New Vs. Used Vinyl

“Y’all got any used vinyl?”

We get this question all the time, and while we love digging through the used bins at our favorite out of town record shops, the days of stumbling upon quality used vinyl and rare gems are few and far between. Sure they still exist, but often you wind up paying a premium for an original pressing only to discover it hisses and pops once you get to spinning it (not to mention the damage it will do to your stylus).

There’s no denying vinyl is back, and arguably more popular than ever. It's super easy to find out what Mom’s old Neil Young records are worth with websites like Discogs or AudioKarma (even a simple Google search). Because of this, we have noticed the “dollar bins” are usually filled with just that. Records that are worth a dollar (we are looking at you Bette Midler!).

There are always exceptions, but from my experience, as long as you don’t buy cheap Portuguese imports, the modern repressing is fresh and sound just as good, if not better than that crunchy original pressing. I’m not saying don’t buy that original “Led Zeppelin IV” you found in a thrift store for $5, but the new one sounds like John Bonham is in your stairwell pulverizing his Ludwig’s instead of a cackling fireplace.

Additionally, buying new vinyl is a great way to support your favorite artist, and many include a free digital download. But hey, keep digging, and if you find any mislabeled Blue Note jazz albums from the 50’s and 60’s let me know, I’ll give you $5 bucks for it!