Missing scratching & creaking (from your vinyl collection)

The Vinyl revival is here, perhaps for some of us it never went away but according to reports sales of the once dominant discs is growing year-on-year.

The Guardian’s John Harris produced a fascinating article ‘Vinyl’s difficult comeback-Can the creaking machinery of the few remaining record pressing plants cope with demand? John’s article centres on the few remaining companies equipped to produce vinyl records and cites

‘In the first half of 2014, officially registered sales of vinyl in the US stood at around 4m, confirming an increase of more than 40% compared to the same period in 2013. In the UK, this year’s accredited sales will come in at around 1.2m, more than 50% up on last year.

That may represent a tiny fraction of the industry’s estimated sales of recorded music, but still, a means of listening to music essentially invented in the 19th century and long since presumed to be dead is growing at speed, and the presses at Optimal – along with similar facilities smattered across the UK, mainland Europe, the US and beyond – are set to grind and pump on, into the future.’ Full article

Those of us who’ve let that copy of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon go to the great record recycling centre in the sky are probably kicking ourselves, however fear not-in exchange for money we can re-build our collections, here are our top ten choices to re-establish a vinyl collection. Wait! I here you say, I’ve disposed of my record player too fear not they’re readily available too:

The vinyl copies are readily available from Amazon (click for link) another great source is charity shops or specialist retailers such as Record Store or Vinyl Exchange.

10. The Dark side of the Moon Pink Floyd

EMI 1973
The Dark Side of the Moon remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988. With in excess of 50 million copies sold. The album recorded at the world famous Abbey Road Studios, using cutting edge techniques (for the time) The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multi track recording and tape loops & produced an album unique to the time. The album produced two singles ‘Money ‘& ‘Time’

9. Buddy Holly: Rock ‘N’ Roll Master Works

8. The song remains the same Led Zeppelin

7. Changesone David Bowie

6. Saturday Night Fever various artists including The Bee Gees

5. Abbey Road The Beatles

4. What’s Going On Marvin Gaye

3. Rumours Fleetwood Mac

Warner Bros 1977
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac many of us know it from the catchy music from F1 (The Chain) Here the dysfunctional relationships within the band turned private turmoil into an amazing album. As Mick Fleetwood looked on; Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham were in the middle of a acrimonious split- as where John & Christine McVie. Instead of destroying the album it was the catalyst to produce some of their memorable work.

2. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles

Capitol, 1966
Rolling Stone Magazine cites ‘From the title song’s regal blasts of brass and fuzz guitar to the orchestral seizure and long, dying piano chord at the end of “A Day in the Life,” the 13 tracks on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are the pinnacle of the Beatles’ eight years as recording artists. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were never more fearless and unified in their pursuit of magic and transcendence’.

1. Exile on Main Street The Rolling Stones

Rolling Stones Records, 1972
As Keith Richards explained, The Stones don’t have a home anymore’ – hence Exile . Produced ] at Richards’ villa in the South of France, the Stones were on the run from the Press and the ‘Drugs Police’ and punitive tax rates this led to what is arguably their best album, and our No1.

We’d love to hear your choices.

Sources include Rolling Stone Magazine & Wikipedia