- Mar 29, 2025
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Came here via the What Hi-Fi article asking why we buy vinyl and got a little carried away trying to answer that question.
Thought I'd post it here rather than in the comments as I may have gotten a little carried away, anyway:
Growing up in the 80’s my Dad had a plethora of Hi-Fi equipment, from reel to reel tape to massive Yamaha amps and speakers bigger than me.
But the record player was always the temptation. At just the right height for six year old me to reach, the reel to reel was on top of a cabinet and well out of reach, and the sleeves the vinyl came in were bright with interesting artwork a developing mind gets fascinated with.
And then there was the ultimate temptation about it, forbidden fruit. My Dad, never one to share his toys especially with a child, forbade me from ever touching “his” record player, not to mention the precious vinyl themselves.
As I grew up I was allowed my own cassette players and eventually bought my first CD player in my early teens. But I always found my gaze drifting to the vinyl still to be found in the local HMV in the early 90’s.
Even by the time I went to university in the late 90’s I’d still find myself looking wistfully at the vinyl racks to sound of my then girlfriend exclaiming ”but you don’t even have a record player”.
We all know what happened next, CD’s and tapes gave way to MP3 downloads, first illegal then iTunes and others, and then streaming arrived and for a while looked like music on physical media would be just a memory.
I’d still buy What Hi-Fi, but in those days more for the latest flat screen TV or Blu-Ray player. Yet every issue I’d still see a review for a new stereo amp with phono stage or occasionally a turntable itself. Those wistful glances would return and I’d start to wonder if I could find the room for a turntable, amp and speakers?
Instead I ended up in a long term relationship with someone who barely listened to music and would never entertain the idea of listening to my music. Not the best choice for someone who chronicled their life by what music they were listening to during a certain period.
So once that relationship was over, the very first bonus I received was spent on a turntable, amp and speakers. Plus a few choice records that took me back to those days when listening to music was the most important thing in the world.
Three years later my collection is a little over a hundred and fifty records big, my six year old daughter has her own mini collection of Taylor Swift and Bluey records. And yes, she gets shown how to play them and look after them without mystifying them.
I collect them for so many reasons these days, copies of the music that takes me back to when I discovered music for myself for the first time, back to university, to the year spent travelling abroad and also to discover music from those times when life just got in the way of sitting and listening to great new album.
They’re not just records of music, they’re records of our lives. the times we grew up in, the times we lived through and times we’re living through here and now.
I have every intention of continuing to chronicle my life and times through collecting vinyl.
Thought I'd post it here rather than in the comments as I may have gotten a little carried away, anyway:
Growing up in the 80’s my Dad had a plethora of Hi-Fi equipment, from reel to reel tape to massive Yamaha amps and speakers bigger than me.
But the record player was always the temptation. At just the right height for six year old me to reach, the reel to reel was on top of a cabinet and well out of reach, and the sleeves the vinyl came in were bright with interesting artwork a developing mind gets fascinated with.
And then there was the ultimate temptation about it, forbidden fruit. My Dad, never one to share his toys especially with a child, forbade me from ever touching “his” record player, not to mention the precious vinyl themselves.
As I grew up I was allowed my own cassette players and eventually bought my first CD player in my early teens. But I always found my gaze drifting to the vinyl still to be found in the local HMV in the early 90’s.
Even by the time I went to university in the late 90’s I’d still find myself looking wistfully at the vinyl racks to sound of my then girlfriend exclaiming ”but you don’t even have a record player”.
We all know what happened next, CD’s and tapes gave way to MP3 downloads, first illegal then iTunes and others, and then streaming arrived and for a while looked like music on physical media would be just a memory.
I’d still buy What Hi-Fi, but in those days more for the latest flat screen TV or Blu-Ray player. Yet every issue I’d still see a review for a new stereo amp with phono stage or occasionally a turntable itself. Those wistful glances would return and I’d start to wonder if I could find the room for a turntable, amp and speakers?
Instead I ended up in a long term relationship with someone who barely listened to music and would never entertain the idea of listening to my music. Not the best choice for someone who chronicled their life by what music they were listening to during a certain period.
So once that relationship was over, the very first bonus I received was spent on a turntable, amp and speakers. Plus a few choice records that took me back to those days when listening to music was the most important thing in the world.
Three years later my collection is a little over a hundred and fifty records big, my six year old daughter has her own mini collection of Taylor Swift and Bluey records. And yes, she gets shown how to play them and look after them without mystifying them.
I collect them for so many reasons these days, copies of the music that takes me back to when I discovered music for myself for the first time, back to university, to the year spent travelling abroad and also to discover music from those times when life just got in the way of sitting and listening to great new album.
They’re not just records of music, they’re records of our lives. the times we grew up in, the times we lived through and times we’re living through here and now.
I have every intention of continuing to chronicle my life and times through collecting vinyl.
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