Back to vinyl

My son got a record player last year and it’s been fun talking with him about music across the decades and albums he should collect.

There’s been talk of classic must-have albums like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and new ones like The Weekend. (Over his break, he didn’t really care for my wife’s suggestion of Michael Buble’s Christmas album or my suggestion of Christmas with the Chipmunks. Who doesn’t like Alvin, Simon, and Theodore?)

In any event, our vinyl discussions have gotten me thinking about change and how the ways we listen to music have changed from vinyl to eight track tape to cassette to compact disc to mp4 and now streaming services — all in my lifetime.

Whether we recognize it or not, we’re constantly changing. I write in my post, Keeping up with the times, today on the Heart of the Matter about a VHS player that we bought at the height of its technological heyday and how it relates to changes today.

Those old VHS cassettes we bought aren’t worth much anymore. Yes, yes, I thought the Disney Princesses and I were a match made in Heaven from my purchase date to perpetuity. Say it isn’t so Cinderella? Jasmine and Pocahontas, where did I go wrong? Ariel and Tiana, come back!

Oh, I try to give away the old cassettes, DVDs, and CDs that we’ve collected over the years and are now sitting in the garage, but nobody wants them.

The one exception — my old vinyl records! Now those, I wish I still had!

In any event, I’m all ears, let me know what record you’d love to hear again on vinyl?

Related Story:

Keeping up with the times

on The Heart of the Matter

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43 thoughts on “Back to vinyl”

  1. I’ve read it more than once recently that vinyl is making a comeback. I downsized to about half of the 33rpms I’d collected, and I’ve managed to sell a few on Facebook Marketplace, getting $3 each for them. Still, there is an equally sized pile of “keepers” that I’m holding on to for now. I’ve also got about 20 or the 45rpm records, a few of which might be of some value.

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  2. Though I am not a fan, I must correct you on The Weeknd (he can’t spell, apparentlly!)
    I cannot tell you how much I regret getting rid of all my albums and turntable. Sigh. Who woulda thunk they would come back in vogue?
    I remember our 8-tracks – we had Englebert Humperdink, the soundrack to Fiddler on the Roof and, if memory serves, Tom Jones, too.
    My car was stolen in ’96 and with it, my collection of cassette tapes – most of which were made for and by me. Sigh. That was that.
    The VHS tapes – so many things on there (and I still have a dual player!) We ended up buying DVDs of the kids’ movies after a while.
    I don’t even want to think of the cost attached to all of these!!

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  4. Hi, Brian! I much prefer physical media, the larger the better to appreciate the artwork. Remember long boxes for CDs when that format came into play? Nothing beats vinyl though for artwork impression and warm analogue sound. However, the weight and fragile nature of every play became a headache. Round and round we go! 🎶

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  5. Oh gosh Brian, my husband is still holding on to his vinyls. We have a player here and it’s good to step back and listen to that crackling sound in the background from time to time! LOL 🔊📀💽 I still have a box of cassettes that’s in my closet. But one thing I don’t have anymore are my 8-Tracks from the 70s! 🤣😜😂 Let me play taps on the bugle as the sun sets in the west! 🎺

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    1. Streaming music services are great. But do you know what I do kinda miss: homemade mixed tapes. My wife made me a couple when we young and silly and they were the best. Streaming needs something like that!!!! Ha ha, and you’re right, I don’t care about reliving 8-tracks. Ha ha

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  10. When I started working for my local library in 1995, it was when the vinyl records were being phased out of the collections – and there was only 1 computer in the entire staff workroom that had Internet! – and it’s so interesting to see vinyl records make a comeback in recent times.

    I’d love to listen to an old Madonna album on the vinyl record. There’s something interesting about the crackling noises of a record that you don’t get from the digital formats.

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  11. I can relate…
    So happy I kept my parents Vinyls. It’s always full of memories when I put one on, childhood ones and something else.
    Looks like it’s the new trend anyway…
    Vinyls are back and it feels like multiple generations embracing the same love for music!

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  12. Oooh … I still have a pile of vinyl records and just listened Fleetwood Mac (Rumours) yesterday. Not on a record player … but thinking of getting one so I can listen to it that way and some of my other albums too. However, there’s many, many albums my husband and I sold years ago that I regret selling now.

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  13. Oh, how this post resonates, Brian! I think this topic is where my husband and I feel old because we still have VHS and dvds, along with old cassette and 8-track tapes (his). We had a combo VHS/dvd player until recently when it died. Now we do have a dvd player, so once in a blue moon, we’ll watch an old movie in our collection. More for nostalgic reasons than anything else because, of course, it would be on cable or Netflix or somewhere that we can stream! But like you said, who wants them? So we keep them for sentimental reasons.
    Now we do have our albums, and a few years ago, we bought a record player where cds and cassettes can also be played, along with the radio. He and I both have our faves and we’ll listen to them when we can simply take time to listen without being distracted. It’s amazing the cost of vinyls now. Who knew, right? Anyway, I think we miss the old ways when it comes to music. We love the album and cd covers. It’s equivalent to liking a paperback or hardback as opposed to an ebook. Thanks for evoking the memories!

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  15. Larry and I bought a record player several years ago because we had a cupboard full of albums from our youth (me, Donny Osmond, Jane Oliver ~ Larry, Eagles and Led Zeppelin) and our kids were pushing us to sell them or play them. So we did and we love the player. The thing we noticed was how quickly an album finishes and you have to get up and turn it over. We forgot. We’ve been adding to our collection and it’s still our go to entertainment in the evening. Hugs, C

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