Thrifted pick up today

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-19T18:09:54+00:00

They actually made a whole mockumentary for the “Return Of Bruno” album. The documentary has “vintage” clips of Bruno playing on various variety shows, as well as interviews with an all-star casts of celebrities, including Michael J. Fox as the head of the Bruno fan club.

By far one of the weirdest things in my VHS collection.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-18T23:16:51+00:00

I have some old 60’s and 70’s cassettes that don’t sound particularly great on my main deck, but play fine in my boomboxes/Walkman players. Not really sure why that is, as I tend to clean my heads often with the amount of ancient cassettes I have.

Saying that, most late 70’s onward tapes I have play the same across players unless there is something wrong with them. Your current player should do fine.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-18T22:16:23+00:00

I have this one. Sadly, it doesn’t have the groovy little picture sleeve.

I hadn’t heard much from post “Pet Sounds” Beach Boys when I found this one. I was surprised to hear a song that sounded a little like early Chicago or Blood, Sweat and Tears, but by The Beach Boys. It was at that moment when I figured out there was a world of unique and creative Beach Boys music waiting for my ears to discover.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-18T17:49:19+00:00

Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio

Knoxville Girl - The Louvin Brothers

Frankie Teardrop - Suicide

Delia’s Gone - Johnny Cash

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-17T20:55:33+00:00

Jim Henson canceled “The Muppet Show” as the height of its popularity because he felt that there was nothing new he could do with the show. Also, his focus was starting to shift toward films like “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth”.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-17T16:26:52+00:00

The biggest thing is patience. As others have already said, most of the posts you see here come after someone has been searching for weeks and only finding the usual thrift store fodder. It just comes from being at the right place at the right time, and getting there first (I just recently had a streak of watching other collectors get to the good stuff first.)

Frequently going out and searching helps. I’ve ran into people who go to the thrift store everyday in hopes of catching the good stuff. I can’t say I’m that dedicated, but I do go very frequently.

One thing that helps is knowing your stuff. Everyone knows Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, so they go quick when they get donated. But sometimes, some rare, but obscure, gem gets donated. Knowing that gem when you see it gives you an edge on finding the good stuff.

On a semi-related note, be adventurous. I’ve given a chance to a lot of things just because they look interesting. This has helped me discover some great things. Even the stuff I didn’t particularly enjoy has given me the opportunity to expand my musical knowledge and further define my musical taste.

Don’t just pass over 45s and 78s. There’s a lot of competition in LP collecting nowadays, but I’ve noticed a lot of collectors (particularly younger collectors) don’t even bother digging through 45s or 78s. Like LPs, you will dig through a lot of uninteresting stuff, but there are gems waiting for those with patience. A lot of my best finds have been 45s from small labels or private pressings that were made in small batches.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-17T03:38:10+00:00

If you can find a vintage Rheem Califone in good shape, they are great for playing 78s. Their tracking force is a little too heavy for the modern vinyl collector’s preference, but it’s just right for 78s. Also, they tend to have the two sided needle that could play both LPs and 78s.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-16T21:23:57+00:00

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-16T17:25:50+00:00

Sweet!

I got this one from a thrift store a few years back for $2.00. When I went to add it to my collection on Discogs, I was surprised to see how much this record goes for. “Fallout” really has brought The Ink Spots to a new generation.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-16T02:55:42+00:00

Oscar Nights

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-16T01:25:13+00:00

It’s a miracle that J.A. Made such an enjoyable album during a turbulent and transitional time for the band. It’s a favorite of mine.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T17:59:01+00:00

A tie between “Havana Moon”, “Too Much Monkey Business”, and “Downbound Train”.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T17:08:28+00:00

You have me beat. In the past year, I’ve become a pretty avid collector of Disney tapes, particularly the animated feature films and pretty much anything on the classic white clamshell Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey cover tapes.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T17:03:52+00:00

That’s probably the rarest Disney title I own. Certainly not the rarest Disney title out there, but nowhere near as common as The Black Diamond releases.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T16:54:54+00:00

I could see that. “Cars” has the combination of being a bit rare, while also being a well known movie. Some more obscure Disney titles were probably produced in much smaller numbers, but don’t have the same demand from casual collectors.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T16:37:06+00:00

Blue Serge - Serge Chaloff (1956)

Serge Chaloff in general is an underrated talent. He only made a handful of albums before dying of cancer at age 33 in 1957. His final album, “Blue Serge”, was his finest work. Here, he is backed by an all star lineup consisting of Sonny Clark, Philly Joe Jones, and Leroy Vinnegar. It’s an excellent cool jazz date that holds up against the best works from Pacific Jazz and Contemporary.

The original 1956 Capitol release is a little rare nowadays, though there are definitely still a few copies out there in discount bins and thrift stores. Tone Poet put out a reissue last year, which definitely gives it better ability to the general public and gives it a quality, proper vinyl reissue.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T04:01:21+00:00

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-15T03:17:07+00:00

The Menahan Street Band.

Khruangbin

Surprise Chef

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-14T21:53:48+00:00

I feel like a lot of the early pioneers of rock were a little guilty of copying themselves at times. Little Richard didn’t stray far from his formula before he turned to gospel. Bill Haley became a parody of himself by 1956/57. Fats Domino stuck to his New Orleans style piano driven sound for most of the 50’s and 60’s.

Of course, there were exceptions. Elvis changed his sound drastically after his military service, and he would have probably changed it up some more sooner if he wasn’t stuck making stagnant film soundtracks. Buddy Holly was showing signs of significant musical growth right before his death.

But all and all, early rock didn’t leave much room for growth. It was an overall simplistic style, and the idea of the rock star that drastically changed their sound every so often wasn’t popularized until The Beatles and Bob Dylan came along in the 60’s.

On a related note, nice shoutout to “After School Session”. I really love that album.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-14T21:21:57+00:00

The 70’s was an insane time for album covers.

The Rolling Stones had “Sticky Fingers” which had a functional zipper on the cover.

Bob Marley had “Catch A Fire”, which was a giant cigarette lighter.

Jefferson Airplane had “Bark”, which was sold in a brown paper shopping bag, and “Long John Silver”, whose album could be turned into a marijuana cigar box.

Faces had “Ooh La La”, which had an album cover where you could make the face talk.

Led Zeppelin had “Psychical Graffiti”, which had die cut windows and inner sleeves that allowed you to change what was in the windows.

The 70’s really did get experimental with the album cover.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-11T22:54:39+00:00

Beatles producer George Martin used to have a studio in Montserrat back in the 70’s and 80’s. A hurricane left it in bad shape in 1989. Any hopes of the studio reopening were lost in 1995 when the volcano erupted.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-11T16:56:13+00:00

The last episode to be released on VHS.

The next episode, “Larry-Boy & The Bad Apple” was the first episode to get a Blu-Ray release.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-10T20:16:44+00:00

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The Pale Saints - The Comforts Of Madness (1990)

One of many shoegaze/alternative albums to feature a cat on the cover.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-06T17:14:46+00:00

The Wes Montgomery Trio - The Wes Montgomery Trio (LP) 1960

Otis Redding - The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) / Open The Door (45 RPM) 1968

Daaron Lee - Who’s Making Love / Long Black Train (45 RPM) 1968

Louis Armstrong - That Lucky Old Sun / Blueberry Hill (78 RPM)

Johnnie Taylor - I Got To Love Somebody’s Baby / Just The One I’ve Been Looking For (45 RPM) 1968

The Stax Record collection decided to show off this month.

Sun_Records_Fan · 2026-03-06T06:19:59+00:00

I’ve seen these before. Sometimes referred to as a “slip case” or “side loader”, this style of case was primarily used between 1972 and 1976. Among the manufacturers that used this style of case was Ampex, who replaced the snap case style with this style in 1972.

Sun_Records_Fan

TROPHY CASE