Vinyl Record Collection In 2024: 9 Things To Know Before Starting

Vinyls have made a solid comeback and surpassed CD sales in 2023. However, for me, the craze of vinyl records has never faded.

If you are thinking of reliving the glory of analog music and want to start a vinyl record collection journey, but you may often hear from people that, you need to invest a lot in a good turntable, records, and storage. Don’t listen to them, you can start with small budget by following this guide:

1. Motive of Collecting Vinyl Records 

I started collecting vinyl records because I like analog music and I enjoy their warm sound. First, you must identify the reason behind pursuing your vinyl hobby, such as collecting, listening, or trading.

Identifying your purpose helps guide your choices and makes the hobby more fun.

2. Make a List 

When you’re starting your vinyl journey, there’s a simple tip: Make a list of your top 20 or 50 albums that you’ve listened to over the years and never get tired of, otherwise pick a favorite genre that you like the most.

This way, you can stick to your list and it keeps the process fun and not cumbersome. You will feel a different thrill when you find the record you always wanted. This way, you can also avoid buying random albums that you may not even play in future.

3. Where to Buy Vinyl Records

After preparing a list, the local record shops are a great way to start searching for these records. I found some of these store owners very knowledgeable and they helped me to distinguish between good and crap in my vinyl collection journey.

Identify good local shops in your locality and start visiting regularly, you will learn more about the intricacies of vinyl records than searching for them online. Also, it is a great way to meet other vinyl lovers.

4. Engage with Communities

There are a lot of social media groups on facebook and reddit of vinyl enthusiasts, you can join to interact with them. Also every year, Record Store Day is held in April to celebrate record shops, and many exclusive and rare records are also launched, many local shops participate in the event, so you need to search for those shops in your city and be a part of the event, also refer to their website to know more. Discogs is also a great resource where you can keep track of your collection, its value, and even trade collection.

5. Understand the Grading

The vinyl records are graded based on their condition from ‘Mint’ to ‘Poor’ and in between there are different grading parameters. ‘Mint’ is the best and has not been played ever and ‘Poor’ is full of issues like record skip, warp, and sound distortion.

Also, knowing type of record pressing, year of pressing, and variation in audio quality based on these factors will help you to distinguish between genuine and bootleg records.

6. Set the budget

When you go to a record store for the first time, you may easily be overwhelmed by seeing too many albums at one time and try to pick up every other record and spend more, and in the future, you will probably listen to a few of these records. To avoid this impulsive buying, set a monthly budget that you want to spend, and try to find records of your wish list.

7. Regular Cleaning of Records

Building a record collection requires a lot of effort and hard work. So, listen and appreciate your collection and take care of your records. Vinyl records are dust magnets that attract everything that moves freely in the air, so they get dirty easily and cause many problems like record skipping, sound distortion and stylus wear. Therefore, it is your responsibility to clean your records regularly with a good cleaning solution.

8. Storing the Collection

It is necessary to sort out the place where you will be storing records. The vinyl is prone to damage when exposed to extreme weather and temperature conditions. There are a few things you need to make sure before collecting records.

1. It should be kept in a room that is not exposed to sunlight and is a cool and dry place.
2. Always store your records in a vertical position.
3. Store the records in outer and inner sleeves to protect the record and its cover.

Check our detailed guide on storing records.

9. Things you need

The sole purpose of a vinyl record is to produce music when played. The things that are needed before starting to collect records are:

1. Turntable: To play and listen to the records. There are many good quality budget turntables are available in the market.
2. Crates & Shelves: Initially you can keep your records in wooden crates but as the collection grows, organizing them in shelves may be a better option.
3. Cleaning solution: To clean the records.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I can say that if you are fond of analog music then it is worth starting a record collection.

By following the tips in the article, you can start your journey even with a small budget and gradually grow your record collection.

It is always advisable not to buy everything, just stick to the rule, “Buy only what you listen”.

Some people collect records for investment purposes, and as vinyl has made a comeback, it can be traded for its appreciated value in the future.

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