What No One Tells You About Crate Digging - Vinyl Affinity or Addiction

Great to find these dear ladies at A1 Records

Some of us have been there. You walk into a shop with the best of intentions of sticking to your shopping list. You may ask a few questions to whoever is on shift.  

Surely, you've made a great impression by consistently buying some merch and perhaps being your cool audiophile friendly self.  They'd know about certain records you're vying for and they'll go the extra mile to see if they have it.  Sometimes you're lucky enough to leave with what you were searching for.  Nonetheless, you go in with the mission at hand and success is on your side. I'm not overly stuck on the 'debate' if store digging is better than going online and searching for what you want 'easily'.  I have done both if it's something extremely important for me to secure in my possession.  But its also a great feeling to actually find the record, preferably in mint condition that you were searching for in that 'organic', get your hands dirty kind of digging.

Keep digging through  at Human Head Records

Then the other times... Oh man, the other times [lol]... You find yourself looking through one, then two, then a few more crates. 
The shopkeep tells you, "oh yea we just got a few new things in." It happens to be some of the stuff that's on your secondary list [lol]. The crates are warm and welcoming like a grandma's hug.  You may decide to saddle up to one of the listening stations. Checking over the handfull of records you dug out of their crowded home. After the eye and ear of scrutiny, you end up leaving with a few more pieces than what you intended. They say the road to hell is paved with intentions. I can admit, a few times in my crate digging experiences, my road was sometimes paved in waxy goodness.

Even for the most prudent, the lines can sometimes blur from avid collector to what some would deem as addict tendencies.  For the serious collectors, that 'prized' rare piece they've been seeking, it's in a record store high up on the wall, behind a store counter, or thumb past it online.  It's almost as if it's mocking you.  They've told themselves (and sometimes their spouses have told them [lol]), "No records today!" However, you tell yourself, "the copy I have isn't perfect and this one is mint." So what you have two maybe three of the same record. BUT you don't have the test pressing, 12", or a coveted topnotch promo of that hit song. 



After advocating voices of reason fill your head, you find yourself cashing out. Hopefully, without any buyer's remorse and surely your rent paid first contrary to the awesome tote bag filled with your new haul of wax.  

 Northern Lights record store

Crate digging is part personal nostalgia along with achieving the quest for the best analog sound.  

As well as exhilaration in discovering a good find, all in the name of my vinyl collecting and inevitably the record playing experience. 

What are your crate-digging experiences and thoughts with vinyl?  Share your thoughts below. 



Thank you for reading, commenting, sharing and/or reposting this new blog.  Stay tuned for insightful music musings and more.  


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