u/SeaworthinessBig4586

I've been collecting records since about 2002, when vinyl was basically dead. New records were pretty much nowhere to be found, so if you wanted to buy records you went digging through second-hand shops.

And I mean digging. Dusty boxes, cramped shops, records covered in years of grime, completely random stuff. You could spend hours going through them and genuinely have no idea what you'd come across.

I'd walk to school and save my bus fare to buy records. I'd go into shops with a few quid in my pocket and come out with a stack of stuff I'd never even heard of. Over the years you inevitably build up this weird mental database of labels, artists, musicians, producers, catalogue numbers etc. You start recognising things just from the label or the sleeve, or the guy that played the drums (shoutout to Jeff Porcaro, Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd).

Nobody would tell you what you should like or buy. You would just grab what looked cool and your taste would develop naturally from that.

Walking into a modern record shop doesn't give me that feeling at all. Everything is so clean, glossy and curated. You know exactly what you're looking at, and a lot of it is surrounded by this whole world of limited editions, coloured vinyl, exclusive pressings and FOMO marketing.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with any of that. I'm glad vinyl has come back because it means keeps the hobby alive. It's just that for me, buying a brand new record feels more like buying a product. And finding a great record buried in a box of old shit feels like finding treasure.

My favourite shop is still going strong from when I was a kid which is incredible considering the amount of others that have come and gone. It's also a total mess and you can barely get in the door if more than 3 people are in there 😂 but for people like me these places are special

You can spend an hour digging through a box and suddenly pull out something you've been looking for for 20 years, or something you've never even heard of that turns out to be amazing

Not necessarily owning something rare or expensive. Just the feeling that you've found something that's personal to you