First Albums You Bought

[Grizzled]

What systems do you guys use to play music? Anyone still do vinyl from the old days (or recently get into it)?

Another 8track guy. You hit the nail on the head about songs being split.

I have about 1.5 GB of music ripped to very high fidelity FLAK and other non compressed formats. I put them on a good quality portable unit and listen through decent quality wireless headphones. I listen to CDs also. Have a couple of friends, have probably spent upwards of $30 to $50K on their stereo systems, either vinyl or digital they ripped from vinyl. Vinyl has roared back, pressers can’t keep up with the demand.

[IE]

What systems do you guys use to play music? Anyone still do vinyl from the old days (or recently get into it)?

Another 8track guy. You hit the nail on the head about songs being split.

I have about 1.5 GB of music ripped to very high fidelity FLAK and other non compressed formats. I put them on a good quality portable unit and listen through decent quality wireless headphones. I listen to CDs also. Have a couple of friends, have probably spent upwards of $30 to $50K on their stereo systems, either vinyl or digital they ripped from vinyl. Vinyl has roared back, pressers can’t keep up with the demand.

Yep - and because of that, albums are selling for nutty prices $30-50. Used first pressings from the 60's and 70's will go for over 100 bucks in excellent shape. I think people believe they have better audio quality but I'm not sure about that. I have about 500 albums left, after having sold a few hundred I'd never listen to a record store. I have about 100 GB of high bit rate MP3s I downloaded from Napster back in the day (thanks to 100MB corporate network back then), and it is just sitting in a share I rarely use. Every day all day I listen to FM radio while I work, streaming FM radio and some regular streaming - but don't do the audiophile quality stuff I'm not sure my old ears can hear much difference. Then a few days a week I enjoy listening to my old vinyl.

I'm into vintage audio equipment - especially I like collecting stuff I really coveted back in high school but could never afford at the time... so I'd just go to stereo stores at the mall and dream. I've been buying some newer vinyl for albums I either never had or wore out. Somebody above mentioned Black Sabbath Paranoid. I just bought that during Covid and it is epic. The old stuff sounds better on equipment that was designed to sound good with it, like this '78 Sansui stack I had in my office across from my desk here (subsequently upgraded).
.

117744892_10158973342794415_2078802067146869437_n.jpg

[Grizzled]

Another 8track guy. You hit the nail on the head about songs being split.

I have about 1.5 GB of music ripped to very high fidelity FLAK and other non compressed formats. I put them on a good quality portable unit and listen through decent quality wireless headphones. I listen to CDs also. Have a couple of friends, have probably spent upwards of $30 to $50K on their stereo systems, either vinyl or digital they ripped from vinyl. Vinyl has roared back, pressers can’t keep up with the demand.

Yep - and because of that, albums are selling for nutty prices $30-50. Used first pressings from the 60's and 70's will go for over 100 bucks in excellent shape. I think people believe they have better audio quality but I'm not sure about that. I have about 500 albums left, after having sold a few hundred I'd never listen to a record store. I have about 100 GB of high bit rate MP3s I downloaded from Napster back in the day (thanks to 100MB corporate network back then), and it is just sitting in a share I rarely use. Every day all day I listen to FM radio while I work, streaming FM radio and some regular streaming - but don't do the audiophile quality stuff I'm not sure my old ears can hear much difference. Then a few days a week I enjoy listening to my old vinyl.

I'm into vintage audio equipment - especially I like collecting stuff I really coveted back in high school but could never afford at the time... so I'd just go to stereo stores at the mall and dream. I've been buying some newer vinyl for albums I either never had or wore out. Somebody above mentioned Black Sabbath Paranoid. I just bought that during Covid and it is epic. The old stuff sounds better on equipment that was designed to sound good with it, like this '78 Sansui stack I had in my office across from my desk here (subsequently upgraded).
.

117744892_10158973342794415_2078802067146869437_n.jpg

One of my audiophile buddies, who probably has upwards of 3000 albums buys nothing but sealed albums. Amazing how many old ones are still out there. He's in that $30 to $50K range of equipment and is always tinkering to tweak more and better sound out of his equipment. I might break down and start playing vinyl again although I gave away my collection years ago and the guy digitized it for me.

[Xee]

Yep - and because of that, albums are selling for nutty prices $30-50.

CDs can go for that as well. In college I listened to a lot of bands that were on small labels but since it was around the time the internet was taking off, you could hear their music online and buy mp3s for 99c a pop.

Fast forward to now when most of the bands have long since disappeared but since they're strongly linked to that time of my life, I want to get my hands on their actual CDs. They're almost impossible to find and when you do, they're super expensive.

One example is Shark Quest, a small jam band of NC-based musicians who were around from '95-04 and just put out a few albums. I have a lot of memories of being in the library late at night, listening to them while I studied. I just looked up their last '04 album on eBay and there's only one copy, used, that's going for $50. Crazy.

[Kylo Bearen]

U2 Zoorapa and Nirvana Incesticide.

[Stormtrooper]

Iron Maiden-Powerslave

[karhu]

First vinyl: "King Tut" by Steve Martin

First LP: Live at Budokan

Honorable Mention: My grandparents got me the first Iron Maiden album and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap for my birthday when I must've been in junior high, and followed them up with a double album of Charlie Parker wire recordings a couple months later for Christmas. The older I get, the cooler that seems.

[karhu]

Yep - and because of that, albums are selling for nutty prices $30-50.

CDs can go for that as well. In college I listened to a lot of bands that were on small labels but since it was around the time the internet was taking off, you could hear their music online and buy mp3s for 99c a pop.

Fast forward to now when most of the bands have long since disappeared but since they're strongly linked to that time of my life, I want to get my hands on their actual CDs. They're almost impossible to find and when you do, they're super expensive.

One example is Shark Quest, a small jam band of NC-based musicians who were around from '95-04 and just put out a few albums. I have a lot of memories of being in the library late at night, listening to them while I studied. I just looked up their last '04 album on eBay and there's only one copy, used, that's going for $50. Crazy.

First off, thanks for the tip. Every so often I try to find a reasonably priced copy of anything at all from the Telepathic Butterflies, who were so catchy that I should be able to listen to them just by watching tv commercials and so Kinks-y that I should be able to listen to them just by watching any Wes Anderson film, but nope, nada, zilch.

Reminds me of when Tom Petty tried to name one of his albums $9.99. I've seen copies of Game Theory's Lolita Nation (my idea of the best album ever recorded) go for $700. Mushuganas records (anyone here remember the Mushuganas?) have gone for $200.

[Wounded Bear]

I think I was in 4th or 5th grade and ordered the Colombia House - 6 albums for a penny....

So as a 10 or 11 year old, I remember ordering:
Frampton Comes Alive
Steely Dan - Aja
Steve Miller - Book of Dreams
Steve Miller - Fly Like an Eagle
and some Jefferson Airplane album and I think the soundtrack to Hair.

In hindsight, that's just fuckin' weird for a 10-11 year old.

[karhu]

I think I was in 4th or 5th grade and ordered the Colombia House - 6 albums for a penny....

So as a 10 or 11 year old, I remember ordering:
Frampton Comes Alive
Steely Dan - Aja
Steve Miller - Book of Dreams
Steve Miller - Fly Like an Eagle
and some Jefferson Airplane album and I think the soundtrack to Hair.

In hindsight, that's just fuckin' weird for a 10-11 year old.

Just for the benefit of all you non-KFFL refugees: WB is 27 years old.

So yeah, pretty damned weird.

[Wounded Bear]

Well done, sir.

[AZ_Bearfan]

I can remember riding my skateboard to the mall in Corpus Christi to buy House of Pain, Fine Malt Lyrics on cassette with my lawn mowing money. 1992 was a Hell of a year.

[Xee]

I can remember riding my skateboard to the mall in Corpus Christi to buy House of Pain, Fine Malt Lyrics on cassette with my lawn mowing money. 1992 was a Hell of a year.

Whenever I hear that I just remember being at the house of my best friend in elementary school, blasting it in his room. It definitely was a special time.

[Grizzled]

Check your couches for loose change. It might not be the first but would probably be the last album you buy:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... -pop-music

[docc]

I have no idea what was first record.. I was in a band by 14 so whatever we got was to learn licks or whole songs..
I do remember playing at a Catholic girls HS and being told/.."no more black music"

When we finished we all had dates..BUT sister Mary Racist..told us we'd never play there again..

OK..we had gigs every week for seems like forever..

[karhu]

I have no idea what was first record.. I was in a band by 14 so whatever we got was to learn licks or whole songs..
I do remember playing at a Catholic girls HS and being told/.."no more black music"

When we finished we all had dates..BUT sister Mary Racist..told us we'd never play there again..

OK..we had gigs every week for seems like forever..

So...Joe's Garage?

[Grizzled]

I have no idea what was first record.. I was in a band by 14 so whatever we got was to learn licks or whole songs..
I do remember playing at a Catholic girls HS and being told/.."no more black music"

When we finished we all had dates..BUT sister Mary Racist..told us we'd never play there again..

OK..we had gigs every week for seems like forever..

You know what they say about Catholic girls ....

What do you play?

[docc]

..the Devil's stick...

Guitar..

[The Marshall Plan]

Lately I've gotten into Post Malone big time. Bought 3 albums on iTunes and have just listened to them constantly. Highly recommended.

[Otis Day]

First album I bought on my own - Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees.

First 45 I bought on my own - CCR - Bad Moon Rising. Lodi was the B side.

First CD I bought - Journey - Raised On The Radio

I had older sibs buying albums and 8 tracks so I usually just borrowed their stuff. Then I started borrowing friends' albums and recording them to cassette.

[Otis Day]

I have no idea what was first record.. I was in a band by 14 so whatever we got was to learn licks or whole songs..
I do remember playing at a Catholic girls HS and being told/.."no more black music"

When we finished we all had dates..BUT sister Mary Racist..told us we'd never play there again..

OK..we had gigs every week for seems like forever..

I went to catholic school from grades 1-9 and thank goodness I never saw any racist mumblings from the nuns. Where I went there were quite a few african americans and hispanics students. That would not have went over well.

[Boris13c]

Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards