I am just wondering where everyone finds their vinyl. I have been using Music Stack and Amazon to buy albums with varying levels of success. I am wide open though to new places.
Ive had very good luck on Ebay,but you have to do a little research concerning who you buy from.Read their feedback,ask questions.Im guessing that you have checked on if you have any sellers nearby your place.I found a guy that has thousands of LPs for sale 10 miles from me on ebay,another couple sellers about 25 miles.Theres also some sort of vinyl get together that happens every year near me that has many sellers(have not been to it yet).Thrift stores are a hit and miss,have to go thru a lot of junk,,,but every now and then you find some great stuff!
The BEST and the LARGEST vinyl catalog is gemm.com where you can find anything. There are mega vinyl dealers across the Globe that would have sufficient enough collection for you to combine on shipping and save money vs. ebay. I'd still prefer buying vinyls LOCALLY only. If you have a vinyl shop within $10 worth of gas distance, it'll be most of the time better vs. online.
Loran Records, an online company...google it. They only sell NM or mint and I have had great success with them. Now I've revealed a very good source.(disclaimer...no affiliation).
Thanks guys, I am always looking for new places to get my fix. We have a great record shop that isn't to far away from my house. Tom's Music Trade in Red Lion is a great shop to pick up used records but he also has a small assortment of new vinyl as well. For those that like CDs he has a pretty good assortment of those as well.
This website has been a good source of local record fairs for me:
http://www.vinyltimes.com/record-shows.htm
Best of luck, the joy of browsing through the stacks awaits! I must say, I too have purchase online due to convenience, but the sheer joy of the find in a store is worth the trips to your local vinyl haunts.
I buy alot of stuff at Thrift stores,garage sales,Estate sales Charity Oranizations(Salvation Army,Goodwill etc.)There is no better place to get classical music,in the past two years i have found Most of The Everest Record titles that Classic Records released. Classic records was getting 30.00 a pop,I was paying 1-3 dollars for original pressings in mint to mint - condition. These were recorded on 35mm tape and they sound spacious and lush. Look for recordings by Everest from 1959 t0 6o,after that the recordings started to go down hill.
Dusty Groove America (Google it). Their VG-rated LPs have been VERY GOOD, despite what you usually see with this rating. Get on their list and receive weekly notice of their offerings, which include detailed descriptions of the music. No good for classical, but terrific for jazz.
This is more about which labels to buy rather than where to buy. Plenty of good places have already been suggested. I've found that new re-releases by Speakers Corner Records to be superb. They use pure analogue processing and the result can be very rewarding. Stay away from Friday Music releases because the sound has been fiddled with and sonics removed. I've compared the same album by Speakers Corner and Friday Music and Speakers corner is far better.
Rockpig...while I agree with you that the Speakers Corner LPs are excellent, so are most of the Friday Music re-issues. I have 60-70 reissues from Friday Music and for the most part, find them to be very good.
Mofimadness... I had purchased many Friday Music LPs and also thought they were very good. However, I was able to do a direct comparison of Doobie Brothers "The Captain and Me" on Friday Music LP, Speakers Corner LP and Mofi SACD. The Friday Music version sounds dead when compared to the Speakers Corner. The Mofi SACD rated better than the Friday Music LP but the overall winner is Speakers Corner. The difference is huge and I just felt so robbed with the Friday Music version.
Rockpig...I saw your other thread about the "Captain and Me" reissue. That's just one reissue from Friday Music. You make it sound like "all" their reissues are bad and that's just NOT the case.
Mofimadness... I'm interested, so what Friday Music LPs have you done comparisons with to prove that any of their other LPs are good or better than other versions? If there is an album I really like then I try to find the best sounding version of it. I have Robin Trower "Bridge of Sighs" on Friday Music and it sounds pretty good (nothing to compare it to). I've managed to track down a first issue original version and it is on it's way to me now. I am very interested to see how the FM version stacks up against the 1st issue version.
Mofimadness... What have you based your assessment on? Please give examples of what you have compared the Friday Music LPs to. I've several FM LPs and one is Robin Trower "Bridge of Sighs" which sounds nice. I've found an original 1st pressing which I have ordered to see how it compares to the FM version.
Just wanted to chime in about Amazon . I recently purchased 10 lp's from them and had problems with two of them . In both instances my problem was handled quickly and to my satisfaction . This involved two different vendors and absolutely no hassle what so ever ! Just a real great experience from Dean's Golden Collectables and 8arms2holdu via Amazon.com .
8 sellers reviewed here. Acoustic Sounds is the seller I currently order the most from. I'm in Australia and have ordered heaps of LPs from various sellers in the USA and 1 in the UK.
Acoustic Sounds has consistently been very good. Ordered many times and they usually ship within a few days. The packaging is extremely sturdy and freight cost is reasonable. Huge range!
Audiophile USA. I recently did my first order with them. Dispatch was very prompt and the 2 used records were like new. Prices were very reasonable as well. But info about the records is rather limited.
Sound Stage Direct have a good website with the best search facilities making it extremely easy to find what you are looking for. But dispatch can take 1 to 2 weeks because they don't seem to have all stock on hand. I stopped buying from them because I got many warped records in a large shipment. The 2nd batch was supposed to have been checked for warps prior to shipping but, but many of those were also warped. They were extremely nice to deal with and gave me refunds on all the warped records and I did not have to return them. If it wasn't for the warping I would still be buying from them.
Elusive Disc. I've ordered a few times from them and service has been great. Shipping is a little dearer but the service is prompt and the packaging is exceptional. Box within another box packed with beads. So protects from heat and impact extremely well.
Amazon has limited selection but for the odd single purchase the shipping costs are cheaper than the other sellers I mentioned. Did get one warped LP from them and arranged to return for replacement but they changed their mind and sent me a replacement and said I could keep the warped record.
Music Direct. No complains with their service but the way their online shop is designed makes finding what you want very difficult.
Chesky. AVOID! A few years ago I attempted to order from them. Paid money and the order never arrived. Making contact with them was extremely difficult but they said they would send another lot. That never arrived either. So after several months tracked down a phone number and called to complain and they finally refunded the payment.
System Records in the UK. AVOID!Very slow to respond and very slow to dispatch orders. Order arrived damaged due to poor packaging and only gave me a few bucks refund for the damage. This guy has no idea about customer service.
Hi guys, I am enjoying your posts as to good places to buy vinyl and I have actually used a few of them. I have also steered clear of others based on reviews of their service. I wanted to chime in that I have purchased several records from Music Stack and have had good luck there. Obviously nothing compares to going into our local shop and picking up a record but lets face it, sometimes local shops just don't have what we are looking for. Thanks again for the great new ideas.
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