Site

Categories

Vinyl?

Entertainment Posted by ahnyerkeester 6 years, 9 months ago

Got my old turntable up and running and currently only own 2 vinyl records. Don't ask what happened to my collection, I don't know and I'm afraid to find out the truth.

That means I need to rebuild it. I currently have Sufjan Stevens, Seven Swans and Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid and I'm looking getting at Lord Huron, Strange Trails. What other recommendations have you gents got?

22 replies

  • glen

    You're not going to go wrong with Lord Huron. That's a great album, as is Lonesome Dreams.

    For me, because it's much harder to switch between songs, it's all about the album in it's entirety. Some humble suggestions, off the top of my head:

    • Joshua Tree - U2
    • Boston (first album) - Boston
    • In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson
    • Who's Feeling Young - Punch Brothers

    That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I can't wait to see the responses for this thread. We have a lot of music lovers on the site.

    Reply

    • ahnyerkeester

      Joshua Tree is on my list. I was surprised to find that I know a handful of the songs from Lonesome Dreams! You're right, it is a great album.

      Love Punch Brothers. Thinking of Alan Parsons Project I Robot too.

      Reply

  • Chet_Manly

    So it's an interesting thread but I am hoping for clarification. Why is there the desire to have a functioning turn table? Just wondering what the motivation here is, musical, nostalgic, etc., knowing it's probably unique to each person.

    It is just something I never grew up with. I listened to some of our family's children's albums and later some classical music we had, but any rock or pop music I wanted, I got on cassette, then cd.

    Reply

    • Razorback

      I think those who grew up with vinyl (like me) certainly have a deeper appreciation for the format. Mainly because, in the 70s, it was all we had besides 8-track tapes and those were less than desirable unless you were in a car.

      It is true that a brand new album will deliver music with more detail and precision than cassette, CD or digital format. The downside is that vinyl will break down over time. You also have to deal with scratches, skips, etc. if the vinyl is not well cared for. So not something you want kids playing with.

      If you ever decide to experiment with vinyl, I do recommend you do so when you can sit alone and enjoy it, at least in the beginning. There's something about listening to your favorite album of all time, through headphones, on vinyl for the first time.

      Reply

  • brian

    I have a decent turntable and a large collection of records. Probably too many records actually.

    For Mr. Chet_Manly — I get the reluctance to deal with the whole record thing.

    Personally, I like a lot of the music from the 1970s and early 1980s. All of which was primarily engineered to sound good on a turntable. Sure there are plenty of remasters out there but, when they were recorded, they were intended to sound good on vinyl. A lot of the remasters that we hear on streaming services today are absolutely throttled for loud volume so the dynamics are much reduced.

    I remember hearing Neil Young's harvest on vinyl really early on and it convinced me of the merits of the format. I know you can listen to that album on CD or stream it, but it just doesn't have the same sound to me. The other part of it that I enjoy is looking for old records. There is a genuine excitement when I find something that I really want to have in my record collection because you can't actually find anything you want whenever you want. You have to go searching for it. It reminds me of being a kid when you had to go to the store hoping they'd have the toy you were looking for in stock. What a day it was when they had the exact, hard to find Transformer I was looking for!

    As for recommendations ahnyerkeester, I just have a lot of 1970s smooth music and rock albums. So sounds like you are in a different genre than I am. Luckily, here in Lawrence, Kansas we have one of the best record stores I have ever been into, so I am able to go through stacks of records whenever I feel the need to extend my collection. That said, I probably have a few too many records and will likely need to get rid of some stuff that I don't listen to much.

    Reply

    • Chet_Manly

      That makes a lot of sense. I would imagine Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd, as well as many classical recordings would sound better on vinyl. More overtones and such coming through. Back when I was able to listen to that stuff I had no ear to appreciate it.

      Being in "dad mode" for so long, the idea of sitting and just listening to music is foreign to me right now. But I can remember doing that in college and being very happy...no drugs involved either. It'll be a few years before I'm able to participate, but I have more to think about now. I appreciate your input on the matter.

      Reply

  • ahnyerkeester

    Well said. Music on vinyl has more dynamic range than an MP3. It sounds fuller and richer. Perhaps I'm just old school but...

    As far as musical tastes, mine are wide and varied. I stopped by our local vinyl store and picked up some used albums. BTO, Bill Withers, and Thompson Twins. They are horribly scratched and sound bad.

    I also want to add some classical and jazz to my vinyl collection. Thinking of something by Miles Davis and maybe Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock.

    Reply

    • Razorback

      For jazz, I suggest the following as a starting point:

      • Miles Davis - Some Kind of Blue
      • Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
      • John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
      • Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners
      • Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
      • Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport
      • Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

      Reply

      • glen

        This is a fantastic list of jazz albums.

        Reply

        • Razorback

          Thanks. These are some of the jazz albums that defined the genre and changed the music world. Every time I hear a song like Dave Brubeck's Take Five I can't help but stop whatever I'm doing and just melt into it.

          Another one I would recommend is A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi. It may be a seasonal album but the jazz is simply fantastic. Especially if you grew up watching the original Peanuts cartoon around Christmas each year.

          Reply

      • ahnyerkeester

        BANG! Right there. I need them all.

        Reply

  • Razorback

    I would have to recommend Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon mainly because it is my favorite album of all time. It also spent more than 14 consecutive years on the Billboard charts. No other album can make that claim. I also recommend using headphones the first time you listen to it. Just close your eyes and try to hear all of the little nuances in the foreground and background.

    Beyond that, I am not sure where to begin. There are so many great albums out there and everyone has different tastes. I have very eclectic tastes in music so I enjoy a lot of different things. Are there any particular genres you are typically drawn to (pop, rock, metal, prog, etc.)?

    Reply

  • ahnyerkeester

    I ordered Dire Straits' first album off of Amazon. Got it used from what turned out to be an excellent small, home business. The album sounds GREAT. I'd forgotten how much I love it and how much better is sounds on vinyl.

    Here's a flyer they included with the album and they're exactly right, buy graded!

    http://imgur.com/a/HNHYr

    Reply

  • Havoc

    I remember the first vinyl I bought...it was In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. The title track took up the whole side B!

    Reply

  • ahnyerkeester

    Thought I'd share this from Pledge Music. They have a handful of releases including the 25th Anniversary of Automatic for the People. Gotta catch my breath here. I love that album. Heavy weight vinyl cut from the original analogue recordings. It don't get better.

    Reply