of someone with some sense of "know" then jump on it! Finding a new submission with all the records enclosed in the extra plastic sleeve is tip-off one from a distance. This usually signifies that said freak actually is taking care of his records perhaps even handling them with some skill as well (or even more rare, having some good gear to keep wear down). Sadly, these collections are really becoming harder to find. Looking for estate sales and eyeing the other contents is a good tip-off.

A lot of the cheap, flea market stuff has been played with styli that more resemble a bad sewing needle. Yes, there are exceptions but those the look virginal, seem to have titles like The Best of Toto btw, BEST OF records in rock usually are about as intellectually pleasing as a loaf of bread soaked in soymilk. One of the great things about albums is the gradual understanding of the off cuts which seem to take a bit more time to sink into thy skull, but once there, have more lasting value. People that go for the HITS miss the great stuff hidden within.

Enough rambling. No one reads this far anyway as I am over the paragraph limit for thy forum read.

One last point, I hope you guys are careful in handling records! I used to train DJs and the amount of people that handled records like a roving jackdaw was staggering. There is nothing worse than seeing someone hold a record with their fingers splayed over the grooves, greasy paws marring the playing surface with fingerprints and chip crumbs. Glancing at albums for sale reveals that 95% are FULL FORCE FIVE HOLDERS, reason #1 to invest in thy quality record vacuum/cleaner.

kh

[kjohnsonhp]

Is Record Exchange near WEST PORT? I bought a sealed LYRES "ON FYRE" at a KC store near Westport. There are two indie records stores in that area.

I had the pleasure of visiting GEORGE GIMARC's home (author of POST PUNK DIARY and record collector) and was blown away by his 65,000 unit collection which consumed the second floor of his typical suburban home. He also had a "before they were stars" CD made from tapes and 45's of now popular 80's modern rock stars that was a blast.

I am putting a cap on my collection based on my shelf space of around 3,000. This will keep me from buying too many items just for the interesting cover. I'm trying to weed stuff out now.

It is enjoyable to pull out of the closet every album a rock band every released while spinning some of their tunes. There is a memorabilia aspect to records that I don't find in CDs...lps are like big baseball cards. This completest obsession, however, can stuff the shelves with junk if not careful. I still get a kick out of listening to some of the old Ted Nugent songs but having the later lps just takes up shelf space--even if the lp mint/sealed.

I've got a box of about 50 lps commonly found at garage sales and growing that I'm trying to unload for a few pennys and it's pretty hard. It is correct that a lot of the 70's/80's rock stuff is basically free...especially if it's not mint.

I've noticed that during the shopping process it's easy to see records as mint without the right lighting and angle, but under closer observation and especially playback the groove wear and light scratches become more noticable.

I do need a quality vacuum cleaner...

I like the records stores in the big markets and often the small college markets. I found some stuff in Laurence, KS which is a college radio hot spot. Boulder has been good. I think I've found a ton of stuff at HALF PRICE BOOKS which is a clearing house for garage sales. Here I've flipped through thousands of lps looking for that one find. THey seem to have more shoppers and higher prices recently.

[garymd]

Last weekend I finally got around to sifting through my collection. I weeded out about 500 lps that were either in not great condition or just not worth keeping. I donated them to the local Goodwill store. Let's see, that's 500 lps at $1.25 each (thrift shop value). Nice tax break if you do the math.

[JBryan]

I keep putting limits on my LP collection too - only to blow right by it with a "must-have" purchase or a "too-good-of-a-deal to-pass-up" find. About 15 years ago, I left all my LPs (@2K) and TT at my folks home in NC when I moved to B'more. I had decided that CDs were the future and LPs were just too much trouble. Within a couple of years, I had stumbled on several great finds at yard sales and thift shops and had even found a nice TT at a garage sale. Soon the apartment was becoming full and my future wife was becoming concerned so I drew the line at 500 LPs, then 1K, then 2K. Luckily, we bought a house or I'm not sure she'd have put up with my compulsions. I don't bother counting LPs anymore and just limit myself to cheap LPs (mostly jazz) in excellent or better condition and those nice reissues from Classic and Analogue. My only regret is that I can't possibly clean and listen to every LP I buy before I bring in another haul. I've concluded that I have no control and this pasttime borders on obsession but how would I find a cure - and why? Somebody help me...

[garymd]

Bryan,

Do you want to know where the best place in the state of MD is to buy used lps. I'll help you out by not telling you. Seriously though, if you want to take a short trip to Wheaton with me sometime, I'll show you. Trust me though, you wont leave empty handed.

[LarryC]

Gary, where in Wheaton?

[garymd]

Larry,

I can't beleive you live in Bethesda and don't know where Wheaton is! Take Connecticut Ave north and make a left on Georgia Ave. About 1 mile on your right is the Wheaton public library. I've nabbed much of their good classical lps but there are many more in beatiful condition. Lots of collections. They are just to the right of the cash register on the lower level where the book sale is. Let me know how you do. If you have no plans for lunch tomorrow, pm me and we can go together. My office is at the corner of Wisconsin and East-West Hwy. CCB building where the old Hot Shops used to be.

[LarryC]

Gary, lunch tomorrow sounds great. Actually, I know where Wheaton is, didn't catch that it's the library. But what I don't know, is how to PM! My e-mail is larryclare@aol.com, if you don't mind contacting me that way. Look forward to it!

[JBryan]

Gary,

Thanks for the tip. I visit Wheaton/Silver Spring quite often to pick up audio gear from a tech and check out the music stores. Never tried the library though - sounds like fun. I did check out a sale at the Towson library but came away with nothing as I try to avoid classical music. I appreciate the music, its just that I don't want to start up another collection. Besides, I have tons of classic LPs that seemed like a good idea at the time only to have never been played. I look for jazz mostly but haven't found too much of it in the normal outlets (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc). I did find quite a few classic LPs at a DAV in B'more the other day. They were all minty for in plastic jackets and sleeves and most were imports from Europe (Holland) and Japan (Toshiba). My guess is that there were 70-100 LPs priced at 66 cents each (less if you buy more than 10, much less if you fill a box). I picked up copies of "Switched on Bach" I and II and a Michael Manring album. I'm heading that this afternoon so if you're interested send me a list or an idea of what you're looking for and I'll stop by and see if there's anything left.

[garymd]

Larry,

Click on my avatar then click on email user. You can check the box for email or pm. I'll email you shortly.

[garymd]

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On 9/9/2003 12:26:26 PM JBryan wrote:

Gary,

Thanks for the tip. I visit Wheaton/Silver Spring quite often to pick up audio gear from a tech and check out the music stores. Never tried the library though - sounds like fun. I did check out a sale at the Towson library but came away with nothing as I try to avoid classical music. I appreciate the music, its just that I don't want to start up another collection. Besides, I have tons of classic LPs that seemed like a good idea at the time only to have never been played. I look for jazz mostly but haven't found too much of it in the normal outlets (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc). I did find quite a few classic LPs at a DAV in B'more the other day. They were all minty for in plastic jackets and sleeves and most were imports from Europe (Holland) and Japan (Toshiba). My guess is that there were 70-100 LPs priced at 66 cents each (less if you buy more than 10, much less if you fill a box). I picked up copies of "Switched on Bach" I and II and a Michael Manring album. I'm heading that this afternoon so if you're interested send me a list or an idea of what you're looking for and I'll stop by and see if there's anything left.

----------------

Thanks for the offer. The only lp I'm currently looking for is NRBQ, "At Yankee Stadium." Not an easy one to find. Let me know next time you come down to the Siver Spring area and we can do lunch.