It helps that native file shops are among the many coolest locations on the planet to browse. Depending on the place you reside, there may be totally different native choices specializing in varied types of music or aesthetics. Be certain to examine the file to be certain that it’s flat and freed from scratches—until you are shopping for from a cut price bin.
Independent file shops are additionally a good way to purchase new releases, as they typically give increased cuts to smaller artists than greater shops do, particularly when you’re shopping for music from somebody native who can drop off information on consignment.
Discogs is a combination between a private catalog of your individual file assortment and a market to buy hard-to-find information from others. Prices can typically be excessive for super-rare vinyl, however it is a good place to browse to get an thought of the relative costs of releases you are in search of.
With greater than 600,000 contributors since its inception in 2000, Discogs is definitely the most well-liked place on the web for vinyl collectors to showcase their catalogs (and promote helpful objects) to others. The database on the location consists of over 15 million releases, spanning 8 million artists and 1.7 million labels (!). Needless to say, if you cannot discover it right here, it is fairly darn uncommon. Discogs additionally sells CDs, cassettes, and different musical media (although it sells largely vinyl).
Experience Vinyl is a file membership with out the effort of a month-to-month membership. The firm presses fascinating and uncommon releases each month, however you are beneath no obligation to purchase them. These embrace a 500-disc restricted version of Eliott Smith’s From a Basement on the Hill, a blue urgent of Leon Russell’s self-titled LP, and a pink vinyl urgent of Sly & the Family Stone’s Fresh. Prices vary from $25 to tons of, relying on what you are shopping for.
Looking for cool and obscure information? Check out Dusty Groove, a Chicago-based retailer that was one of many first to promote vinyl on-line, promoting its first information in April 1996. Dusty Groove looks like an area file retailer on the web, as a result of that is primarily what it’s. Each day, tons of information are added to the homepage, together with a number of the greatest descriptions you may ever learn on a purchasing web site—making it instantly clear that it is a retailer for music lovers by music lovers.
EIL seems prefer it hasn’t been up to date for the reason that early 2000s, however the uncommon vinyl market remains to be the one place you may discover some unique releases. With 250,000 totally different information in inventory, the UK-based outlet is a superb place to discover uncommon European music that will by no means have made it stateside. “Yes, we all know the design of our web site seems slightly bit dated to some, however others suppose its cool retro seems match the information we promote, and we focus our time on shopping for and promoting mint situation information, not design,” reads the EIL website.
The world’s most popular online auction site is a decent place to find rare records, though you’ll want to be specific in your search. Make sure you get photos of the record’s condition before you buy. I prefer buying from actual stores, or from private sellers on Discogs, but sometimes eBay is the only (or the cheapest) place you can find something.
The Secretly Group consists of famed indie labels Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans, which primarily implies that when you like a contemporary indie band, there’s a good shot they’re on the label. The firm’s month-to-month file membership prices $240 per yr (you may divide it into cheaper six- and three-month increments), and it grants you entry to limited-edition new releases from its artists. Angel Olsen’s Big Time is the June 2022 launch, in gorgeous pink and blue vinyl.
This is the web site for the most important unbiased file retailer on the planet, California’s Amoeba Music. It’s an awesome place to discover mainstream stuff you may’t purchase straight from the artist, and it permits you to store in a approach that offers a lower to an unbiased file retailer. They even have a fairly cool YouTube channel.
If you are in search of Western Classical music on vinyl, Presto Music is a superb place to begin. The web site has tons of of choices spanning a number of eras and types, with every part from solo performances to full orchestras, operas, and soundtracks.
Those attempting to find fashionable obscurities and artwork music will admire this small digital retailer, which shares limited-edition releases from hand-selected musicians across the globe. You at all times get free MP3s together with your information. It’s a pleasant place to hear every part from jazz to digital and instrumental people music, the kind of web site Radiohead’s Thom Yorke likes.
