Buying Vinyl

Juno Records and What Records are very good and well priced.

+1 for Juno and Whatrecords, Badlands are also good. I've used Diverse Vinyl in the past but they seem to be a bit pricey now. All uk based..

Again Juno/What Records but Amazon UK is good and a few good prices can be had at base.com.

There is also Diverse Vinyl.

There's also Spin in Newcastle and Rockbox in Camberley, and don't forget that Rough Trade do mail order.

It's important to remember that the best SQ comes with original and not reissue vinyl. There's plenty of good cheap vinyl still out there and it's worth checking for any local second hand record stores and record fairs.

Steve makes a very important point about original vinyl.

For the last few years I have bought fantastic original vinyl from Discogs. You can usually find the exact pressing you want, for a great price.

Car boot sales and charity shops! Still lots of gems if you look and a decent record cleaner means they usually sound as good as new.

Hundred Records in The Hundred, Romsey, Hampshire. Ask for Mark  ;-)

Chris

+1

There is an awful lot of very bad re-issue vinyl (often tarted up under the guise of 180g pressings) from some deplorable European companies exploiting the 50 year copyright limitation on masters.  In particular Wax Time - I've hastily bought a couple of their jazz reissues and regretted it on first listen; they have none of the qualities of original analogue records from the era of original issue and sound very much as if they have been mastered from CD.  Others may have had different experiences with other titles, but I can only comment on my own experience.

May be more expensive in some cases, but I would always seek out original pressings or reissues from the pre-digital era (ie up to mid-1980's).

Discogs is great - but a lot of the dealers are flogging dodgy re-issues.  Check the label carefully and match back to Allmusic or a similar website to see if it is the original label.

Lots of dealers on a well known website too.

The classicrecords website is very good for mainly classical LP's; Brett has round 6,000 on offer usually - at various prices from a few quid up to £400 for rare Decca's etc.

Well know auction website, should have said

As much as I enjoy supporting my local independents - Banquet Records in Kingston and Rough Trade East near work, I have to also say Amazon is very good. If for no other reason that given the current variable quality of new pressings, it is ever so easy to return a faulty record to Amazon for a no quibble replacement. They even send out the replacement before you return the faulty one and there are no postage charges. Tough to beat really. Also if you pre-order the prices usually yo-yo a bit before release and Amazon guarantees you the lowest price.

Thanks everyone for replying.  Just ordered "The songs of Distant Earth" from Amazon.

I've never bought from discogs so can't speak to the dealers; however, I find them an outstanding reference for identifying original pressings. For much of my classic rock searching, their site identifies catalog numbers, provides label descriptions, country of origin, barcodes, and often the telltale matrix numbers. Sellers have feedback ratings and numbers of sales so you can make some inferences about who you're buying from. They have over 3.9 M vinyl listings. As a side note they also have hotlinks galore so if, for example, you're interested in the background of a record company you can click and find a nice historical synopsis of the label. Great site.

Amazon.co.uk are great and What Records is owned by a lovely chap who's very helpful and knowledgeable. Most of my vinyl purchases are from these two.

For a while back in the Noughties, when record shops were closing everywhere (Diverse was an exception), Amazon was indispensible as a source for new vinyl, as they were one of few outlets willing to stock it.

However of late their pricing on vinyl (and stuff like box sets) has been capricious to say the least. It's no longer automatically the cheapest (often it isn't - for example I looked at six different outlets for the latest Dylan vinyl, and Amazon was by far the most expensive). Added to that, their rather dubious tax arrangements and treatment of employees makes me feel a bit grubby (but I'm hypocritical enough to use them when my wallet tells me to ). One thing Amazon does have going for it is its superb customer service - I always order very expensive items (Beatles mono vinyl box for example) from The River because the returns policy is so simple and customer-friendly.

However I regularly and mostly use can recommend Juno, Diverse and What, also Recordstore.co.uk (great for singles and more alternative stuff) as I use them regularly.

Sound It Out in Stockton-on-Tees are great for new releases and the customer service is first-rate and packaging is very good. eil.com in Kent is very good but pricey.

Being lucky enough to live in London, shopping in "bricks and mortar" shops for new and used vinyl is a breeze - Rough Trade East, Book & Record Bar, Sounds of the Universe, Sister Ray, Rat, Fopp etc. I have to say that nothing beats browsing vinyl in an actual shop.

I buy a fair bit from both that well-known auction site and Discogs and have never had a problem. If you stick to sellers with ratings of 98%+ you will be safe. As a seller myself, I have a 100% positive rating on both sites and would go that extra mile to preserve that spotless record.

Another option you could try is to buy direct from the artist or label. Often this can be a cheaper option, and buying direct from the artist, at least you know they're getting a decent cut. And in any case it's always worth checking out the artist or label's site before you buy, as there are often exclusives to be had!

I can highly recommend Left Legged Pineapple and Langley Mill Records for used (and sometimes new) vinyl.  Both are available online. There is also Pie and Vinyl (an independent record shop) in Southsea. 

Bev C

Thanks folks, I appreciate your input.

Oh bravo! Not UK record shops at all then ;-)

C.

Amazon had a problem supplying Adele 25 vinyl on Friday 20th release date due to demand. I received an email on the 20th apologising for the delay. I then received the lp on Sunday night at 10pm. Put it on my deck and cried rest of the night to the depressing songs.

Great service Amazon. Again.