10 Reasons You Should Be Collecting Vinyl Records
With vinyl production on the rise, it is the perfect time to jump in on the enjoyable hobby of record collecting! There are plenty of benefits, other than having a physical copy of your favorite albums lying around, like becoming a part of a community or getting a whole new perspective on your listening experience! We compiled a list of ten reasons you should be collecting records (though, in our experience, the list goes on). Let's take a look!
1. Collecting Heirlooms
Due to the collectability of vinyl records, this is a fast-growing hobby that is easy to get into without too much effort. They can be passed down through generations, too, if you take good care of your records. Records are timeless and that's why you see so many old ones at shops. They age beautifully and each record has it's own uniqueness to it that makes it a one-of-a-kind artifact!
2. Records are an Investment
If you have records that you don't want to pass on to someone else, don't worry because buying records can also be an investment. Resale prices of records oftentimes skyrocket. Take, for example, the blood filled Friday the 13th record. They were $50 when they first became available and now they sell for over $1,000 a record. The limited run or popularity of a title can really impact the resale value.
3. Builds Connections
If you’re looking for a hobby that can help you build connections with other like-minded people, then record collecting is for you! Vinyl collectors tend to be very passionate about collecting and they hangout at places where other vinyl collectors do. Like the record shop! You automatically have something in common with collectors right off the bat!
4. Display Purposes
Vinyl can be a nice spectacle in your house as a tangible display. Sometimes, it can be a hassle finding the proper set up to store your records (see our recommendations here), but having a collection of anything in your home can look very appealing to the eye and record collecting is no different.
5. Physical Media
This falls in close with the display category! Physical media sometimes feels much better than digital format because it’s something you can grab and touch. When the record fully plays through one side, it's time to grab it and flip it over. Nothing beats the physical connection between a person and their record collection.
6. The Record Search
There’s nothing more fun or fulfilling than searching the record bins for a hidden gem and then finding it. Imagine finding your Holy Grail out in the wild! The search is an exciting way to stay engaged with your record collection as you try to fill in the blanks.
7. A Better Listening Experience
Each vinyl record comes with its own quirks that lends itself to an eccentric listening experience. You can expect to hear a low hum, surface noise, and even small cracks or pops. Vinyl is also sometimes mastered differently than its digital counterpart, so you’re going to hear a different sound completely than that of a digital recording.
We talked about this in great length in a different blog post that you can see here.
8. Fun Artwork
This is something that you miss out on with digital albums. Physical media often comes with artwork that can enhance your listening experience. Think about your favorite album and then think about how it would look on vinyl record. The jacket has artwork on both sides, and if your jacket is a gatefold, the inside has artwork as well. Sometimes there are inserts and posters that you don't get with a digital release of an album. The vinyl record itself will also be themed around the album, as well. Maybe it will be purple with white splatter, maybe it will be a solid red record! The only way to know is to start collecting!
9. Releases Come with Posters and Other Fun Merch
Along with fun artwork, LPs come with a bunch of other enjoyable goodies that you don’t necessarily get with other formats. Inserts, posters, and sometimes even movies! Here at Waxwork we’ve included bingo cards, booklets with behind the scenes photos, temporary tattoos, and exclusive liner notes by directors and composers. With one of our releases we even included a balloon!
10. Visiting Record Shops are a Great Way to Explore the City
What’s a more entertaining way of getting out and around the city than heading to some vinyl stores to check out their selections? Grab some coffee at a local shop, maybe even a little bite to eat, and then hit the vinyl shops! There’s nothing more satisfying than unexpectedly finding an album that you’d love to own when you’re searching the bins at the shop, and getting to add it to your collection. It’s a win-win scenario.
Vinyl Collecting is on the Rise! Don't Miss Out!
Don't miss the golden years of collecting! Vinyl is as popular as it has ever been and plenty of great albums are being repressed, making for an opportune time to grab those once out of print titles. Adding them to your collection brings many benefits! And those benefits can be passed down through your family for generations to come. What a great way to be remembered by!
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