Collecting vinyl records is a trend that has seen a massive comeback in recent years, and has seemed interesting to many new people. However, starting the hobby can seem daunting. So, as someone whose been collecting for years, here is a guide to getting started.

The first thing you’ll want to do is get a good record player. Often times these can run quite expensive, but you can get a good one for between 40-80$ on Amazon if you get the suitcase model. Within the community, there is a lot of gatekeeping around these types, but honestly, they are perfect for beginners. You’ll have to keep in mind that the speaker quality on these players is poor, and if you get a cheaper model can they can degrade your records over time. But, as a beginner, these aren’t things you should really need to worry about.

As I mentioned above, the speakers that come built-in aren’t usually the best quality. I would recommend picking up a basic pair of auxiliary speakers, from a brand such as Edifier or Bose. These can offer a significant boost in sound quality for not too expensive, typically ranging from about 80-120$.

The final step is actually collecting the records themselves. This step can be tricky because if you are buying off the internet, it is impossible to tell the quality of the record if it is used. I would recommend trying to find the record either new on Amazon or Discogs, or trying to find your vintage ones at records shops around town. If you’re wondering what albums you should start your collecting with, here are some old classics and new hits to get you going:

Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon- 1973

Michael Jackson, Thriller- 1983

Van Halen, 1984- 1984

Mac Miller, Swimming- 2018

AJR, OK Orchestra- 2021

Happy Collecting!