why should you use your turntable?

Saying that you should use that old, dusty turntable might sound a bit like an odd thing to say. It is probably a lot easier to sync your Ipod and run out the door but there's something special about listening to an album. Just about anybody can go to BestBuy and grab the latest in Apple merchandise but it takes time, effort, and true love of music to find some of the best vinyl. A lot of retailers are making the search for vinyl much easier. Indie stores were the first of my knowledge to carry any but even larger franchised stores are picking up on the trend.

Maybe trend isn't the right word... Obviously if turntables and vinyl albums had just been a trend it would be nearly impossible to find them 50 or 30 years later. I think the reason this has endured is because of value, quality, and the personal aspect of sitting down and listening instead of getting up and traveling. If you have ever seen the movie Empire Records, everything sounds better on vinyl. The characters constantly ask if the customers have heard the cassettes or Cd's they plan to buy on vinyl. To me that speaks volumes about the quality. There are huge debates about how well things transfer digitally and many critics notice the difference. The biggest difference i notice is how personal it seems. Every note sounds like it was playing just for you. I might be pushing this too far but its as close to a live concert as you can get. You can definitely tell a difference from digital media as opposed to a physical album.

The most difficult thing to me is actually finding (and affording) the albums i want. But like I said before, many places are making this less difficult, even easy. I think its fun digging through bins to find that one really great album. The only other part you have to watch out for is the quality. Sometimes people aren't very careful with their property. Vinyl isn't very rough. It's easy to scratch, it warps, even melts if you don't watch out! This just makes the hunt more fun if you ask me. And who doesn't like a little hunt and mystery?

Please don't misunderstand me. I LOVE buying CDs and i think shuffle is one of the greatest things to ever happen to music. But you have to admit, there's just something great about sitting down with the ones you love and enjoying that old album.