So I feel it may be a tad obvious thus far that I do in fact collect records… (yes quite the expensive hobby I know)
But to me, nothing can quite beat the feeling of owning a physical piece of music, and playing it on a specifically curated audio/stereo system that you in turn, worked pretty damn hard for. It is pretty rewarding in itself. However, I do think that my record collection is pretty good ( well I did curate it), with over a year in and probably thousands spent, I feel very proud that my hard work goes toward something so rewarding for me.
I started collecting around the start of 2025, primarily because I had just gotten into AIR, and really really wanted a Moon Safari vinyl as a wall decoration for my room (performative I know). So I totted on into Bondi records and got myself the Moon Safari, and spotted Charm by Clairo and thought “these would look so good on the wall” (oh god) – I do love Charm I swear. Here is where it goes downhill, I made my way back on the train, I was deep in thought, thinking, “It’s a little wasteful of my money to spend $150 on 2 wall decorations… what if I go to JBHIFI to see if I can get a cheap turn table to just be, again, performative. I resent myself for that to this day. I bought the turn table, the cheapest on sale – $179. It was a terrible turn table. However, I got back, and my parents questioned me, “why would you buy that?” To which I damn well knew the answer to the question, I just didn’t want to tell them I was a performative music freak…. So I got my dad to help me set it up, and put the Moon Safari vinyl on, track 1 ‘La femme d’argent’ bongos slowly fade in. I was HOOKED.
That moment onward I collected every album I liked, in the beginning I used to think it was about getting as many as you can and having an awesome collection. But I quickly learnt it was burning a hole in my wallet, and realised my collection should be personalised to the music I want to listen to, not just buying an album because I like 2 or 3 songs – the early days make me cringe. Your vinyl collecting should always be deliberate, never rushed or forced, because you’ll end up with albums you don’t entirely like (I have a few I rarely spin because of this mistake). Because nothing and I mean NOTHING is more rewarding than playing an album you love the whole way through ( and you’ll feel like you’ve got your moneys worth – records are NOT cheap these days, especially my copy of Siamese Dream & Play).
Plus, I would MUCH rather be spending my money on records, because they are something I very much cherish, take care of and can eventually sell them when they come of value (I’ll see about that, I am quite maternal toward them so we’ll see). Im just grateful Im not spending money on silly things like uber eats (sushi for a 22 year old girl is holy grail though), or drugs, of clothes I’ll never wear, or even a thousand pair of shoes. Instead, I have a thousand pieces of vinyl that play music 😉
Current turntable faves, wish lists ( because I have a full time job and deserve it), and recommendations will be in the near future xx
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