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What do you do with your old vinyl LP collections?

Carol C

Carol C

TUG Lifetime Member
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Just curious if any TUGgers as old as me have been hoarding their vinyl LPs for nostalgia's sake, or whatever. I've got some LPs that were never released on CD, so they might be worth something but frankly they're niche market releases & I don't have energy to try to research values. Then there are the cool albums with fantastic original art...so hard to give up those records too! So, what about other TUGgers and how they have dealt with record collections? TIA for any thoughts...and please nobody ask "what's a vinyl LP?" ;)
 
Turntable ... what's that?


Seriously, I went into a couple of "recycle" records (and CDs) stores with mint Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon albums (among others), and that is pretty much their reaction.

Unless you have some truly rare albums from the 50's, I guess, you might as well chuck them, as I did with my collection. Times change. (and when you compare the sound quality of CDs versus vinyl, well ... it's no wonder).
 
Ikea has the frames. Frame em and put a few up on the wall. Besides that, the vintage shops will take select few and local artists are always looking for them for their next masterpiece. Freebies on kijiji or Craigslist and they will be gone!
 
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I still have mine & have even gone as far as to get the software / usb connections required to play them & create MP3's. Now I have to find the unique ones I know I have but have never seen on CD or MP3. I doubt many have much value now except to be moved to a new format and what the heck - I'm not about to use the record storage cabinets for anything else so why not hang on to them for awhile longer?

If you're moving or need the space then see if any collector might want to browse through yours before you reluctantly send them to the scrap pile. There is some album art that may well be worth more than the vinyl inside it now.

Of course I still have - and use - my 1000+ collection of BETA tapes and some of the very rare programs on those. But VHS, 8 tracks (never had those) and cassettes - along with the original Pioneer Laserdisks - have been moved out even from my rather nostalgic stash. Still have those monster Cerwin Vega speakers though!
 
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timeos2 said:
... along with the original Pioneer Laserdisks ...
Click to expand...

It was a sad day two years ago when I finally dumpstered my Pioneer LaserDisc player because it wasn't even worth putting on EBay. Cutting edge in its day ..., and when the video store had no more copies of the latest movie on VHS (yes, it was that long ago), there was always a copy available on LaserDisc. And those LaserDiscs were so COOL, like silver LPs on steroids .. and both sides could be played.
 
Classic vinyl is coming back. Young'uns are finding out the personality of the pops and crackles of analog recordings. I have a stash of the core of my '60's and '70s rock. I was poor as a church mouse back then and bought an album a week 'cause I'd just blow the money on drugs, booze and women otherwise. Hope the kids enjoy it after I'm gone.

Jim
 
I promised my granddaughter she could have all my records when she got her own place. She loves vinyl. My 1980 turntable still works, but I don't have room in the stereo cabinet (or phono inputs on the receiver). I bought a $30 phono to USB converter, so when she comes over we can connect the turntable to the laptop and RIP from vinyl to MP3. People are still buying turntables. :shrug:
 
I live near Knoxville and there are several large stores that will buy any and all vinyl. They have sections with thousands of titles in both singles and albums. There is always somebody willing to pay a few bucks for a title and much more for others. Even if it is now on CD there are collectors who feel digital will never replace the sound of vinyl analog.

Most hobby stores that sell poster frames (Michaels, etc.) also have frames for vinyl record covers. The covers are sometimes more valuable than the record inside.
 
Passepartout said:
Classic vinyl is coming back. Young'uns are finding out the personality of the pops and crackles of analog recordings. I have a stash of the core of my '60's and '70s rock. I was poor as a church mouse back then and bought an album a week 'cause I'd just blow the money on drugs, booze and women otherwise. Hope the kids enjoy it after I'm gone.

Jim
Click to expand...
I was in Books-a-Million a couple of months back and saw a new reissue of Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality". I still have my old copy along with about 200 other albums.
 
artringwald said:
I promised my granddaughter she could have all my records when she got her own place. She loves vinyl. My 1980 turntable still works, but I don't have room in the stereo cabinet (or phono inputs on the receiver). I bought a $30 phono to USB converter, so when she comes over we can connect the turntable to the laptop and RIP from vinyl to MP3. People are still buying turntables. :shrug:
Click to expand...

If you don't have phono inputs on the receiver, go to Fry's or some other electronics store and get a phono pre-amp (about $15).

You will then be able to plug the turntable into a standard line input.
 
I collected vinyl for years, and used to prowl all over looking for hidden gems. When my interests moved on, and it seemed CDs were taking over the industry, I converted my favorite LPs to create digital copies for my own use, and then I sold my entire collection to a used record store for quite a lot of money. I had a lot of very rare, collectible picture discs, (basically an LP suitable for framing, with an embedded image under the grooves, instead of being a black vinyl album.) Most were issued in very limited editions, and were quite valuable. Sometimes the album jacket is worth more than the record itself.

If you have anything rare or unusual, there could be some very real gold in them thar' stacks. Definitely worth checking into, before you toss them out or give them away.

Dave
 
My my ex got all my LP's in our divorce 12 years ago.
Don't reallly miss 'em. I replaced those I valued with CD's.

Nostalgia for old technology is fine, but for me, digital is better.
Or at least, more convenient.
.
 
As the resident vinyl guy here, let me help out:

1) If your albums are in PRISTINE condition, they're worth some money. PRISTINE. Basically, you had to be an anally-retentive audiophile with a properly calibrated and balanced turntable (as not to damage the vinyl). And meticulously clean (as not to damage the vinyl).

If there are "scratches and pops," that turns your M- or NM album into VG, and a VG copy of Sgt. Pepper's isn't worth diddly squat.

2) There are only a handful of album covers that are worth more than the vinyl -- Velvet Underground & Nico; Yesterday and Today 1st or 2nd state; Sticky Fingers. These had better be in pristine condition as well, if you want to sell them and make it worth your while.

3) You are going to overestimate your album's condition. Your "Near Mint minus" is my "Very Good." Your "Very Good" is my "consign it to the dustbin." I'm one of those "audiophiles" -- I want my records to sound BETTER than compact discs. The good ones actually do. (Google "the loudness wars" to see why.) But they have to play quiet, or I'll ditch them for better copies. I don't abide scratches and pops. (And I have enough albums to start a classic rock radio station, an alternative radio station, a classic jazz radio station and a classical radio station. I'm currently working on adding "blues radio station" and "punk radio station.")

4) The really expensive stuff is the stuff they never made many copies in the first place. The White Album? Sure, it has some value, but they pressed a bajillion copies of the thing. The real money is in obscure doo-wop and northern soul albums these days.

I'm not even interested in buying vinyl online anymore because most people have no idea what an arc protractor is. And the people who do are people like me -- scrounging the world's thrift stores and yard sales looking for hidden gems.

Everybody's story starts out the same, "It was the 60s (70s), and my little brother occasionally got into my records and... well, they have SENTIMENTAL value. After all, it's the Beatles and Rolling Stones, right?"

Wrong.
 
Passepartout said:
Classic vinyl is coming back. Young'uns are finding out the personality of the pops and crackles of analog recordings. I have a stash of the core of my '60's and '70s rock. I was poor as a church mouse back then and bought an album a week 'cause I'd just blow the money on drugs, booze and women otherwise. Hope the kids enjoy it after I'm gone.
Click to expand...


No, they're not looking for the "pops and crackles." They're looking for warm analog sound -- minus pops and crackles.

When people look at my collection, scratch their heads, and say, "Why bother, MP3s are FREE," I pull an album out and put it on the turntable. Then I play the same song through my mp3 player into the aux-in port of my amp. And then I flip from "aux" to "phono" on my amp to show the difference.

Digital recordings sound like my speakers have been wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil. THAT'S why vinyl is coming back. Not for the clicks and pops. That's just the hallmark of a badly-treated record collection. No offense.
 
My husband has a vinyl collection of perhaps 4000 albums, all in mint condition. He had a super-expensive state of the art turntable (Oracle I believe) and every album has a special protective sleeve. Now that our kids are grown and somewhat responsible, he lends them for a few months at a time, insisting that no one plays the album more than once in a 24-hour period.

When they come to the house the kids pour over the shelves carefully picking out which ones they will borrow next. Before they return them they usually make a digital copy. When I ask "why not download what you like from Itunes?" they say "but its not the same!"
 
eal said:
Before they return them they usually make a digital copy. When I ask "why not download what you like from Itunes?" they say "but its not the same!"
Click to expand...

Your kids' source material (a 4th-generation vinyl disc) is not as good as the audio engineers' source material (1st-generation tapes). In addition, the recording studio has slightly better audio equipment.

The only difference is the gain used when digitizing the material. (Again, Google "the loudness wars.")

I'm surprised your husband loans out the discs. A diamond stylus makes a dandy chisel, if the tonearm is out of balance and the anti-skate has been turned up to 11.
 
And what about VERY old Victrola records?

We have a beautiful Victrola - the big stand-up kind. It works well,and is PACKED with old (obviously) records that DH's grandparents bought when they went to performances in NYC. They would go to the opera and listen to Caruso etc, then buy the record in the lobby.

Every once in a while we crank up the Victrola and put on a few of these oldies. I sure hope there are some collectors out there who will appreciate them eventually:)
 
pjrose said:
And what about VERY old Victrola records?

We have a beautiful Victrola - the big stand-up kind. It works well,and is PACKED with old (obviously) records that DH's grandparents bought when they went to performances in NYC. They would go to the opera and listen to Caruso etc, then buy the record in the lobby.

Every once in a while we crank up the Victrola and put on a few of these oldies. I sure hope there are some collectors out there who will appreciate them eventually:)
Click to expand...

78s are a different animal entirely. As with most records, condition is everything. But for the most part, you're looking for jazz and blues. Particularly blues. The rule of thumb, "If it's a white dude singing the song it's not worth a whole lot." Classical 78s aren't usually worth very much -- they're a glut on the market, for the most part.

But I don't collect 78s -- I have no interest at all because on a good day the fidelity isn't very good. There's a market for the stuff, but they're even more picky than I am. And that's saying a lot.
 
ScoopLV said:
78s are a different animal entirely. As with most records, condition is everything. But for the most part, you're looking for jazz and blues. Particularly blues. The rule of thumb, "If it's a white dude singing the song it's not worth a whole lot." Classical 78s aren't usually worth very much -- they're a glut on the market, for the most part.

But I don't collect 78s -- I have no interest at all because on a good day the fidelity isn't very good. There's a market for the stuff, but they're even more picky than I am. And that's saying a lot.
Click to expand...

Yep, that IS saying a lot!
Probably no jazz or blues in there. Well, if/when we ever move we'll deal with it, and if not, it'll be our kids' problem :rolleyes:
 
I have an old Sticky Fingers album, will have to drag it out to determine what shape it's in. I'm positive it no longer has the protective plastic wrap.
 
I was a DJ when Yesterday and Today was issued with the "butcher" cover. I recall our Capitol promo guy calling and instructing us to keep the record and return the cover or we would never get another free record again.

I have hundreds, and maybe a thousand, 45s tucked away. Unfortunately, it was a middle-of-the-road rather than rock station so I'm guessing there's not much value to old Sinatra and Tony Bennett singles. :shrug:
 
My albums are in a milk crate, out in the garage. My turntable is out there, too. I downloaded MP3s of everything I wanted over the years.
 
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