For the record, a-hem, I'm not a hipster nor do I have any visible, or invisible tattoos or a special record carrying bag (though I'm not opposed to that idea) but I have been drawn to the idea of going back to vinyl for about the last decade. About a year ago I decided I wanted to go back to a more live, active listening experience...read...divorce and more time on my hands. Believe me the merits of the compressed audiophile unfriendly sound of the last five piece of shit iPods I've had which we're returnable for about the equivalent of Barry Manilow's Copacabana on vinyl have been contributing factors. The reality is that many of today's serious artists whether you like Wilco, Interpol or the Black-Eyed Peas have recognized the lost art that is vinyl. And used record stores have become a social gathering place. At this point, people still can't be bothered which is great! Let them download all the available shite from iTunes. But finding a near mint condition vinyl copy of Little Feat's Waiting For Columbus for $5.00 feels great! I actually found a mint copy of Zevon's Excitable Boy for $2.00. Made me simultaneously happy and sad. I think the previous owner paid ten bucks and thought he'd made a huge error and held the thing for years out of spite.
The downside: yes, life is never perfect. You need to get off your ass every 15-20 minutes to change the record...not for everybody at every listening occasion. Other bad news...good turntables and the necessary accessories...like a great tube amp and pre-amp and speakers are expensive but you can build over time. The vinyl is the important thing. The good news is check out all the great artists that are re-mastering and putting out classic records in either 180 or 200 gram vinyl. In case you're not familiar, remember those Frisbees we had as kids that would break you pinkie finger if you didn't catch it properly? These records are nearly as thick and much more high fidelity...
