[csb]
When I became a real music fan, back in my early teens, it was the early 80s, and the beginning of the cassette era. I had a small handful of 7" vinyl singles from the late 70s, but I didn't really get into vinyl until later in the decade, at the height of the 12" remix single era. Still, I bought the majority of my stuff on cassette during that decade, as the only turntable I had until college was a little kiddie-style record player.
I scooped up most of my vinyl during and especially after college, when I could better afford it. This was during the early to mid 90s; there was a popular local record store (Better Days Records in Louisville, KY) that catered to club DJs, and it had an excellent stock of older 12" singles too.
So, all in all, I have a nice little smattering of vinyl: 80s-era remix singles, Eurodance, techno, and DJ remix service compilations. Little is the operative word here. I'd number the releases in my collection at approximately 200-250; they fit in four "milk crate" containers with room to spare. I've seen pictures here on MR of vinyl collections in the thousands.
I've repurchased many of these selections in digital format, either CD or online, for the convenience. I've never had high-end turntable equipment, and haven't taken the best care with some of these. However, I still keep them around for the nostalgia factor, especially since some in my collection are in interesting/rare form factors:
- a Men Without Hats' "Rhythm Of Youth" picture disc,
- Skinny Puppy's "Testure" in translucent red,
- the ultra-rare (less than 100 made) promo-only 12" single of Howard Jones's "Pearl In The Shell,"
- several original Plus 8 releases with cryptic messages etched between the grooves,
- and a couple of rare Razormaid DJ compilations.
- Oh, and arguably the most complete vinyl collection in the state of Kentucky of the Italo-disco/Hi-NRG band Fun Fun. (...Because it has a good beat and is easy to dance to, that's why!)
The aforementioned record store closed a number of years ago, so it's unlikely that I'll purchase any more vinyl. Most of the artists that I listen to nowadays release only in digital.
[/csb]