* This story is an excerpt from Matty Lamp’s second feature piece on her capstone blog, titled “On the Record: Showcasing YOUR Physical Music Collections”.
The overarching theme of this project is to capture what collecting music means to people. Whether you are an avid collector searching through eBay and Discogs in your spare time, or you frequent your local record store and love to attend listening-centered events, collecting physical music media as a hobby lends itself to an interesting form of community-building.
For this story, I wanted to connect with other people on a deeper level through asking questions about their collections. A few of my respondents are people that I know in real life who collect, but several are collectors from multiple physical music Subreddits who were kind enough to reply to my posts calling for people to share their collections with me.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
*All of these responses are edited for grammar, clarity, and brevity.
Brett (he/him) is a 21-year-old from West Virginia. He collects records and CDs.
How long have you been collecting? Do you remember your first piece?
“I have been collecting records for a little more than two years. My first piece was actually a Christmas gift from my parents, and I believe it was The Beatles’s 1 album, which basically has all of their hits that went to number one on the charts, if you don’t know. My parents also bought me my record player during this same occasion.”
How many pieces do you have in your collection?
“If I had to guess, I would say that I own somewhere around 200 records. I do also own a fair bit of CDs, but I wouldn’t say I’m as much of a collector of those. My Discogs needs updated, to say the least!”
What is your expensive piece?
“I would say that it was one of my shaped records that I own, but I actually just Pre-Ordered Noah Kahan’s upcoming album on the limited edition “Porchlight” pressing, which was definitely a little pricey.”
What is your favorite piece and why?
“So, my immediate instinct for my favorite piece is probably “Virgin” by Lorde, which I own on the “Bathwater” pressing, just because I have been completely obsessed with that album since it came out last year. But, my actual favorite piece is probably Beabadoobee’s “Live and Acoustic in London” from last year’s Record Store Day, which was just mastered amazingly for vinyl.”
Do you have any fun stories about one of your pieces?
“I had just unboxed my “MTV Unplugged in New York” by Nirvana, when my cat decided to stick one singular claw through the front of the cover. Now it just has one tiny hole in the front. Okay, maybe that’s less of a fun story, and more frustrating!”
What’s one piece you have on your wishlist?
“At the top of my wishlist right now is the live 7” single that Tyler Childers is dropping for Record Store Day this year. I will be queued up for that, 100%!”
Leigh (she/her) is from Ohio. She collects cassette tapes.
How long have you been collecting? Do you remember your first piece?
“I’ve been collecting cassette tapes since 2021. During quarantine in 2020, I got really into underground metal, which has a huge cassette culture. My first cassette in the collection was Not Dark Yet by Fluids, a brutal death metal and grindcore album.”
How many pieces do you have in your collection?
“I have around 200 cassettes spanning various genres and decades. I started by collecting metal tapes, but over time, I expanded into anything I genuinely enjoy listening to.”
What is your expensive piece?
“The most I’ve spent on a cassette was about $25, which is fairly typical for new releases. As far as value goes, my copy of Tiffany’s self-titled album is probably the most valuable. Its price jumped after “I Think We’re Alone Now” was featured on Stranger Things, with copies often selling for $40+.”
What is your favorite piece and why?
“My favorite tape is actually a personalized mixtape my girlfriend made for me. It was such a thoughtful gift, and it features songs that mean a lot to me. It makes the tracklist feel personal in a way streaming never could.”
Do you have any fun stories about one of your pieces?
“For about two weeks straight, I had Pat Benatar’s name stuck in my head for no reason. I kept thinking about her and not-so-subtlely bringing her up in conversation. Then, I went to a punk rock pawn shop event and found her album Tropico on cassette. It felt like I was meant to find it. After I played it, her name finally stopped looping in my head. It felt like lifting a curse.”
What’s one piece you have on your wishlist?
“I have a sort of holy grail trifecta of my three favorite albums of all time: Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens, To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. I’ve already found Tea for the Tillerman, so I’m just searching for the other two.”
To read the rest of this story, check out Matty Lamp’s blog, “Let’s Get Physical: A Music Collection Exploration Series”!
