Wherein lies the charm of vinyl (records) for you?

Dat warm and crispy sound.

The little hole in the middle.

I grew up with vinyl and then cassettes.

I must be in the minority because I don’t get nostalgic for the old formats. I think one of the coolest things about being alive today is the advent of the digital music format and the ability to build a nearly infinite playlist whenever I like.

My current collection is over 11,000 songs strong, growing, and not a heavy ass cardboard box in sight. Nor are there any problems with skipping, dropping, or the need to buy new needles.

Also, I don’t have to get up and walk to the machine to flip the record (cassette) halfway through.

as for the “warmth of sound” that audiophiles (snobs) sniff about, well, there’s an app for that too.

I join @Blondesjon on this one. The new formats don’t skip; don’t scratch; and sound brand new no matter how many times you play them. I like them better.

Playing a 45 at 78 rpm.

I like being able to put the needle between the tracks. I know….Weird.

It’s music that I already own, and I hate spending money to buy a different format for something I already have.

The record jackets.

The little pops it makes before the song, in between and at the end before the arm lifts and goes back to its cradle.

The larger cover, exciting to flip through to see what’s amongst the record collection.

All the artwork and other goodies that came with a record album. Though I certainly don’t miss the format itself. Good riddance to the rumble, cracks and pops and static, poor dynamic range, poor frequency response, poor channel separation, and just all around crappy sound.

@HungryGuy . . . I know. The Wedding Album or La Bamba, am I right?

I love flipping through them and I like having to turn them myself. If I’m listening to my ipod or something like that I tend to just stop paying attention to the music, but records insist that you remain mindful of them. Also, it’s more of a nuisance to skip to a specific song, so you actually hear the entire album rather than just that one song you’re inevitably going to overplay until you don’t even like it anymore.

And for vain reasons – they just look nice. Album covers are nice and records themselves are nice and I like picking them up and being careful with them and reorganizing them. Ah.

Knowing that the records I’m listening to were once listened to by my folks when they were my age.

The superior sound quality, the ritual that goes into playing them, the low price, and the album art.

The smell, texture and nostalgia.

I have vinyl records but no record player now. One day I might buy one. I agree with @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard though, they do have a superior sound and then there is the nostalgia factor and yes, the great album covers.

I’ve a lot of vinyl but I have this one particular record that I love and when I got married rather than record it from the vinyl I got hold of a digital copy for our first dance and I just missed that kushuck kushuck kushuck that used to fade in as the song faded out due to the almighty scratch on it. It’s the little things like that I like.

I recently heard someone talk about memory in a similar way, as time goes on your memory of an event won’t be perfect and may change. You might vividly remember the warm conversation and beautiful sunset but forget the annoying insect and cheap wine.

Not the best analogy I admit but the imperfections of that situation can ruin the memory just as the imperfections of the vinyl can enhance the experience.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard the low price?