So last week for Record Store Day, I picked up the beginnings of my vinyl collection. I’ve been considering jumping into vinyl for a number of months now, so when I saw Record Store Day was coming up, I thought now is as good a time as any. I ended up picking up the special Muse and TV on the Radio releases, along with some Conor Oberst and The xx, which I found while perusing the stores. Coincidentally, as a thank you for helping him move, a buddy gave me his turntables AND mixer, which he used to spin at parties back in college. So I was finally ready to discover the difference between the vinyl world and the digital world.
The difference? A pretty damn big difference. Using a 32-year old amp and speakers from when my dad first came to this country, the sound quality was insane. Loading up The xx, after some sound tweaking and modifications, sounded 100x better than coming from the fancy laptop speakers and from a Bose stereo. I have always read about the better quality, and a friend of mine from school had been trying to get me into vinyl since we met. And now I’m a convert. Right now, I’m listening to Spoon “Gimme Fiction,” an album I’ve listened to a hundred times, and experiencing it in a way I never experienced on my iPod or CD.
So vinyl is more expensive, and a turntable won’t fit in your pocket for those daily commutes to work. But alas, record companies have thought about this issue, and newer vinyl now come with FREE mp3 downloads for you to throw onto your iPod. So there you go, your vinyl provider really does love you. So for say $18, you get your favorite vinyl with cool album art blown up to vinyl size AND a free copy for your iPod. 2 different formats for one price. Not too shabby. Point is, I’m hearing physical evidence of how much better vinyl is than your iTunes purchase or download from BitTorrent. While the investment can be pricey (finding a good turntable and amp can be quite a process, but deals are on Craigslist and eBay), if you’re a music lover, the investment is well worth it. And spending hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon at your record store looking for new vinyl is fun too.
PD
