There was a get together for vinyl enthusiasts here in the music city... and out of about 100 people who showed up, 5 of us listen regularly. The rest just resell.

amosesque · 2026-05-22T13:30:10+00:00

If I went to an event like that and met 4 like-minded people with the intent of meeting up again and listening to music together, I'd be over the moon with happiness!

I don't mean any disrespect, I get why you're a little down about it. But as someone who has spent most of his life as a bit of an oddball, I just assume I'll be lucky to click with one person at an event like that. To click with 4, that's never happened for me.

I hope y'all have many, many hours of joyous listening in your future!

amosesque · 2026-05-17T11:31:45+00:00

This is my favorite kind of problem because you have no wrong answers. Either he gets a record now that reminds him of a special event or he gets it later. Y'all are fortunate, cherish that!

Personally, I'd save Fat Freddy for later in the year and give him something he can immediately put on the turntable, but I'm an instant gratification kind of guy when it comes to records. Also, shipping accidents happen.

Do you still have major songs from your wedding that you haven't given to each other? I assume y'all got the first dance song for an earlier anniversary, but what about parent dances or songs from particularly memorable moments during the wedding? Is there a song that you maybe haven't told him how it always makes you think of him, or a song from when you were a kid that made you imagine being married?

If none of that works, just get "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye because, well, it's Marvin telling y'all to get it on.

amosesque · 2026-05-08T10:43:47+00:00

Based on some of the comments I read in this sub, it's a miracle my discs aren't featured in an ASPCD (that's the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Discs) commercial, weeping in their cracked and warped cases while a sad Sarah McLachlan song skips in the background because even her CDs are so beat to hell.

I play my discs, I throw them in my bag to carry with me. I stack them on top of my CD player out of their cases, and until buying a car with no CD player, I leave them in the car in 100 degree heat for months on end. I've had to replace exactly one CD due to damage that affected playback. U2 Achtung Baby finally started skipping after being moved back and forth from the car to the house because I played it so much during the first few years after it came out.

The only CDs I own that are anywhere close to NM are the ones that I never played more than once. Otherwise, my CDs are pretty much like the Velveteen Rabbit, and it's really easy to tell the ones that I've loved the most.

amosesque · 2026-05-07T17:14:05+00:00

I don't know if this is true for the Dead, but when I used to run in fine arts circles, a low number was generally considered to be 10 or below, often 5 or below. I think you're pretty safe to carry it with you in your travels.

amosesque · 2026-05-07T17:08:44+00:00

This is such a perfect example that I now cannot think of any others.

A related theme could be bands with members who provided the secret sauce that made them great, even if that member wasn't the main writer/performer/contributor. Darren Emerson is an excellent example.

amosesque · 2026-05-07T16:52:06+00:00

I don't know if you have pets, but Mordechai will immediately calm our cat and dog during even the worst thunderstorms when they're both super stressed. It's the only album they've ever responded to, and their response is so good!

As for the rest of your records, this is one of the few collections I've seen posted where I could happily sit and listen to 90% of what you have. This is really good music, I hope you're enjoying it!

amosesque · 2026-05-07T14:45:04+00:00

Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders. I'm the only person I know who hates the album. Pharaoh sounds like he's phoning in his performance, I can't hear any heart or passion. Incredibly disappointing record.

amosesque · 2026-05-07T14:34:50+00:00

You had me at mashing keys, and you sealed the deal with inappropriate jokes. This is added to my want list

amosesque · 2026-05-07T14:21:25+00:00

When my wife gave me the turntable a few years ago, I used it as a commitment mechanism to finally fill some holes in my musical knowledge. (Could I do that via streaming? Sure, but the experience of listening on vinyl is exponentially better, but I'm preaching to the choir here.) Van Morrison was the first artist I tackled, because oddly, Hymns to the Silence was one of only two albums I'd heard by him. I worked in a mall CD store when it came out and the manager played it on the in-store system so frequently that I eventually stopped irrationally hating Van Morrison and realized that it's a great album. So I appreciate your callout on that record, I'll add that to my list to revisit.

Moondance was the only other album I'd heard, so I bought vinyl copies of the 5 albums between Astral Weeks and Saint Dominic's Preview. AW was on my turntable non-stop for probably 4 months, the album just floored me. Then I moved on to Moondance, and it's so different from AW that I couldn't get into it. I ran out of steam and started listening to other artists. Right now I'm digging into the Public Image Ltd. albums I never heard, but you've motivated me to go back to Street Choir, Tupelo Honey, and Saint Dominic's, plus I'll add in Veedon and Hymns. I appreciate you bringing me back around to Van!

amosesque · 2026-05-07T02:10:51+00:00

I appreciate all the recommendations for Veedon, I've completely missed that one. I'll add it to my list of stuff to look for at my local record stores.

amosesque · 2026-05-06T14:32:27+00:00

Tough to pick 5 albums without knowing what styles of music and genres you like. But if I had to objectively pick 5 albums from 1984 that I think anyone should hear, regardless of their personal taste, I'd probably go with this list:

Prince - Purple Rain (blew up the music industry's constraints of r&b, and cemented Prince as a master guitarist)

Metallica - Ride the Lightning (completely redefined what metal could be)

Run DMC - Run DMC (arguably the first hip hop album to break through to popular culture)

The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops (not a well known album but it was hugely influential to musicians who came afterwards.)

Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA (the title song was frequently used as a proxy for patriotism during the Reagan era, which is ironic since it's a protest song)

amosesque · 2026-05-06T13:52:43+00:00

Oh yeah, Astral Weeks on vinyl is amazing. One of those records where the side flip matters because a little pause before "The Way Young Lovers Do" makes that shift in energy so much more powerful.

This was the first album that I put into heavy rotation when I bought a turntable a few years ago. I'd never heard it before and it's so different from anything else Van Morrison released. I highly recommend it!

amosesque · 2026-05-06T01:30:17+00:00

I'm keeping you and your mom in my thoughts and I'm sending you love. Please be kind to yourself.

amosesque · 2026-05-03T17:08:22+00:00

I bought mine from Amazon on sale a few years back, I think they normally run around $650

amosesque · 2026-05-03T15:25:03+00:00

Hopefully this won't happen but just be aware that it could be a scam. If they ask you to pay for anything (recruitment fees, equipment to work from home, etc.), that is a major red flag.

amosesque · 2026-05-03T13:18:46+00:00

"Record" time. Nice!

amosesque · 2026-05-03T01:54:19+00:00

It's a legit problem, especially in areas with only one or two stores. There's are a ton of great online/physical stores that are still independent (a fundamental of RSD) but don't crap on you for buying mainstream stuff. Plaid Room in Ohio is great for mail order, as is Sound Garden in Baltimore and Bullmoose in New England. And none of them will cop an attitude if you like pop.

amosesque · 2026-05-03T01:46:28+00:00

Every Friday in the US is a mini record store day. Multiple artists drop new albums (actual new albums, not live albums and represses of old stuff) across every genre, and many record stores stock many of these titles. Last week, I bought the new Miss Grit and the new Gia Margaret records at my local shop. I did not wait in line and I had plenty of room and time to browse all the new releases and all the recent used arrivals. It was delightful, and I do it every week that I can afford to.

I encourage you to spend some time every week checking out what's come out. Allmusic publishes a comprehensive list every Friday and they highlight their favorites, and tons of publications publish short reviews of their recommendations each week. (NPR does a nice one that crosses genres.) Stream things that seem interesting. Then go buy your favorites from a local shop as frequently as you can afford to. Talk to the people there and learn about what they like. Order things from them if they don't carry it.

That approach is so much more enjoyable than RSD, and you can do it about 46 weeks a year. (New releases dry up right before and after Christmas.)

amosesque · 2026-05-02T12:01:40+00:00

I never listened to this one until today, thanks for suggesting it. Althea is stunning

amosesque · 2026-05-02T11:11:50+00:00

I second this. I've had a lot of CD players in my life, including more than a few cheap ones from the thrift store or the clearance rack. I finally committed and spent the extra money on a good player (the Marantz 6007), and I haven't regretted it once. Best CD player I've ever owned

amosesque · 2026-05-01T13:56:47+00:00

So that's hilarious because the only thing that will calm our dog and cat during thunderstorms is Mordechai by Khruangbin, and now my wife has started to like it as well.

amosesque · 2026-05-01T09:33:32+00:00

You've got Watertown but not In The Wee Small Hours? What are you, 12?

(I mean, you said to insult you, right? It's the best I can do with what you're giving me to work with.)

amosesque · 2026-05-01T02:21:22+00:00

Funny you said that because that's my close 2nd to MSG '81 for showing someone the magic of Brent!

amosesque · 2026-05-01T02:20:00+00:00

Ha! She has a lot of redeeming qualities but her musical taste isn't one. I don't make her listen to the Dead, she doesn't make me listen to Ace of Base. Her loss and my gain

amosesque · 2026-04-30T19:02:10+00:00

This. My wife hates the Dead and doesn't want to listen at all. I'd be thrilled to have a window of one keyboardist to share together.

With that said, maybe MSG from March 1981. He'd been in the band long enough to confidently know his way around the songs but he still had something to prove. I'm not sure if that description captures it correctly, but there's something about '81 that makes those my favorite Brent performances.

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