49 million records can't be wrong: What's behind the Vinyl Boom?
Vinyl makes a huge comeback, but why? Maybe people are looking to unwind at 33 revolutions per minute. This tasty Joe Walsh solo album had a nice little credit surprise. The song Turn to Stone featured background vocals from Randy Meisner, Don Henley and Glenn Fry - a year before Walsh joined the Eagles. Maybe it’s those details, in part, that make enjoying music so good.
By Tom Peterson
It’s crazy.
49.6 million albums were sold in 2023, according to Statista.com
Vinyl sales are now being tallied in the Billions of dollars and just 30 years ago vinyl nearly disappeared with the advent of CDs.
You have to call that a comeback!
And Mark Thomas in The Dalles is laying that needle down the same as he ever has.
His first album: Meet The Beatles. He bought it in ‘64 as a kid.
“It’s pretty beat, but it still plays,” he said on Tuesday, July 9th.
So what of this enormous jump in vinyl sales? Is that true?
“It’s real,” he said. “I had my best year, last year.”
Mark is the owner/curator at Yesterday and Today Music. Find him at 414 E. Second St., The Dalles.
“You can get anything on vinyl, sometimes cassette too,” he said. “Metal, Classic Rock, Singer Songwriters - Chris Stapleton.”
And it ain’t just Boomers spinning out.
Thomas quickly pulled albums from The Highwomen, Lana Del Rey’s Norman F@%*&n Rockwell, and Paul McCartney and Wings’ One Hand Clapping. The vinyl binge is breaking generational boundaries. Of course, it’s music.
Vinyl has become so popular, that Mark is now selling brand-new turntables that are Bluetooth compatible. He offers the Audio-Technica AT-LP60X - a great starter turntable with a stylus and good sound for the money.
You Ready for the long play? Your record might look pretty good on this new turntable available at Yesterday and Today Music in The Dalles.
He’s also got a selection of used turntables, brands ranging from Pioneer to NAD and Sony.
“I even have functioning 8-track players,” he said laughing, noting he’s got a customer or two who loves to push those buttons.
What’s Behind The Vinyl Boom?
But it's that first love of vinyl that keeps Mark revolving.
It’s the whole experience.
Maybe the rush behind those black LPs is the joy of touching and holding an artist’s blood sweat and tears in your hands.
And there’s a whole flow to vinyl.
From the artwork on the album cover to cleaning the record for maximum fidelity.
Setting down that needle and listening to what an artist has to say and play for 20 plus minutes a side while you are mesmerized by what was written on the album jacket.
It’s textural, tangible, and no freaking pop-ups!
Maybe there is a cool engraving on the run-out around the label? Maybe you find out that another favorite artist of yours wrote the song by reading the label?
There is discovery and interaction with an album.
Who sang background vocals? Maybe Slash came into the studio and recorded a solo? It can be there in the liner notes.
It’s those details, some say, that get you excited- make you hear a piece of music from another perspective.
That soothing process slows the whole world down as you spin off at 33 revolutions per minute.
Back in the day, many vinyl lovers would buy an album and immediately record it to cassette, thus preserving the vinyl until the tape wore out.
“I was one of those guys,” Mark said, noting his go-to were blank TDK SA and Maxell XL II cassettes.
Mark sells everything to complete the vinyl experience - record and stylus cleaning brushes and cleaning solutions to gently remove grime, dust, fingerprints, and other contaminants, as well as eliminate built-up static electricity.
Sometimes you just want to pop a cassette in the deck.
He’s got used speakers, even a couple of consoles, and lots of cassettes. He buys and sells vinyl daily, and you never know what you're going to find in his spacious shop. Oh, and more than 3,000 movies.
Read more about it here.
