Starting a Classical Vinyl Music Collection

Live anywhere near me in Plainfield, NJ, 07062?

I have a lot of classical I will be parting with for very low price just to make shelf space. Lots in excellent shape. 4 store owners came, bought Jazz, Rock, didn’t even look at the classical.

It would be nice to move them to someone who wants them.

Anyone else nearby wanting classical?

Elliott

ps, no matter where you live, I would encourage starting with inexpensive used. There is so much to learn, find what truly appeals to you, then collect, continue to learn, no use filling your shelves with 'great' music you will never listen to. 

which composer, era, symphony, conductor, small chamber, big orchestra, monster organ, .... which engineers, which labels, get a feel for it.

I learned about Jazz from a batch of around 50 mixed Jazz LP's my friend gave me. Knowing I liked Trombone, Red Garland, Earl Hines, Trios, Oscar Peterson, .... then with that start, every payday I went to Record Hunter, NYC a block from my office, buying new LPs at great prices, CD players had dropped in price, goodbye LPs.

Best recorded Bach choral music on vinyl is conducted by Helmuth Rilling. His cantatas, Passions, etc are the best recorded on vinyl.
Otherwise, in addition to Bach, just go through the alphabet: Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin for starters…for Chopin, I like Arrau and Francois as performers.
The above are probably the best: no need to even go to D

If you are interested in history ; it may be interesting to read about the era of those composers. This adds to the joy of classical music

For instance Friedrich the Great was a king and passionated by music.
He played flute and has composed concertos.

Lully was the music superintendent of the king Louis XIV

Etc.

Minnesota Public Radio has an excellent classical music channel that you can stream from anywhere on the planet. They also have a web site with some free downloads, and an orchestra, chamber, and opera live stream schedule. You may have a local/regional classical station... There are a lot of compilations, box sets, etc.out there. Maybe try some playlists on your streaming? Browse on Discogs, and in local record stores, then stream to audition before buying. Prices for used classical music are low right now so there's not much risk in experimenting. There was a recent discussion on this forum how an individual could liquidate his collection. Deutsche Grammophon celebrated Beethoven's bi-centenial with an impressive list of box sets. Sebelius is a favorite, and Rossini, and Bizet (it took 60 yrs, but I'm coming around to opera). Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Mahler... You should identify your likes and dislikes, like you would with different styles of Rock or Jazz. It's not uncommon to own several versions of a composition, different conductors, different orchestras, even different venues. I have found classical lots on ebay that turned out ok, but there's always risk of duplication and clinkers (but I think most classical releases lead a better life...). Maybe you like Baroque, maybe Romantic, maybe 20th Century, maybe you like avant-garde... Maybe Finnish/Scandinavian, Pipe Organ (?). It might be a particular conductor, or record label.  I'm always on the look out for Deutsche Grammophon "tulip labels". Classical is a small part of my collection, but still bigger than my Polka section (I was a garage Band/ Punk Rock drummer), I enjoy the experiment and the journey, hopefully you will, too. There's no right or wrong, only that which appeals... and that which doesn't