Why Vinyl is Better?

Every one of us collects vinyl records for some specific reasons. Today, I’m going to tell you the five reasons why I buy records and why vinyl is better (for me). All of them are quite important and the fifth one is also a little… special.

Also, none of these 5 reasons is relevant to the quality of the sound of vinyl records compared to other formats.

I believe that the promotion part of records that was based on their high quality of sound was wrong, firstly because this is true for only a small percentage of records and secondly because there are much more important reasons why vinyl records are greater, on which their whole promotion could be based on.

So, today I will tell you the 5 most  important reasons that push me to collect records and that in my opinion push almost every collector in the world to retain this incredible hobby.

Love for the artist and the music genre

The first reason is that I like some artists and genres of music. Buying a vinyl record or a CD if there is no vinyl record, somehow connects me to the artist.

I listen to almost all genres of music. From Rock and Metal to Jazz and Latin. From Folk and Country to traditional Chinese and Indian music, which by the way are spectacular.

However, 90% of the records I buy are by rock and metal bands and that is because that is the kind of music that I have been mentally connected to since my teenage years.

I know the history of many bands, I have seen many of these bands play live, I have listened to their music for countless hours, so there is a “bond”.

So, this relationship of mine with the artist is “sealed”, on my part, with the purchase of their album. I usually buy this album in vinyl, since I prefer it as a listening experience and that is also the second reason.

The Listening Experience

The listening experience of a vinyl record, for many of us, is far superior to any other. Sitting in your armchair and spending a few hours with your favorite vinyl records is very soothing and mentally relaxing. Listening to a vinyl record requires your active participation.

You don’t just press a button and the music starts playing. You have to take the record off the inner sleeve, clean it with the vinyl cleaning brush, put it on the turntable, read the information that is included in the record while listening to it, pay attention to the pictures on the back cover or the details on the cover.

If the album is old, for example, if it is a Led Zeppelin album, you may want to make a big musical leap into the ’70s. From there, you may want to listen to similar music choosing a Rainbow album or something else from the same era.

Does this remind you of anything? The process of listening to records is often unpredictable. You start and you don’t know where you will end up. And that has a special magic to it.

The Artwork

The third reason that is related to the previous one is the artwork. John Lyndon has said that the cover plays a very significant role in the whole experience. For rock and especially for metal, the visual art of the cover would give the buyer an idea of what kind of music the album might contain.

And that was very important, especially in a time when it was quite hard to listen to an album before buying it. In the ’70s and ’80s, many vinyl records were bought because of their cover.

The cover was the first contact with the proposed buyer and it had to somehow reflect the music of the album and attract the listener to buy it even for the cover.

There are many album covers that you can observe and review for hours to find dozens of references and inside jokes of the band. One such example is Somewhere In Time by Iron Maiden.

The illustrator, Derek Riggs, who designed it spent three months on it. The covers of vinyl records are a very important part of the vinyl culture with many fans and researchers.

It’s a collectible item

The fourth reason is that the record I buy is an unintentional financial investment. Buying digital music is a waste of money for me and I have never done it. And that is why you are buying something that has no value.

Listening to music on streaming platforms like Spotify is a little better since you have access to millions of albums, which you can listen to with a few clicks, for much less money.

Of course, I use Spotify but only to look for new music or to have something to listen to in the background while I’m doing other things.

However, vinyl records and especially the ones released currently, will not lose their value.

Many of them will multiply it in the next 10 years. If you take care of the records you buy, you will always have an asset that you will be able to liquidate at any time for money you may need.

I know that some of you are against this idea, but you never know what could happen. As long as vinyl records are on-demand, their value will always increase. And we are not going to live forever. We should never forget that.

Τhe sound of the “Touch”!!

And the fifth and special reason why I like vinyl records is my “addiction” to a particular part of the listening process of the record . The sweet sound of the needle touching the record before the music starts.

I think that those of you who know what I’m talking about, you can understand exactly what I mean. This is the starting of the great ritual!!

Every vinyl records collector has his or her own reasons why he or she buys and listens to vinyl records. In the comments, please let me know about the reasons that push you towards vinyl records. I would love to know.

Yannis

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