For Those of You with Large LP Collections/Accumulations...

[Teasing the Korean]

In my lifetime, the vinyl LP has gone from being the industry standard music medium, to a relic of a bygone era, to an overpriced hipster display item.  

I would be interested in hearing how and when folks with very large LP collections managed to accumulate them.  Was is it a slow and steady process over many decades, or were there significant stretches of feast and famine along the way?  

I began buying LPs as a little kid. By the late 1980s, when I was in my mid-20s, I had hundreds of albums.   

But the real spike in buying for me occurred from the early 1990s to maybe around 2005 or 2010.  In the cities where I lived or visited during these 15 or 20 years, cheap LPs were everywhere, including very clean copies of desirable titles.  While I'd been buying jazz LPs since I was in junior high, I lugged home a ton of jazz albums during this period.

I have not bought much vinyl in about 10 years.  I no longer have the patience to look for it, and the second-hand market has all but dried up around these parts.  And contemporary vinyl IMO is not worth it.  It is overpriced, and there are too many issues with warpage, off-center pressings, inner-groove distortion, and sibilance.  

Not sure how I'm defining a "large" collection - I am thinking at least 1,000, but maybe more like 2,500 or more.   Whichever, I don't want to leave anyone out of the discussion.

So what was your experience like?  

[mjazzg]

Currently have about 2000 LPs. I started buying at 14 when LPs were the only option and continued through to early 90s when I largely switched to CDs.

By the late 80s I probably had about 500 but would have had many more but for selling off large parts of my collection due to unemployment and low income jobs.

I switched almost exclusively to CDs through to about 2000 when I caught the LP bug again, initially to find the ECM titles that hadn't been issued on CD. 

Since then I've bought a lot more LPs than CDs both "hipster display item" new releases and from the second hand market. I am now unabashed collector buying rare and objectively expensive early pressings (not BNs though, not that expensive), because I can and I like them but also cheaper unusual LPs that pique my interest, such as "Contemporary Music For Harp And Flute", especially if recommended by folk whose taste I trust (😀).

I enjoy sourcing online and do so mostly but also at a few of the good shops that London is now blessed with. In the last week's I found a rare South African Jazz album I never expected to ever see in the flesh. That makes me very happy, I'm happy to be judged on that...

[John L]

I had accumulated a couple thousand LPs by the dawn of the CD age.  I resisted CDs for about 5 years.  Then I took the plunge and never looked back.  Now I don't even have a turntable.  

[mjzee]

I've been listening/collecting since my tweens.  Back in the day, NYC/Brooklyn was a treasure trove of cutout LPs.  Virtually every little store had a bin of them, and Woolworth's had many bins.  It was very easy to buy great, obscure LPs for $1.99.  Of course, new LPs were also cheaper, and there was never a need to buy at list price.  There were no such things as used record bins, except maybe at a garage sale.  In college, I was a DJ at the radio station, and accumulated many LPs either as promos or from an industry service that sold them to us very cheaply.  After college, I worked in a record store, and could buy things at cost.  And so the LPs accumulated.

In the '90's, I was feeling trapped by all I had accumulated, and sold the bulk of them off.  But then I started accumulating CDs...  In the past 10 years, I've also started buying used LPs, just for the fun of it.  Dusty Groove is my main source, though I do also frequent local stores.

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks for the replies.  It is interesting that my vinyl buying substantially increased when others were switching to CD.  I guess that's why those LPs were dirt cheap at the time!

[rostasi]

Been buying since the 60s and they just kept accumulating as I became drawn to many different styles of music. During high school, I would get promos sent to my house with personally written letters from Virgin Records in the UK  before they opened their US offices. Those were the days when Fantasy/Prestige/Milestone, etc would send promos as well for my radio show back then. By college time in the 70s, I had around 1400 LPs. Working for record distributors, record stores, and radio stations just added to it all in the following years. Having my own store in the early 90s added to it too - driving the totals into the 5 figures.

Today, I’m closest to the dream I’ve had for most of my life: access to these audio business cards in sound form only. The room that the physical media takes up is so enormous and rather embarrassing, that I often think that much of this could be sold to someone younger while I put the money into digital or, for what I think these physical editions should’ve always been - creative physical artworks - for a new generation of performers doing excellent work.

Edited August 31 by rostasi

[JSngry]

Proud bottom feeder here since 1970. But not exclusively!

[Big Beat Steve]

Had a run apparently similar to many others who replied.

I started buying vinyl (i.e. LPs) in early 1975 at not quite 15, and this continued at a fairly steady pace (my limited funds permitting) to the late 70s and then ebbed off somewhat up to the mid-80s due to another hobby that ate up much of my still limited funds during my University days.
From the mid-80s (once I had joined the working population ) my buying accelerated again throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, though with some ups and downs. Which were dictated by availability at affordable prices (the wave of others shifting from Vinyl to CD in the 90s and dumping their collections did help ), existence of well-stocked local record shops, and opportunities too good to pass up.
I did resist CDs for several years in the 90s but eventually gave in as so much became available on CD that simply did not exist on vinyl.
For the past 10-15 years my vinyl buying has settled into a more reasonable pace, even coming to an almost complete standstill for a while during Corona (just one single LP in close to two years). Some buying sprees still happen, though, e.g. about a year ago when I had first pick among a 5,000-LP jazz collection a local record store had gotten in ).
In fact, now that retirement is upon me I am telling myself more and more often that I need to slow down, not just to eventually ease the plight of my heirs but also because the wall housing my LP collection(now totalling some 8,000) in my music room has been overflowing for some time. Shifting my 78s to an adjacent room in late 2017 helped for a while but now the point of saturation has been reached again. So I had to free three shelves in that adjacent room to accommodate more LPs (luckily there was room in my office to house the special-interest non-music books and magazines that had to make way).
I am enjoying the vastly improved accessibility to my LPs (it's not much fun having to wedge LPs forcibly in and out of the crammed shelves). Hopefully my restraint will last ...

Edited September 1 by Big Beat Steve

[optatio]

I enjoyed reading this post above. I was 16 when I read about Charlie Parker's death in the newspaper and bought my first record, my cover photo here today. However, systematic collecting began later after the exam in the late 1960s.

“Heirs” were mentioned above! The dealers will probably be the winners and benefit from cheap (sic) purchasing of large collections ...

[Teasing the Korean]

13 hours ago, JSngry said:

Proud bottom feeder here since 1970. But not exclusively!

3 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

...From the mid-80s (once I had joined the working population ) my buying accelerated again throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, though with some ups and downs. Which were dictated by availability at affordable prices (the wave of others shifting from Vinyl to CD in the 90s and dumping their collections did help ), existence of well-stocked local record shops, and opportunities too good to pass up.
I did resist CDs for several years in the 90s but eventually gave in as so much became available on CD that simply did not exist on vinyl...

So it sounds like your experience may have been similar to mine during the 1990s.  I was buying CDs at that time also, but I was going absolutely bonkers over the availability of all the cheap LPs during that decade.  I felt like a 5-year-old being dropped off at the candy store with a twenty dollar bill.

Edited September 1 by Teasing the Korean

[mikeweil]

I started as a teenager. First only a few items I could afford, then more and more during my parents' weekly Trips to Germany's first shopping Center, where I browsed the cutout bins. When the CD arrived I started selling the LPs when their counterparts had bonus tracks. My LP collection shrinked from more thab 6000 to the 1200 I still have. 10.000 items all together. Quanities depended on my budget, always too many. I think about selling stuff to save space and Region some Funds.

[jazzbo]

I started as a teenager as well. I was given three jazz LPs by a Peace Corps volunteer that my Dad was the Director of when we were living in Swaziland (Eswatini now). When my Dad was back in DC briefly I had him pick up a few LPs for me with my "allowance" dollars. Locally in one of the shops I found a few LPs to buy, notably the first Chicago and the second Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Then when we returned to the US I found "Filles De Kilamanjaro," "In A Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew" in the library and i a few months I had found my own copies of these. . . and my record buying began and continued pretty much into the early 'eighties. At that time I was buying cassettes and cds and sold some of my best LPs to a shop and to a few individuals who made me what seemed crazy offers. I concentrated on cds going forward, but was always buying an LP here or there that was not on cd.

[jlhoots]

Sold all of my vinyl 20-25 years ago (20+ thousand items). When I moved the only thing the movers destroyed was my B & O turntable.

Haven't had a turntable or purchased a vinyl LP since.

My children are amused that I still buy CDs.

[felser]

Here is my first album, purchased in early 1965.  I had just turned 10.  The next three were 'Meet The Beatles', 'A Hard Day's Night', and 'Introducing The Beatles'.   I branched out some on singles, but stuck with the Beatles on albums.  $1 a week allowance, so these were major expenditures for me.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

21 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Sold all of my vinyl 20-25 years ago (20+ thousand items). When I moved the only thing the movers destroyed was my B & O turntable.

Baltimore and Ohio make turntables?  

Since you're in Santa Fe, why not a ATSF turntable?  

Seriously, sorry about your turntable.  That must have been a linear tracking model, correct?

[mhatta]

I'm probably a generation or two younger than the regulars on this forum, so I've lived a life with no vinyls whatsoever. My entire collection is on CD.
However, there are quite a few sound sources that were never eventually made into CDs (which means they were never properly digitized, so it's hard to get decent sound quality streaming), so I'm thinking of buying LPs. Recently, LPs are booming in Japan, and there are some handy turntables such as Audio-Technica's Soundburger.  I am not a person who is particular about sound quality, so it is enough if I can stream via Bluetooth.

https://www.audio-technica.co.jp/soundburger/

Edited September 2 by mhatta

[russes01]

I have maybe 15,000 LPs and I still buy them - just like I have since the 1970’s. Having most of what can be found in the wild - I have started buying 78’s….

 

[jlhoots]

3 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Baltimore and Ohio make turntables?  

Since you're in Santa Fe, why not a ATSF turntable?  

Seriously, sorry about your turntable.  That must have been a linear tracking model, correct?

It was a classic. At least the moving company's insurance reimbursed me for it.

[Big Beat Steve]

17 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

So it sounds like your experience may have been similar to mine during the 1990s.  I was buying CDs at that time also, but I was going absolutely bonkers over the availability of all the cheap LPs during that decade.  I felt like a 5-year-old being dropped off at the candy store with a twenty dollar bill.

Certainly not as extreme nor as dirt cheap as in your case (judging by what you told here in several threads). Many of the best purchases in the 90s happened at Mole Jazz in London (where I spent a couple of days each time during trips back to the Eurotunnel or Channel ferry after having attended festivals in Norfolk). In general Mole Jazz wasn't that cheap but during two of my visits their stocks had increased to the point of forcing them to rent another shop to display the items on special sale, and while I was there a clerk marked down the price tags on the entire stocks AGAIN. So the totals at the counter were very, very affordable. And what they sold off there visibly were collections unloaded by people having switched to CD (for example, sometimes you could tell from the selection of LPs by certain artists that someone had snapped up the Chronological Classics series that were all over the place then).

OTOH some even better buys came my way later on when certain local record stores started holding annual clearout sale days. But that's hard work each time because NOTHING ís sorted by artist or genre there. You have to wade through it all ...

At any rate, it's amazing what still hits the market. Just last Saturday a fellow Swing collector from my area told me about a collection of allegedly 10,000 jazz 78s that had come up for sale only about 30 miles from here. He told me he missed out (apparently sold to a specialist shop outside our area) but he admitted that if the price per record had been right he would have taken the plunge ... (But then he is much younger than I am.) I was glad to feel not even the slightest envy inside me when he told me all that. Hope this feeling of sanity lasts ...
 

Edited September 2 by Big Beat Steve

[Stonewall15]

The introduction of the CD and the CD recorder in the 1980s enabled me to record non-CD releases of my large LP collection and then dispose of it. Currently I own only a few LPs for sentimental reasons.

[soulpope]

17 hours ago, mhatta said:

LP's are booming in Japan, and there are some handy turntables such as Audio-Technica's Soundburger.  I am not a person who is particular about sound quality, so it is enough if I can stream via Bluetooth.

https://www.audio-technica.co.jp/soundburger/

Looks funny 🧐😁 ....

[spinlps]

Discogs says I have close to 3800 LP's on my shelves (I have a decent CD presence as well that I do not track on the platform). While most purchases in the last 20 years have been primarily Jazz, I still have the Wave / Punk / Rock LP's I purchased in high school, college and earlier adulthood.

I am still an avid collector and frequent record stores, record shows, antique shops, flea markets, etc... My August trip to NYC was particularly fruitful, as have my regular visits to Chicago. With that said, a good chunk of my recent buys have been better condition "upgrade" copies for titles I already own. I flip the lesser condition dupes locally to help foot the bill. As far as new vs used, I primarily buy used on the "collectible" side, what ever that means anymore, but will pick up new reissues and new music as the mood strikes.

I regularly post new acquisition's or just what's on the table on Instagram to support discogs data, ostensibly for insurance purposes but also to share with like minded friends and folks on that platform. Feel free to take a look here: https://www.instagram.com/cuyahogabirdie/   I welcome comments, feedback, commiseration for lost LP's, ridicule for the time, funds, and space dedicated to this habit / hobby, etc...

[danasgoodstuff]

I started when I was about 11 (long ago and far away) and it's been pretty steady ever since, even when I was broke.  Of course, when I worked in stores and got that employee discount it was more. Thousands of LPs and CDs.

[HutchFan]

I started collecting LPs in my teens (in the early-80s) and started buying CDs when I got to college in 1986.  That said, I've never been "format centric"; I'd buy whatever was available at a price point that I could afford on a student's budget -- whether it was CDs, LPs, or cassettes.  

Over the years, I've accumulated about two thousand jazz LPs and about a thousand LPs in other genres.  I've probably got about twice as many CDs.

I bought most of the LPs when vinyl was very inexpensive and CDs were dominant in the marketplace.  It used to be super-easy to find amazing deals on vinyl.

More recently -- now that my kids are grown -- I've been buying more new vinyl, particularly if it's not available in other formats.  But I still prefer finding deals on used items, if possible.  So I'm still buying plenty of CDs, mostly used but occasionally new, as well as LPs.

It's (still!) strange to see how LPs are now more expensive and CDs are so cheap.  Everything is turned on its head! 

 

Edited October 19 by HutchFan

[jazzcorner]

16 hours ago, HutchFan said:

I started collecting LPs in my teens (in the early-80s) and started buying CDs when I got to college in 1986.  That said, I've never been "format centric"; I'd buy whatever was available at a price point that I could afford on a student's budget -- whether it was CDs, LPs, or cassettes.  

Over the years, I've accumulated about two thousand jazz LPs and about a thousand LPs in other genres.  I've probably got about twice as many CDs.

I bought most of the LPs when vinyl was very inexpensive and CDs were dominant in the marketplace.  It used to be super-easy to find amazing deals on vinyl.

More recently -- now that my kids are grown -- I've been buying more new vinyl, particularly if it's not available in other formats.  But I still prefer finding deals on used items, if possible.  So I'm still buying plenty of CDs, mostly used but occasionally new, as well as LPs.

It's (still!) strange to see how LPs are now more expensive and CDs are so cheap.  Everything is turned on its head! 

 

The size of my collection  (started in the 1960s) isnt growing much anymore. 2/3ds vinyl and 1/3d CD's I think I have the music I wanted with that total of around 5 thousend items.  The new stuff with new names arent soo much appealing and the direction of jazz lacks in many cases melodies and lines you could follow as listener. Have started as big band  fan (today about 1/3rd of the collection) bud widened the scope to all group sizes.

Get the Informations I need from Down Beat starting in the late 1950s and read it (now online) still. So I'm most returning to the stuff I have and buy here and then a reissue from Japan. 

Have not the luck to live in a greater city so offerings for good prices are small. That keeps the cash in the wallet ! :-]

Thats my status today

 

16 hours ago, HutchFan said: