I happen to live in the boonies of central Virginia (sort of near Charlottesville), but I was really asking about generalities - do I look in the phone book under "antique"? Or is there some other strategy. I ask the question this way because I travel a lot, and if I have an algorithm for locating things, I can go shopping when I am travelling.
There are a few places in the Washington D.C. area that have them. I have just started to get into vinyl and I am currently doing this research. If you want to you can keep emailing me periodically to see what I find in this area. Then at least that is one option in case you are up this way.
I have been a vinyl collector for many years. The places to look are, of course, used record shops, if any are in your area. If not, pawn shops, Goodwill, Charity stores, flea markets, are all sources. At these places, you might find 1 or 2 good albums that aren't ruined, but I have got some gems too. If you travel to big cities, this is where you can get into the big time. There WILL be used record shops there, and they will be bigger than you ever thought possible. I went into a place in Louisiana once that had 2 million records.There used to be record collector's conventions in auditoriums around the country, where the whole place was filled with used records, sellers, and buyers. I think they advertised in Goldmine Record Newspaper, which is also a good buying source. Alternatively, Ebay, and internet record sellers can reduce the travel for you, but you can't see the record, and have to take their word for the condition. You can advertise in your local paper for buying record collections. The ones you don't want, you can re-sell. Some guys even open up a used record shop, and keep the best stuff for themselves. This is always a good way to get great albums for cheap. That's a couple of suggestions.
You're going to love this!! I just started collecting vinyl and have been buying mostly over the internet... Yesterday I went to a quasi family reunion... and my cousin had in the basement over 3000 lps in mint shape... He knew of my new vinyl set up and let me pick and choose whatever I wanted!! He had duplicate copies of almost everything.. go figure! Anyway, some choice selections were Pink Floyd Dark side, picture disc and double LP... Beatles White Album, Pink Floyd the Wall double lp, Pink Floyd wish you were here, Led zep in thru the out door, Physical Grafitti, Led zep 1 and 3, Some Genisis, Jimi Hendrix experice... god, so many I cant remember...Price.. Free! Gotta Love it... I dont mean to brag, but finding a gold mine like that deserves to be told!! Anyway I have had very good luck with Adam Zar on line his company is Adam's Used Records Emporium... His lps are mint and prices are great!! Happy Listening! Joe
Twl and Viridian have basically said it all. The interest for Jazz and Classical seems low on Ebay at the moment, so prices there are quite good, though, as suggested above, you have to trust the seller and can't inspect for yourself.
All of the above ideas are great. Big cities usually have some good record stores (though not always) and most college towns are a safe bet for one or two decent record stores. It becomes a challenege at times. You may spend hours searching through thousands of old must records at some store...finding nothing but Air Supply, 80s metal, and 70s singer songwriter rejects, but there's usually a gem or two hidden in there somewhere. It's fun.
The above are all excellent suggestions. I usually don't have much time to go shopping personally, but a few years ago I came across a thread here that mentioned gemm.com and musicstack.com. These are huge sites that represent a number of dealers and they are a tremendous resource for finding vinyl on the internet. You are in for a great time treasure hunting no matter how you get your records. Good luck!
I go to the Atlanta record show every two months. There is plenty of vinyl being sold for a dollar each. Some are still sealed. Of course, there is an abundance of expensive rarities also. And I visit a friend's store in Chattanooga called Chad's Records and Tapes. He also sells at the Atlanta show.
Viridian, Your are correct... I meant that it was the folding album.. but it is only 1 lp!! But never the less, I have two copies and one is a mint picture disc... Thanks Joe
I read a very interesting article last night on the web. It was about the MoFi recording of DSOTM. It said in the article that MoFi ruined the original master tape of DSOTM when someone put the tape on a deck, and accidentally pushed "RECORD". Part of the tail end of "Breathe" was over-recorded by some Supertramp music. The master was partly destroyed forever. I can't give the URL of this website, because I was reading so many things last night, that I can't remember what it was. But it was an interview with some MoFi guys that were the main force in the company. They also related a story about when they did the MoFi Beatles Orig. Master Recording Set. They hand carried all the Beatles original masters back from England in 2 locked suitcases on a plane. A punk in the airport,actually snatched one of the cases and ran with it. He didn't know what was in it, he was just a thief. They said that the MoFi guy that was carrying them turned into "Superman" and ran after the thief, caught him, and knocked him out with one of the suitcases. They had an 11 million dollar bond out on those master tapes. And we thought that studio recording was a boring job.
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