Five Reasons Vinyl Rocks Better Than Other Music Media

by Lisa Mason, Contributing Writer

In a world where iPods can be shoved into a pocket and music can be heard virtually anywhere, it is sometimes kind of tough to sell someone on the virtues of vinyl records. It is not blessed with the ability to go to the store with you or be heard while you jog around the block. You can't store oceans of it on a little disc or machine. In fact, the records are huge and they are a pain in the butt to keep in excellent condition. So why then would you want to invest in vinyl? Here are five great reasons:

Holding a piece of history

Vinyl has been around for a very long time and it represents the beginning of our musical media. You can now buy a CD with the greatest KISS songs of all time in about ten seconds. That CD will still not compare to having a complete set of KISS albums with all the markings of the era on them. Vinyl feels different in your hands and you get a different thrill from collecting a piece of history.

Vinyl has a unique sound

Some people see this as a negative thing but not the folks that grew up on it. If you listened to vinyl growing up, nothing can replace that sound. It is pure and true and it is simply a part of the music itself. Music will never sound better than it did on that little record player we had as children.

Limited edition records

There are some songs and albums that are only available on vinyl. It is for this reason that vinyl has been making a comeback in recent years. In fact, many groups and music labels are releasing new vinyl all the time with special incentives to get you to buy. For this reason, it would be a good idea to get with a solid online music shop that offers vinyl. You would be shocked at the music you are missing out on.

The hunt for buried treasure

The beautiful thing about vinyl is that it still has thousands of treasure chests out there. Most old vinyl is not terribly valuable, but there are some that are insanely expensive. Because virtually every auction, yard sale, garage sale and clean up contains at least one box of old vinyl, there are new treasures being found all the time. That hunt is worth the chase all by itself.

The cover and artwork

If you were alive in the seventies and got to see the album covers of the day, then you know what art is all about. The album covers were literally breathtaking and you could tell a great deal of time was put into them. Collecting vinyl is kind of like going back to your childhood if you were lucky enough to have been around back then. Album covers were like a sign of the times and you never forgot them.

There are certainly plenty of reasons to use that iPod and carry that MP3 player for your music. There is, however, plenty of room in the music world for the LPs of yesterday and tomorrow. If you have never collected these wonderful treasures, then dive in and give them a shot. You will be thrilled with the outcome.

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Lisa Mason is a music buff writing for Music Record Shop about music, albums and artists she loves.