A large dose of nostalgia is at the very heart of the recent comeback of vinyl records. This comes after a period of many years of excessive digital downloading which eventually led to the streaming on music. Your favourite artists and groups can now be listened to both digitally or by analogue means which is, for many, the way it was intended and conceived all those years ago. The digitisation of music has clearly not deterred people from returning to the vinyl format once adored by the mases.
With scores of people at home with time to spare, obtaining a piece of vinyl can be a pleasant pastime. It has also provided a new hobby for many people. This is evident in the increasing number of vinyl records purchased by consumers over the past 10 years.
Vinyl originally suffered a downturn at the hands of digitisation and the fast advances in technology. It was first surpassed by the CD format which was then quickly followed by the downloading and streaming of music. Many record stores were a casualty of this and were forced to close doors. Now with the ongoing renaissance of vinyl, a lot of new record shops are starting to emerge once again.
Record sales have risen significantly with interest in both new and classic titles. When searching for second-hand or used vinyl records it is important to assess them for condition issues prior to making a purchase. You should look out for scratches, warps or damage to the sleeve, cover or insert. New records should be in mint condition. The majority of new releases are pressed of high quality vinyl and come sealed and should in perfect condition. Some vinyl collectors even prefer to keep them sealed which helps to retain their value in the future.
Online can be a good place to start when hunting for vinyl records. Many records can now be brought on the internet. This can be easily done at home using your computer, laptop or mobile device. The sheer number of collectable records listed online provides a real treasure trove of vinyl titles for you to search through. There is a great selection of hard-to-find LPs, 12” and 7” singles up for grabs. You can look through a wide variety different genres of music including Pop, Rock, Reggae and Soul to name a few.
The feel of owning a vinyl record cannot be underestimated. The beautiful enriched sound quality of the music and the sleeve with its stunning artwork rank much higher than a boring digital stream. A lot of record sleeves include a lyric sheet. The lyrics can also be found of the back of the sleeve alongside the liner notes. These liner or sleeve notes, as they are also known, are a source of information about the contents of the recording and additional topics of relevance. It's great to sit and listen to quality music and follow the lyrics from some brilliant songwriters. Double albums usually come in a gatefold sleeve which opens out to display the lyrics and information about the artist or group. All this valuable information is missed with downloads or streamed music.
Planet Earth Records stock a wide range of vinyl records from the early days to the present from all genres of musical taste.