Vinyl records make a comeback
Kathryn Beck
Vinyl records are still alive even in 2013. While they may not be the most popular choice of many music fans today, records have managed to stay around year after year.
Today, local and independent record shops are a gold mine for people looking to find unique records.
Stinkweeds owner, Kimber Lanning, said that the store carries and sells a wide range of genres from rock to reggae.
“We sell a little bit of everything. Anything goes and the records we sell are both new and old,” Lanning said.
In recent years, vinyl record sales have been increasing in the United States.
According to Nielsen Soundscan, in 2012 there were 4.6 million unites of LP records sold in the US, an increase of 17.7 percent from 2011.
With the rise of digital music and people downloading from sites such as iTunes, records offer listeners something different from what is already out there.
CGCC music instructor Randy Wright said that when listening to vinyl records it is very different from listening to a CD.
“Vinyl sound reproduction has a warmer, more human sound.The CD sound was harder, colder and more sterile than records,” said Wright.
Part of what makes vinyl records unique is the overall quality that one can hear in the recording compared to listening to a downloaded song or a track off a CD.
Lanning said that the experience of buying it is different.
“People enjoy the experience in the record store and being able to search for that one record they have been looking for and unwrapping it,” said Lanning.
Valley record stores, including Stinkweeds and Revolver Records in Phoenix allow people to sell their vinyl records continuing to generate more opportunities for music fans of all ages to find records for any musical taste.
In addition to the quality of sound, that one gets with vinyl records; the album covers are more than just the sleeves the records come in.
“Many records had easy-to-read lyrics on the inner sleeve inside the record’s cover and would often promote other artists by that same company,” said Wright.
While downloading music has become more common, record sales could possibly see a growth in the future.
Both Wright and Lanning believe that people continue to purchase records due to the quality of the recording and nostalgia.
