I’ve been an avid collector of various music forms since my early teens. The “Museum of Art” — in my basement — features pieces from eccentric to norm: an 1880s Edison cylinder, 78-rpm records, 8-tracks, 45s, cassettes, 33-rpm LPs, and more. My favorite is the LP (Long Play) record, and not just out of nostalgia, although I was around when “classic rock” was simply called “rock.”
Apparently, I am not alone in appreciating vinyl. The Recording Industry Association of America reported that vinyl record sales topped 43.6 million in 2024, the 18th consecutive year of growth.
Today, we get music streamed or downloaded — yawn. Where’s the romance in that? Songs are encoded into advanced audio codings (AACs) or smashed down to mp3s and similar formats. This process compresses audio signals, often resulting in a loss of sonic nuances — special splashes of sound that artists intended for you to hear.
I remember holding my new copy of Foreigner’s self-titled debut album — I bought it the day of release in March 1977. I positioned it on my turntable, moved the stylus over the slick outer ridge, then, with a touch more delicate than I had ever bestowed upon anything, I placed it on the record and waited for the tiny “pop” as needle met acetate. As Mick Jones’ guitar filled the room, I devoured everything from cover to sleeve: artwork, photos, lyrics, credits. The experience was visceral, aural, ocular, and tactual.
In Evansville, we are fortunate to have several choices for buying vinyl. There’s the “OG” Book Broker, in business since 1975; Space Monkey Records, the largest record retailer in the region; and Atmosphere Collectibles, a cool-vibes record boutique that offers a wide selection of rare and new releases. You can also score new records at the big box stores and find vintage deals at thrift shops and antique malls. A pet peeve of mine when shopping the brick-and-mortars is not having the records alphabetized.
A new generation is discovering the magic of vinyl. According to Vinyl Alliance, an organization that reports on the record industry, Generation Z is the driving force behind its renewed popularity. A reported 76 percent buy records at least once a month. Vinyl’s newfound appeal seems to follow an upward trend in Gen Z’s appreciation of music from the ’70s era. In the article entitled “How Gen Z Is Embracing Classic Rock in 2025,” Rock Scene Auction reported, “classic rock is now pulsing through Gen Z’s playlists, fashion, and even social identities.” This generation grew up hearing that music at home and in the family car. They resonate with its authentic sound, as opposed to modern music that is often overproduced, autotuned, or even 100 percent AI-created. Record companies have taken notice and produced re-releases, half-mastered recordings (to capture sound lost in the digital process), unearthed soundtracks, never-before-released live recordings, artist demos, and other special records to offer during Record Store Day on April 18.
Riley Jarrell, a 27-year-old record collector from Evansville, harbors a love for the format. “When that needle drops, I am taken to another place: fully present and at one with the music. The slight crackle, the rich tone … it makes the music feel more personal to me,” she says. “(Today) we practically have any song at our fingertips — which is wonderful, but purposefully selecting a record feels much more intentional than just tapping a few buttons on your screen. (Record buying) requires patience and determination as you search for that special album. When you find it, it feels like you struck gold! You don’t get that feeling from a quick search on a streaming service.”
Playing a record is much more than passively “listening” to music on a device — it’s an “experience” that can be shared with family, between friends, and online in record collector groups across all socials.
