Brag About Your Vinyl Collection

Tad - 8 Way Santa.  Unopened with the original cover.

Yes, when I started buying it was £2.50 for an LP, and the same for a bottle of Scotch (though I was not old enough to waste my money on that then).

Funny, when I bought my copy new in ’73, then as a young lad, the hype was that this album was going to be ultra rare as they were only pressing a very small number. I bought the album, played it a couple of times, thought the music was pretty sub-par and let it go into my collection ( I still own it today). My copy is Mint (as it was played maybe five times over the years!). Now we see Virgin essentially lied about the release numbers ( appx 60K!) and pushed the album onto young unexpecting folk. One funny instance though, several years back i took this record to a show- wherein they were looking for the worst music on record...and it WON!

Oddly enough, I don’t remember paying 49p for it...although I do remember paying the large sum of Two pounds fifty for the OG Black Sabbath albums I bought back then....seemed like a king’s ransom at the time!

It's all here:

And here's what she did to the original inner sleeve:

If you enlarge that you might be able to read the articles. Musically, it's not quite my cup of tea, but certainly listenable.

@dogberry  tell us more about the Faust tapes. I have heard it was ultra rare, but seems to pop up from time to time.

The Faust Tapes, sold in 1973 for 49p. My wife bought it, and in teenage fashion, she cut out all the articles she could find about Virgin's marketing gimmick and taped them to the inner sleeve.

Though I think my most expensive buy was Magna Carta's first, self-titled album for for €78. A wonderful early folk rock delight.

I have the best collection in the world.

I have the worst collection in the world. 😀

Led Zeppelin II, UK Plum, "Living Loving Wreck" misprint.  Paid $18 for it at a record store in Virginia Beach in 2003.

 

I have the best collection  in the world.

Thousands of LP's however it is the hundred or so autographed ones I really value from the experience of meeting the artists. 

Every original Beatles lps in mono and stereo all near mint, including sealed Yellow Submarine

Original Stones lps in mono

Beatles introducing, the 25 "ad back" on Vee jay NM

Mint peeled Butcher cover 

Alot of one hit wonders from the 60s on lp

AND "an evening with wild man Fischer" double lp on the Bizarre label

He was Frank Zappa's protege....took awhile to find that one NM

One man’s meat is another man’s grilled cheese sandwich.

I've been buying LPs (stereo mostly) since the mid-'60s. I'm not a completist or collector but among 17,000 records at one point, I had (and still have):

• about 45-50 original Vertigo Swirls, mostly UK, a few other countries;
• The Island pink label catalog for the most part, with multiple copies;
• a pretty nice collection of jazz, ranging from more obscure offerings on Strata-East to a fair number of private label recordings done during the "loft" scene in the '70s;
• All the standard rock warhorses, usually best pressings, but in many cases, I have easily a dozen pressings;
• with that "classic" rock category I would include numerous different Zep records; few of them were recorded well;
• I have thousands of classical records that I'm ashamed to don't listen to more: from an almost entire Lyrita and EMI ASD catalog and many Decca/Londons from England;
• lots of odd ball stuff, from a first pressing of Disgraceland by Elvis Hitler, to a a lot of rare stuff that you just cannot find on the market today.
• Most of the audiophile stuff- whether old MoFi, Direct to Disc from Sheffield goes unplayed, as do most other "demo" recordings. I have many. 

I dumped about 12,000 records before I left NY. In Texas, I brought around 5,000 and have selectively acquired various records since. My penchant for not buying is inflation in price and grading. I do have preferred suppliers, but they don't have some of the "one-offs."

Original Pressing - Pink Floyd - The Pulse.

This was purchased shortly after seeing the Concert Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Album remains unused, still in Cellophane and HMV Plastic Bag with the purchase receipt.

Similarly I have the original pressing of Roger Waters - Amused to Death.

Probably my most played Album since ownership and having tracks demo'd to many many with an interest in audio.   

Stones - Some Girls - Banned Cover…. 

The gong hit at the end never fails to have my new listener's jaws drop and eyes go agog.

 

100,000+ mint clasical. I live in the motherload of used vinyl

My sealed copy of MFSL's Ella and Louis again,managed to buy it from the factory just before they sold out. The rep at the time told me he wasn't sure if they any left but I got lucky.
Also my shaded dog scheherazade in a 10s/10s pressing and my four mint copies of shaded dog 'Gaite' in 1s/1s pressings. Three mint copies of LSC 2436 in 1s/1s pressings and my Stereo copy of 'Introducing the Beatles'- Vee Jay SR-1062.
Having collected LP's for over 25 years i also have my share of expensive mistakes..

I used to have a Banana Splits "floppy" vinyl 45 that you had to punch out of the back of a ceriel box, you had to put pennies on it to get it to play.

I have "Muhammad Ali fights Mr. Tooth decay", whith frank sinatra on it

I don't know whether it is someting to brag about, but I have Joao and Getz LP in near excellent condition with minimal play noise. I also have an SACD version. The SACD is quite close to LP on my system.
Also, I have Brahams Cello Sonata by Dupre and Barenboim in near mint condition.
Well, these two albums may not be that rare, but my two best collections from 500+ albums I have.

The Tull album with the pop-up is rare... to save money Chrysalis did not include it in subsequent re-issues. Poorly engineered recording however, even for the era.

All sorts of first pressings and the like.

Off the top of my head:

U2 Live Under a Blood Red Sky on red vinyl Australian Tour Edition signed by the band.
Original pressing of Velvet Underground on Verve records, unfortunately no banana!
A couple of Small Faces original pressings I bought recently - Autumn Stone and From the Beginning.
Many vinyl bootlegs of Pink Floyd.
Original pressing on Blue Thumb records with gatefold cover of Captain Beeheart's Strictly Personal.
Complete collection of the Australian Prog band Spectrum's albums.
An original mono pressing of Beatles Revolver and a mono of Sgt Pepper (bought for $2 as condition was described as "cactus" - after a clean it don't look great but it plays fine!).

All of the above, except the U2 as I have other copies, are played when the mood takes me.

I saw a copy of that Jethro Tull Stand Up with the paper cutout inside at a record fair last year, looked nice and wasn't cheap. Great album too.

95% of the EMI UK classical catalog, 80% of the Decca catalog, and a ton of Columbia, DG and Philips; mostly classical LPs,

then there are the 50s jazzz lps................

Miles Davis was not alone in objecting to having white faces only on his albums. There was a time when the record industry thought it wiser not to advertise the look of some of its artists. This happened with both jazz and pop artists. They felt it would hurt distribution and sales. Later in his career Miles Davis was quite specific in having black faces on his covers. Before you make harsh judgments you should have some knowledge of the overall situation and be able to put things in perspective.

Who the hell is this Miles "who" Davis guy anyway?Was he of any importance?I really don't know!
Veridian as always you floored me! funny dude.
Audiofeil you are a class act your self too.
Best to all
George

Pawlowsk6132

"Miles Davis was a racist A-Hole". Will you just settle for a black man with attitude who just happened to be one of the greatest musicians EVER? I didn't think so. You are entitled to believe whatever you want. I just wish you would share such views somewhere else.

Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, number 1415 of 20K.

Viridian: 2
Rest of world: 0

A week ago at Goodwill I picked up Miles Davis' "Miles Ahead," which wouldn't be that special except for the fact that it's the version with a white woman and her child on the cover in a sailing boat. According to the Wikipedia entry about it:

'Miles was reportedly unhappy about the album's original cover, which featured a photo of a young white woman aboard a sailboat. He made his displeasure known to Columbia executive George Avakian, asking, "Why'd you put that white bitch on there?" Avakian later stated that the question was made in jest.'

The cover really does look totally out of place for a Miles Davis album, as it was a cheap attempt to market his music to the emerging jazz tastes of the white up-and-comings.

I'm in FL this week and I found a Prestige RVG/DG white label promo copy of Red Garland with John Coltrane - of course I already UPS'd the records back to Pittsburgh and I can't think of the title - as well as Cal Tdjader at the Blackhawk on Fantasy red vinyl and a few other things at a place I found in Ft. Lauderdale. A good trip so far!

Mono and Stereo copies of the Butcher Album in very nice condition.

Thousands of first releases (mostly rock/jazz/blues) from 1961 to current.

I hope one of my kids gets interested fast.

I believe that I have most direct to disc lp's ever released to include the 45rpm's. One of these days, I think I'll catalog my collection. I'm sure I must have some disc's that are worth some bucks. I know I got a lotta of outta prints. My mother's best friend and my first tutor left me her collection of opera recordings. Thinking about all that I own and haven't listened to in years . . I'm startin to get excited! Thanks.

Have two copies of Amused To Death also. One still sealed. Original issues, not the new 180Gram reissues which I'm not even sure if they are legit. A few other of my PF vinyl rarities:

WYWH Nautalis Super Disc
A Saucerful of Secrets mint US first press
Final Cut Mastersound DM
PRos and Cons Mastersound DM
Rick Wright Wet Dream Mastersound 76

Have tons more floyd vinyl, but those are my standouts.

And for the ultimate in Analog Audiophile medium:

15ips 2 track Master Dub reels of The Final Cut which I obtained from the wife of a deceased employee of Columbaia Records.

A_L

I have two one-of-a-kind Lp's. Sheffield Direct-to-disk Lincoln Mayorga. One album is comprised of two side A's back to back, the other is two side B's. Don't ask me why I did it... it was 1973 and I was still in high school working at the pressing plant where they were made. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Guaranteed to be the only copies like this in the entire world. Also have a really cool "Tubular Bells" picture disk I'm really fond of. Clear vinyl is the ultimate in quietness, btw.

"How can the record Bad by Michael Jackson be rare. They made plenty of copies. Just because your friends don't have it doesn't make it rare."
'Cause most folks used them for skeet!

Roger Waters "Amused To Death", two copies, one never played. Original Decca "Espana", not the reissue. Doug Macleod's "Hard To Find", again, one opened, one put away. 8 different albums with R. Crumb designed covers, all in mint condition, all framed.

I don't know what's funnier the joke or the response:-)

Proudly displayed in my record room is a sealed 300gm UHQR of Alan Parsons "i Robot". Even the shrink wrap is mint condition. I also have an opened copy that I play once in a while - totally stunning sound!

Taters, you obviously haven't read many if Viridian's threads.

Taters, great point!!

How can the record Bad by Michael Jackson be rare. They made plenty of copies. Just because your friends don't have it doesn't make it rare.

John Klemmer - "Straight from the Heart" limited Direct to Disk, bought it when it first came out, fairly rare, fairly expensive now.
Many MOFI disks, some somewhat rare: (Steely Dan - Katy Lied, Earl Klugh - Late Night Guitar, Stefan Grappeli/Barney Kessel - I remember Django, Crusaders - Chain Reaction, Yes - Close to the Edge, CSNY Deja Vu and a few others)
How about these:
Jethro Tull - Stand up - original 1st UK Island label pressing with "stand up" paper cutout inside.
Jethro Tull - Benefit - original 1st pressing from Germany, rare Gatefold
Yes - Fragile - MINT UK 1st "plum" label pressing with booklet
Yes - The Yes Album - same as above
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound - very limited edition Virgin Vinyl Japanese pressing, from 1981.
Gentle Giant - some rare UK pressings: 1st album, Octopus, Three Friends, Glass House with special packaging.
King Crimson - Islands - original 1st UK pressing on Island label.
Traffic - John Barleycorn - original 1st pressing UK Island label, gatefold cover.
Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstacy, Pretzel Logic - all on 1st pressing ABC black label
Also Can't Buy a Thrill on yellow vinyl CAN pressing.
Beatles - White album, German DMM on white vinyl
Gong - Expresso - UK pressing with different cover - pretty rare.
UK (the band UK) - Night after Night (live) - rare Japanese gatefold with embossed cover.
Santana - Lotus - Holland pressing - this used to be really rare but now I see 'em on ebay all the time now.
Happy the Man - 3rd album very short run, immediately OOP
Tomita - The Bermuda Triangle - on Coral colored vinyl
I used to have the Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues on clear vinyl with the Robert Rauschinberg special package.. wish I hadn't got rid of it!
Lastly, bought an original early mono pressing of John Coltrane's Africa Brass on the street in Greenwich Village back in 1983. Memorable experience. Noisy vinyl.
Have I bored you all?

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I have a lot of original Blue Note, original Prestige and other jazz labels from the fifties and sixties. Periodically I go to Ebay to see what they are selling for just for the heck of it. I've seen a couple of them selling for $300-$400. I would never sell any of my vinyl for any reason. My only hope is that my 10 year-old son learns to appreciate this music and this music format one day. When I'm six feet under, I hope my vinyl remains in the family as an heirloom.

......probably won't happen though....my son can't wait to get an Ipod .....
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VG++/EX version of a Brooks True Blue that some lucky mgh get soon for $2K.But for pure "cool' is my original Jazz West copy of Lawrence Marables "Tenorman".Find the CD or Japan re-issue.Prices have just enraged me lately.I bought the Tenorman for $300 5 years ago.I saw it go for $1200recently.I have many Mosaic collections ( 3 volume 66 LP Commodore is probably mos important-bummer Cuscuna has gone all CD now) but iwht I had bought more before the huge run up in about 2003 when every Korea and German not on Ebay went into collecting just wish I had gotten some BN's and now $800for a Freddy Hubbard "Open Sesame" isn't worth it.One dealer said "Just wait till the Chinese get in on it".So than Gof there's Classic Records and Speakers Corner Etc.But I guess my 3K plus jazz Lp's are my pride and joy.Now I need to broaden to funk,soul and even country and classical I have heretofore ignored.
Chazzbo (the jazz-bo)

I have a Helen Sheilds 7 in. EP. A local Indianapolis Band, although noone in the band is named Helen Sheilds. Still looking for any Bitch Head stuff.

Neat thread. SOme of my favorite obscure albums include
Monk and Trane double record album
Blind Faith MOFI
Lost Gonzo band
Pousette Dart band (county line)
Cashman and West (a song or two)

Not all classics but some of my favorite obscure albums

I have a very obscure and rare Keith Jarrett album. Probably only 30,000 were made. In fact it's listed on A'gon right now. I'm willing to let it go for $20.00

;^)