Classic Vinyl Albums For All

Sherlock Holmes loves listening to vinyl albums. In fact, on one story, he was able to fool a criminal by playing the violin in front of the person, hiding afterwards behind the curtain, and then playing the same music via the vinyl album, creating the faux idea that it was still him that was playing.

There is also an episode of the very famous American sitcom titled Everybody Loves Raymond where Raymond’s father shows his adoration for vinyl records compared to the modern compact disc simply because the vinyl album helps them relive the past with the grainy sound and the incessant scratching of the record. That actually what makes listening to vinyl albums a totally different classic experience. And add to this the rarity of these classic vinyl albums. Some very rare classic vinyl albums can actually fetch a very high price.

A vinyl album or record is a flat disc with a spiral groove. That is where the needle of the gramophone lands and rolls.
Sadly, during the late eighties, the compact disc came and flooded the market. It is durable, it produces a better sound, and it is light and easy to store. By 1991, the descent of the vinyl album almost became final, but it experienced another surge in popularity lately selling almost 3 million units. The vinyl album is the prime item in bars, clubs, and discos because it has never been replaced as the disc jockey’s best friend.

Thomas Edison started it all with his invention of the phonograph. It played and re-played recordings done in tinfoil. This became the onset of the vinyl album era. Columbia records lorded the music recording industry in the early 1900s when it became the leading manufacturer of playable records. And during those times, the only music recorded was done acoustically.

Eventually, electrical reproduction of music took over and the first vinyl records were developed. Then hi-fi became a common term, pertaining to the shortened high fidelity, a type of sound that is almost similar to the live music being played. And then, stereo sound took over mono. Its clear, crisp quality of sound made it the “in” thing during those days and up to a certain point, stereo sound is the best type of sound we ever had.

In long playing albums, otherwise known as LP, the sound is read and encoded by a needle on top of a vibrating frequency when the disc is rotating at just the right speed. During the early years, both sides of the vinyl album had grooves and that is what spawned the term “side b”.