When was the last time You listened to a record album?

[J.R.]

Remember taking a record album off the shelf, removing it from its sleeve, placing it on the turntable and just listening to the entire album? You sat down and often perused the liner notes, photos and memorabilia. Listening to music was an activity.

Music has always been a big part of my life. I've learned to play several instruments in my lifetime, none particularly well, but I mastered the turntable! Man, I could really play a killer turntable When I was a teenager I worked a lot of jobs to afford to buy a lot of music and attend several concerts every year. I still have record albums I purchased 40 and 50 years ago. Still sound amazing to this day.

I fell prey to all the new tech along the way. I had the 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, iPod and a couple hundred digital albums reside on my computers. All the tapes I ever owned are in landfills, along with their players. All the digital music is great and handy for its portability. It also plays great on my stereo receiver that has Bluetooth: it's not going anywhere. All that said, there's nothing like placing a vinyl album on a fully manual turntable and taking the time to sit and listen from beginning to end. And vinyl has a sound quality many prefer.

Vinyl sales peaked in 1978, selling more than 2.5 billion USD. Vinyl sales have been growing again since 2006, and in 2020 Vinyl sales surpassed CDs. Streaming is king of course. You might think downloading would run a close second but downloading accounts for only 6% of sales. CDs and vinyl account for far more sales.

I don't think I will see the end of vinyl in my lifetime. Today there are so many reasonably priced, great turntables available. Fluance, a Canadian company and U-Turn Audio, an American company are making some fantastic turntables. There are some great offerings from Techics and Pioneer as well. Most people would think nostalgic boomers are keeping this trend alive, but the industry reports it's Gen X and Millennials that are driving this trend.

I've been playing my vinyl more and adding to the library. In 1975 I can remember paying around 7 dollars for a single disk vinyl album. Today they range between 20 and 30 dollars and the purchase includes a free MP3 download. $7 in 1975 is $41 in 2024. Maybe it boils down to stopping and smelling the roses.

Anyway, I was just thinking about this. What do you think?

 

[Rome]

Can't Remember Shite.
I think I have some CDs of Ozzy someplace in the shed. No longer own compact disk player.

 

[Chibbie]

I listen to records every day. And there’s a thriving and growing analog music and gear scene almost everywhere you look these days! For example:

9 Must-Visit Listening Bars In New York

We've put together a list of some of the best listening bars in NYC for a high fidelity night out.

pirate.com

Or more generally:

Home

Analog Planet covers everything high-end and audiophile analog. Turntables and cartridges, vinyl albums to phono preamps and setup.

www.analogplanet.com

(Granted, listening bars aren’t as ubiquitous outside of major cities; but then again, I know of at least three bars and restaurants here in Western PA just off the top of my head that have vinyl record stations where customers or the proprietors spin records. And at least a dozen well-stocked record stores.

 

[Chargeride]

Over the last fifty years, my relationship with music has morphed across a chasm of existencial reference , and every step has been a leap that I never could have foreseen.

My first record was Yellow Submarine by the Beatles, bought in an era where music was treasured not just for its content but for the scarceness of its availibility, hearing a favourite song on the radio brought collective euphoria, heightened by the reality that once finished it was gone, no skip back or play again.

The only way was to purchase your own hard copy and the accompanying artwork and physical space it took in your home.
I would sit for hours lifting the needle to play the one track over and over while staring at the cover, my mind concocting scenarios based on the single slice of life or imagination that I presumed was some deep connection or arty reference created by the artists to install a higher meaning to the entire experience.

That has now completely left me, it might be cynicism honed over the decades as reality slowly lifts away the smoke and mirrors that sustains the glorious magical innocence that my mind could so easily dive into.

I was the early adopter, and the tech became more important than the soul.
I bought the first MP3 portable player the day it came out, I downloaded gigabytes of mp3s off the net using my works ultra high speed internet, I bought memory the day it came out, 2mb, 32mb, 64mb and filled them with my favourite tracks.

Then I realised I wasn't actually listening to the music, just revelling in my ability to own it, marvelling at the skip speed or the glitter of the interface.

OK I'm waffling now, I'll write a part 2 later.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I make pressing plates for a record making company vinyl is big business.

 

[Gionnirocket]

It's been a while since I listened... but I still use a cover to sort out stems and seeds

 

[Prairie Dog]

I still have a Beogram TT that I purchased four decades ago as well as the MMC cartridge that came with it. Together they still sound wonderfully smooth to this day. My vinyl collection has been reduced significantly over the years but I kept some of my favs. I know that I could sell the B & O for more than what I paid for it but it represents a time when analog was still very much in vogue.

Apparently, the Danish company that produced these iconic turntables had put a call out to any owners who wanted to sell back their Beograms. Former employees familiar with the model were brought in to strip them down to their bare chassis and completely restore them with new more modern parts. The limited-edition versions came with a five-year warranty and were placed in handcrafted oak boxes each with a specific number and priced to sell for $11K US apiece. Word has it that they were all sold.

Bang & Olufsen’s Legendary Beogram 4000 Turntable Is Reborn, and Our Heads Are Spinning

Limited to 95 examples, each $11,000 Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4000c turntable is restored from a 1970s original.

robbreport.com

 

[Roamers]

I still have a Beogram TT

Dual for me.

 

[Rexlion]

Sound from vinyl is rich and warm and uncompressed. Better still is live music. I've formed a habit of attending an old-time/bluegrass festival every spring; even though the people playing the instruments are at amateur level, the sound truly is "music to my ears" and delightful. Unlike a concert in a large venue, the festival is intimate and the listener is mere feet from the violins, bass viols, guitars, etc.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I still have a Beogram TT that I purchased four decades ago as well as the MMC cartridge that came with it. Together they still sound wonderfully smooth to this day. My vinyl collection has been reduced significantly over the years but I kept some of my favs. I know that I could sell the B & O for more than what I paid for it but it represents a time when analog was still very much in vogue.

View attachment 173307

Apparently, the Danish company that produced these iconic turntables had put a call out to any owners who wanted to sell back their Beograms. Former employees familiar with the model were brought in to strip them down to their bare chassis and completely restore them with new more modern parts. The limited-edition versions came with a five-year warranty and were placed in handcrafted oak boxes each with a specific number and priced to sell for $11K US apiece. Word has it that they were all sold.

Bang & Olufsen’s Legendary Beogram 4000 Turntable Is Reborn, and Our Heads Are Spinning

Limited to 95 examples, each $11,000 Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4000c turntable is restored from a 1970s original.

robbreport.com

Not sure about the whole vinyl vs. digital thing, but I do know that aja is the best album ever!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Not sure about the whole vinyl vs. digital thing, but I do know that aja is the best album ever!

Having Michael MacDonald as backing vocals on Peg was masterful. I don’t fall in either camp as I listen to vinyl as well as stream. Digital is far more convenient but the nostalgic feeling one gets plopping a record onto the platter and hearing the stylus drop is a more immersive experience that can’t be replicated.

 

[sc00ter]

I used to have like 6,000 record albums. Had the turntable (Rebel Revolver) and over rated audio gear (McIntosh). I gave most of the vinyl away. A friend came all the way from Florida and loaded the records in a Mitsubishi Mighty Max pick-up. This was well before the current vinyl boom. Sold off all the audio gear as well. I don't hate records, I just hate having to take care of them and store them.

I now have around 3,500 CD's and a Denon micro system. I support the artist that I like by buying physical media. I don't stream music off any streaming sights as they don't pay the artist well at all. But at least the streaming audio quality has gotten much better than the early days, so for those who do stream music can at least enjoy it.

So to answer the survey, last time I played a record album was 10ish years ago. I found vinyl copies of Spirit albums with some the solo stuff that has yet to issued on CD. I now know why, only the singer had a good solo run after the band broke up. Only them together could capture that musical magic.

 

[jabberwocky]

My wife is a vinyl fan. We have sonos speakers throughout the house so have a Victrola Stream that autoplays to the main group in the living room, and can obviously add to the rest of the house. I'm sure the true vinyl geeks wince at that (converting analog to digital kinda defeats the purported purpose of vinyl) but we aren't audiophiles and can't really hear the difference. She just likes the ritual of shopping for vinyl at our used record store here in town and selecting albums and putting on the record player.

I went all in on our new digital world a long time ago, so generally don't bother with records. I have a few holiday records that I'll play at xmas and such.

 

[Taylor57]

Remember taking a record album off the shelf, removing it from its sleeve, placing it on the turntable and just listening to the entire album? You sat down and often perused the liner notes, photos and memorabilia. Listening to music was an activity.

Music has always been a big part of my life. I've learned to play several instruments in my lifetime, none particularly well, but I mastered the turntable! Man, I could really play a killer turntable When I was a teenager I worked a lot of jobs to afford to buy a lot of music and attend several concerts every year. I still have record albums I purchased 40 and 50 years ago. Still sound amazing to this day.

I fell prey to all the new tech along the way. I had the 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, iPod and a couple hundred digital albums reside on my computers. All the tapes I ever owned are in landfills, along with their players. All the digital music is great and handy for its portability. It also plays great on my stereo receiver that has Bluetooth: it's not going anywhere. All that said, there's nothing like placing a vinyl album on a fully manual turntable and taking the time to sit and listen from beginning to end. And vinyl has a sound quality many prefer.

Vinyl sales peaked in 1978, selling more than 2.5 billion USD. Vinyl sales have been growing again since 2006, and in 2020 Vinyl sales surpassed CDs. Streaming is king of course. You might think downloading would run a close second but downloading accounts for only 6% of sales. CDs and vinyl account for far more sales.

I don't think I will see the end of vinyl in my lifetime. Today there are so many reasonably priced, great turntables available. Fluance, a Canadian company and U-Turn Audio, an American company are making some fantastic turntables. There are some great offerings from Techics and Pioneer as well. Most people would think nostalgic boomers are keeping this trend alive, but the industry reports it's Gen X and Millennials that are driving this trend.

I've been playing my vinyl more and adding to the library. In 1975 I can remember paying around 7 dollars for a single disk vinyl album. Today they range between 20 and 30 dollars and the purchase includes a free MP3 download. $7 in 1975 is $41 in 2024. Maybe it boils down to stopping and smelling the roses.

Anyway, I was just thinking about this. What do you think?

1980 or so I think. Might have been Billy Withers" Lovely Day"

 

[BikerG]

Just a couple nights ago I played an album from one of my favorite album covers…. ‘In The Court of the Crimson King’ on my old vintage Pioneer turntable. As it was late night, I listened thru my electrostatic headphones, acting cool, imagining as if I were Clint Eastwood in ‘Play Misty For Me’…lol
And how I still enjoy the ritual of flipping through and picking an album, pulling the record out of its sleeve, using my lens blower to blow away any dust, placing the album on the heavy platter, staring at the timing light, lowering the stylus….and all that…LOL

 

[6zfshdb]

Sadly, most folks under 50 have never experienced the full rich sound quality of a vinyl album, played on a good stereo sound system. Listening to music today, via streaming or download, is done on smartphones and earbuds where the lost sound quality of MP3 isn't noticed.

 

[Catalyzt]

We have three stereos in this house. All are mid-90s relics, with huge, fat speaker cables. The system in the living room has fantastic speakers, but stupidly, I re-coned them myself and didn't mount them properly, so they fart a bit at really high volume... but at moderate to high volume? Why would I want Dolby Atmos or whatever?

I'm in a super weird position with vinyl. My band, formed in 1978, got a record deal in 2021-- exactly the deal we would have wanted in 1982: Small, boutique label, a lot of attention to album cover and engineering detail, small run of albums, 500. Vinyl only. We sold most of them; I think I've kept about 70.

However, I only got around to listening to the album two years later, in 2023. I had a different show to play for a different band, and we were doing one of their old covers, which again, was only released on vinyl (though this time in 1984.) There was no digital copy available and I needed to cover the song, so I bought a decent, $120 turntable-- it's a Technics or something-- set it up in the living room, and picked out an album for testing, which happened to be "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry-- I was in a 1988 kind of mood, I knew the extended 33-inch 45 RPM EP was recorded with outstanding specs, and I'd enjoyed listening to it in my old pad in Manhattan Valley in the late '80s (the same place I still visit with my old roommate.)

So I pump up the volume, drop the needle... and the room EXPLODES: "Who's that gigolo on the street / with their hands in their pocket and the crocodile feet / hanging off the curb, looking all disturbed..."

And it's like I'm back in my old apartment, the old crew is out on the stoop drinking 40-ounce malt liquor... just amazingly warm, live, vibrant sound that took me back to another era. Then listened to my own album, which I had QC'd extensively in digital form, and hey-- it sounded far better than any album we could have made at the time, and better than the digital files. And it was made from metal cassette masters that I ripped to DAT tape in 1999!

Haven't played many albums since then, just been too busy. I may actually rip some albums at 48 / 24-bit to see if I can capture the same transients and warmth, but I doubt it. It is a huge sound, definitely has something CD and other digital formats don't.

I used to have like 6,000 record albums. Had the turntable (Rebel Revolver) and over rated audio gear (McIntosh). I gave most of the vinyl away. A friend came all the way from Florida and loaded the records in a Mitsubishi Mighty Max pick-up. This was well before the current vinyl boom. Sold off all the audio gear as well. I don't hate records, I just hate having to take care of them and store them.

I now have around 3,500 CD's and a Denon micro system. I support the artist that I like by buying physical media. I don't stream music off any streaming sights as they don't pay the artist well at all. But at least the streaming audio quality has gotten much better than the early days, so for those who do stream music can at least enjoy it.

So to answer the survey, last time I played a record album was 10ish years ago. I found vinyl copies of Spirit albums with some the solo stuff that has yet to issued on CD. I now know why, only the singer had a good solo run after the band broke up. Only them together could capture that musical magic.

Bless you, sir. I never stream. I hear a song I like? I buy it and download it immediately. As some of our local CT artists are fond of saying, "You'd spend $4.00 for a cup of coffee that's finished in 15 minutes, but won't spend $4.00 for four songs you can have the rest of your life?

I released my only solo single on CD-Baby, signed up for all the streaming crap, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Made only pennies from countless spins. I hope their business model crashes and burns.

 

[Bicyclista]

I have been collecting vinyl since the 1960's. I play them on a MoFi Studio Deck. I still own a Thorens TD 160. In the past I've had Acoustic Research, Ariston, Denon, and Linn turntables. The most recent album I played, yesterday and today, is The Doors, the one with Light My Fire on side one.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Sadly, most folks under 50 have never experienced the full rich sound quality of a vinyl album, played on a good stereo sound system. Listening to music today, via streaming or download, is done on smartphones and earbuds where the lost sound quality of MP3 isn't noticed.

Especially if you use iTunes which by default is a horrific bitrate.
When I rip CD's I use lossless and the handful of Vinyl I converted is in wav format at a maximum bitrate.
Humongous files but I feel it's worth the hassle.

 

[Chargeride]

Everyone's pretending they dont sound like someone driving over bubble wrap 90% of the time.