"My Journey as a Multi-Format Collector: Real-Life Vinyl Horror Stories!"

WARNING: Contains stories of parting with vinyl records!
As a well-known advocate for both CD and vinyl formats, my journey in the world of music media has been anything but straightforward. In this video, I share my personal story, taking you from the days of cassettes and vinyl records to the rise of CDs, through the heartbreaking decision to dispose of a massive vinyl collection in the 1990s, and the near-loss of what remained in the 2010s.
Join me as I reflect on the evolution of my music collection and the lessons learned along the way. Whether you're a seasoned collector or new to the scene, this story will resonate with anyone who has ever cherished their music collection.
Don't miss this nostalgic trip through the highs and lows of music collecting, and discover how I came full circle to embrace the timeless appeal of vinyl once again.
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Thank you everyone for being part of my journey and supporting me. Phil :)
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine

[@ericheaton9926]

I started record collecting in mid 60’s and built up a sizeable collection up until the late 80’s when I went completely into CD’s. Luckily I was able to store them in my old bedroom at my mum’s up until she passed 11 years ago. On clearing her house I was going to get rid of my records but it was my wife who convinced me to buy a turntable and keep them. Which I did and I will be forever grateful to her. My horror story is that when I got into streaming I decided to sell cheaply to Music Magpie all my CD’s. Two years ago I realised my mistake and began to buy CD’s again mainly due to escalating cost of vinyl records and that I could buy second hand CD’s cheaply at charity shops. I now derive a great deal of pleasure searching through charity shop CD’s replacing lost treasures and coming across the odd rarity.

[@turtletronify]

Yep, I did the CD sale to Music Magpie as well. I even kept a list of which ones and I look at it and have a little cry every so often.

[@747jono]

Phil remember the days when our friends would club together to buy an album go back to their house, listen to it and then pop in a Maxell C 90 hiss free cassette and tape it lol. Happy days ❤️❤️❤️

[@robertb653]

Hello from Canada. I grew up in the 60s and vinyl was the only medium available. I never really got into collecting cassettes, but jumped head first into CDs. By the mid 2010s I had collected hundreds of LPs and over 1000 CDs. In 2016 my wife became very ill and we decided to sell the house and move to a small apartment near the hospital. I bundled up all of my records and CDs and donated them to the Salvation Army thrift store along with my stereo equipment. After my wife’s death, I decided to get back into music again. I’ve replaced most of my CD library, plus many more. I shop mainly at used CD shops and thrift stores as buying new would bankrupt me. I haven’t gotten into streaming, and probably won’t. I still purchase many new CDs as I like to think I’m supporting the artist. I’ve stayed away from vinyl, as I don’t have the room for 1000+ albums. I regret giving away all of my music, but sometimes hard decisions have to be made. I’ve been watching your KZbin channel for quite a while now and look forward to every new episode. Thanks for the good content.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Robert, thank you for sharing your story and I am sorry to hear about your wife passing. I hope your music gives you some comfort. Thank you for the kind words about my videos. Take care - Phil

[@the33rpm]

Your loss was my gain Phil. Started collecting records in 1991 and throughout the 90s bought tons of rare albums relatively cheaply. In fact still the bulk of my collection was bought for £2.50 (for a single LP, £3.50 for a double LP) on a stall in an indoor market in Canterbury. Wish I could go back to those times. Love your videos, keep up the great work.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you and good to know that what I did and other benefited new collectors!

[@backrowbrighton]

Phil, you have just told the musical journey of all of us here. My work in the 70s and 80s forced me to live a semi-nomadic lifestyle and so the cassette was the most practical format for me. My vinyl resided in the attic of my parents house (no sleeve deterioration as they were properly stored). I remember telling my late father that he was free to dump the vinyl but he never did, thinking it too good to junk. I started playing it again about 5 years ago. My music collection really boomed with the CD and also settling down. My CDs number in the thousands, vinyl in the hundreds. Vinyl is great but there can be issue of background noise particularly on s/h stuff. The CD is always a sure thing, never bought a dud one.

[@merlinman7300]

I got rid of 100s of records in the 90s, I traded them for CDs. No regrets whatsoever, apart from possibly the artwork, I see absolutely no advantage in records at all. Biggest case of the Emperor's new clothes in the music industry. Snap, crackle and pop, no matter how much care you take. Still, everyone to their own, if you enjoy them, that's great.

[@PatKennedydon]

I do like records but all the bull that goes with them is annoying, cleaning, new needles, new cartridges and as you have said no matter how much you take care of them dust will always attract to them. Also, you don't have to spend a fortune to get a decent CD player, actually a decent DVD or Blu-Ray player will do exactly the same job if not better in some cases.

[@williambayley6903]

I bought vinyl in the late 80s and early 90s, not too many but a few that would be worth a few quid today and then when I left to go to college they were in my folks loft and then mysteriously disappeared! Basically my parents through them out with all my old copies of Kerrrang and my tab books - I was gutted!! The irony is my grandfather did the same thing to my mum when she left home and she had loads of OG Beatles LPs and singles!! I was a CD guy for years and am now buying loads of vinyl - isn't weird how we replaced our vinyl with cds and now we are replacing our cds with vinyl! I guess we love buying stuff, could be worse; hand bags and shoes 😂

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi William, I had a friend who parents did something similar! Good to hear your building your collection again.

[@stephenyoung5079]

Must be countless people with the same story Phil. Sadly I'm one of them, dazzled by the new CD format and stories on the news that you could spill jam on them and they would still play ( Yeah right) I sold my very big vinyl collection that included first pressings bought on the day of release of all the Zep, Purple, Sabbath, Heep albums (along with many many more artists). I loved the CD replacements with no Rice Krispie noises ( I looked after my records and stylus but hey it was vinyl).Sadly a few years later the " What have I done " regrets came but vinyl eventually came back and they were all bought again usually in multiples because of remaster, remixes etc. I am also now a proud multi format man. I was just getting over the trauma of selling my first pressing babies and you have brought it all back, curse you Aston 😄😄 (only kidding Phil). So many of your videos relate to my story in music and I thank you for them.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏 I had a feeling this video would resonate…. And bring back personal horror stories!

[@ladytron4220]

Same here so many sold to be replaced by CD .......but to counteract that replacing original vinyl to play on today's systems is well worth the price. Nearly all replaced vinyls sound amazing on todays players

[@garym6688]

My music collection began with vinyl as a very young kid in the mid-70s. My parents bought me a 45RPM of the theme song from my favorite show at the time "S.W.A.T." (basically a typical 70s good guys vs bad guys police show with an awesome rock-disco instrumental theme that actually topped the US singles chart in 1976) and I played it over & over. About a year and a half later while visiting an aunt & uncle who lived out state, I encountered my uncle's copy of Kiss Alive! sitting on top of his stereo & was mesmerized. He played it for me while I wore his enormous headphones and I was transported. Being the kind of guy he was, he gave me his copy of Alive! to take home and from there on, I was hooked. By the time I was in high school, I had amassed a few hundred records (half new purchases, half used copies from charity shops) and my collection was the most important thing to me. Then, in 1988, I received a CD player for my 17th birthday and, just as what happened with Phil (and many others, I presume), I went about upgrading as much of my collection to CD as I could, and basically stopped buying vinyl. By the time I finished college and permanently moved to my own place, I didn't have room to take everything with me, so the smaller CDs came along and the larger LPs stayed behind. I admonished my parents to NOT put them in their dank, batcave-like basement, but after about a year, they decided to convert my old bedroom into an office/TV room hybrid and guess where my albums went? To the basement. Fast-forward two or three years and I was set to marry my first wife and we had bought a house together, which had a finished basement. I phoned my parents and said "hey I'll finally be able to take those albums off your hands - when can I come and get them?" The response? "We had to move them to the basement temporarily while we worked on your old room, but while they were down there, we had a plumbing problem and they got ruined. We had to throw them all away." I was gutted. I finally had space for them and they were gone. They said they didn't bother to tell me because they figured I'd moved on to CDs and that the vinyl was probably worthless anyway, even before getting submerged. Even though I had "upgraded" the majority of my records to CD by then, I had no intention of ever getting rid of the records. Other than a small of box of LPs that I had taken with me (thankfully including my original Alive! and several of my late father's Beatles albums), I was back at square one! Over the 15-20 years since then, I have rebuilt a portion of my vinyl collection, including many of the ones that went the way of Davy Jones' Locker, but with the soaring cost of new vinyl releases and the insane prices that sellers ask for used vinyl these days, I know I'll never get it all back. But, of course, for us physical media folks, the hunt is half the fun! So my quest continues...

[@justinesorel6325]

I used to be obsessed with Hüsker Dü and had most of their albums on vinyl, then CD, then iPod, them smartphone... Then one day, I realised I was a former Land Speed Record holder... Love your channel, Phil : )

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🤩

[@turtletronify]

Similar journey for me. Pre-recorded cassettes in my early teens, then records as my first stereo came along (Binatone!) followed by first separates as an 18th birthday present in the late 80s. CD came along for me in about 90/91 and it was pretty much all CD from then on, although I did buy lots of dance 12 inch singles still. Kids came along late 90s so there was less budget for anything much. I never gave away or sold any of my records but I did sell over 100 CDs when downloads came along, which is something I now regret. Now I'm about 50/50 CDs and Vinyl, like you Phil. And just like you, I feel both have their place.

[@Evan55914]

I replaced all my vinyl with the CD during the 1990s. My vinyl collection covered a lot of metal including Sabbath, Maiden, and Priest. I had a MoFi heavyweight 180g edition of Queen--The Game. I had an autographed copy of Megadeth's Rust In Peace! In the 1980s I had vinyl and tapes. Sony Walkman opened up the cassette market. I still have tapes and CDs and buy them plus my album collection was rebuilt with more of an eclectic selection.

[@kevinm5957]

No horror stories for me thankfully. Was born in 1963 and started buying vinyl in the mid 70’s. Mixed in cassettes into the 80’s to play in the car and went full cd in about 1990. I put the vinyl away as I built up my cd collection for the next thirty years. I held onto everything though and during the pandemic started buying used vinyl again and brought the turntable and records out of storage. I’m also multi format. Fully embrace streaming for finding new music, but always purchase new music on cd and older metal/rock classics on used vinyl.

[@MudFlanagan]

My story is very similar. Only difference I sold my vinyl in naughties for silly prices and had to buy it back for silly prices.......let's be honest. Most of us thought vinyl was dead...:(

[@jerrygeorgopolis8015]

Phil, Spot on with your comments ! Good day from the U.S.A.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@lexpeters735]

Hi Phil, I had to have a slight chuckle because I thought you were telling my own sad story. If only we could relive those purging moments and give our old selves a good talking to.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

So true!

[@jimquinn5316]

Yes Phil that was me too ! went totally CD and only kept The Beatles albums on vinyl ....

[@sjbang5764]

I started collecting vinyl records in 1964. I was 11. My collection was entirely vinyl, and it was always that way for years. Now we come to 1983-84. I go into my fav record store and it's stocked 1/2 vinyl 1/2 cd, and I'm kind of surprised, but I thought I'll try this cd format. So, I began buying music that I liked, but wasn't crazy about on cd, and still bought my favorites on vinyl. Well, one day I go into the record shop, and I'll be damned, all the vinyl was gone! No more. So, there you have it, cd's were here to stay. Now of course cd's are persona non grata (only they aren't persons) by so many people, and they are always on the verge of extinction. As always, thanks for your thoughts, Phil.

[@bernieeggleden5016]

Whilst I have no regrets about getting rid of my vinyl records and cassettes many years ago (that's just progress) I have nevertheless stuck with what I consider to be the best format - CDs and have no intention of ever giving up this physical format. Being an old git may have something to do with this view, or possibly having no faith in young gits on the inter web deleting your entire record collection at the press of a button (because it's not profitable or some other bullshit reason). Keep up the good work Phil.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@DazRiv]

I'm 55 - fairly similar story to you Phil. Pretty much gave away a few hundred vinyl albums in the early 90s whilst switching to CD - including some great rare 70s stuff. I picked up buying vinyl again in the early 2000s when second hand stuff was going so cheap - buying back a lot of stuff I'd turfed out. As of now I'm two thirds CD (approx 5000) and a third vinyl (approx 2,500). Very happy with both formats though storage is an issue - so much so that I followed your move on ditching single cd jewel cases to plastic sleeves as a space saving exercise.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for sharing your journey! Phil :)

[@PatKennedydon]

I posted this on the Facebook page. My story is slightly different in that I got big into CD's and stored my albums away in the attic for more than 30 years. Wasn't a big collection about 300 or more LP's but I stored them in a place in the attic where the wind would be blowing up through the air vents and dampness was also an issue. So when I was moving after my divorce I wanted to take my LPs with me but unfortunately most of them were destroyed in mildew, it even went onto the records, I tried to clean them up but they were destroyed so I dumped most of them. I salvaged about 20 or so but even they are not great. I'm back buying the odd vinyl and I have about 60 now, but I had all the original Purple albums, Floyd, Yes etc from the 70's. Anyway that's my story. I still think CDs are brilliant anyway and do in the majority of cases sound better. I also have over a 100 original cassettes from the 70s and 80s.

[@douglasweston126]

Hi Phil - I never sold off my records at all. I emigrated out to Australia in 1972 so couldnt take much with me. I left a lot back home with my brother - he still has them. I started buying CD's when they first came out in 1982 - the first ones I bought were Vangelis Soil Festivities and Foreigner Agent Provocateur, I still have them. I am probably 90% CD's 10% records, but have just recently sold off a few hundred of my records. I went through them and culled what I wasnt that bothered about and got a nice payout for them. I am happy with that. I still buy records but mostly secondhand, but I am still collecting CD's. Anyway - there it is Phil. Take care Cya Doug (from down under)

[@gavaxemanspins]

Similar story to myself with CDs - swapped full time from vinyl to CD in 1990 - fortunately what vinyl I had I couldn’t quite part with so it went into wardrobes , loft and eventually a garbage - I almost got rid in 2005 and some 7inch and 12 inch’s went - but ironically the store I took them to insisted on giving me store credit - which I used to get a couple of albums as they hadn’t got any CD’s I wanted - at the same time RSD started up - and now I’m 95% vinyl but still buy CDs especially box sets - great video again

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@lauriebrett5292]

Thanks for the video Phil. I have kept all of my records from the 70's to now including the first two I ever bought, Led Zep 3 & 4. I have moved them around so many times & even transported them through customs from NZ to Australia in suitcases which were seriously overweight. When the CD revolution came I still bought records & I only really stopped when you couldn't get them anymore, so I started getting into CDs & my fascination with them has grown. I think I came into the CD market at the right time as some of the early CDs weren't the best sounding. Now my CD collection is over 5000 so it definitely has eclipsed my record collection. I still buy special editions on vinyl but I have so much that I'm being more discerning as to what I buy. Cheers from Australia 😊

[@jazzpunk]

Led Zeppelin III was one of my 1st ever LPs...never heard of LZ...the name was cool & the LP artwork was cool. Still have it (framed in "my" room)...and I'm even wearing a LZ III T-shirt as I'm typing this. ;-)

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Great story! Thank you for sharing - Phil

[@moonbananababy6870]

Same story lol i remember the 16 to 18 quid a CD, i was all CD and the i went into a record fair in London, and seen a lot of my albums that i had in the attic on display and i fell back in love with the vinyl

[@DamageCase91]

Well, most of my dad’s vinyl was lost in the floods of ‘89 & ‘97 in Long Island; but I did manage to hold onto about half the collection years later. He gave away the rest around ‘98 (second press GNR, Scorpions’ Savage Amusement, etc) otherwise, until 2016 I was a cd guy. Since then it’s been a slow build of new records & OG presses to rebuild or add what he add. Sometimes I double up and get the original vinyl & a deluxe remaster cd; others, it’s just the cd or cd box for the price involved. I’d say 70% CD/30% vinyl in total now. But there’s an allure for half the collection being in vinyl-that vintage full sleeve & art compared to the mini disc size . . The full bottom end sound . . There’s only so much space and money to go around.

[@Raypirri]

Onya Phil. Love your presentations. Being of the same era as you, I too remember the “intrigue of this new technology and medium” that was the incoming CD with all the benefits you have mentioned. Thankfully I kept my record albums safely stored but to this day and with the development of DAC technology, absolutely love the CD format for all its mystique that came with it (no noise and clicks and pops anymore) and for what it was proposed in the early 80’s. With the resurgence of Vinyl, my record collection is very collectible and sometimes I play an album or three but very soon afterwards, it’s back to the purity of digital sound for me. (Young fans should remember that many modern records they are buying are digitally reproduced and / or remastered). Keep up the great work. Cheers from Oz

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@VagueRANT100]

When I was born, King George was on the throne.Stalin was in the Kremlin and Harry Truman was President.....Rock and Roll was still a few years away etc. my first records were 78s of Tubby the Tuba and Sylvester and Tweetie Pie with gorgeous cover art..........so after all these years I can say that I have loved all formats for various reasons with possibly one exception.....8 Track cassettes!!!

[@alisonoconnor8661]

Wow! - never did that Phil! Always preferred the lp format, ie. Artwork liner notes etc. I thought back in the day that perhaps cd s might sound better, but I just preferred the vinyl format. Yes cds are great in multi disc boxsets and I don't have a problem with them but my collection would be 90% vinyl 10% cd. Did you say you just gave the records away Phil!? I didn't expect that, but I do understand. Interesting one Phil! Take care man

[@tinostabile3256]

Hi Phil Thanks for this great story. Yes I had over 200 vinyl records but when I got married because of my lack of space and lack of turntable sold them to close a friend very cheap. It was a promise I made. Today I am cd box man. Still spend more than I should but it is a lifelong passion that I cannot let go of and cannot extnguish that lifelong flame in me.Yes bought what i had on vinyl on cd and yes but several versions of the same album because could not resist the reissue... and the extras. What can you do. God bless. Keep up with your excellent work in all your endeavors and websites. You are an angel of the aficionado niche on KZbin. Thank you.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@nickvickers3486]

Growing up in the 90s my dad and his record collection, which still occupies all the cupboards in the dining room and purpose built shelves in my old room (my records are up there too), were a massive gateway into lots of great music! This was bolstered by my godfather donating his record collection to us which was full of heavy rock and prog - that was really cool as my friends and I were getting to metal and rock at the time anyway. So as I was getting into and buying on cd (mostly singles and discounted albums - full price albums tended to be presents as 12-15 quid was not cheap) lots of contemporary music I was also immersing myself in 60s and 70s music. These days I'm currently in the process of gradually moving my CD collection to Spain where I live now, and I'm really enjoying playing them again! Back in the 90s, the gap in my musical knowledge was 80s metal and hard rock and that's when I discovered that I could go into independent/second hand records shops and charity shops and by classic seminal albums like Back in Black, Ride the Lightning, Rein in Blood, Spreading the Disease, Permanent Vacation etc for a couple of quid on vinyl! It was really cheap, plus I was often able to buy 12 inch R.E.M. singles like 'Driver 8' or 'Fall on Me' which may be quite rare now who knows... so Phil while guys like your good self may have regrets about getting rid of all the that vinyl and replacing it on cd, and I my uncle did the exact same thing, you probably helped a lot of kids access music that maybe they wouldn't have heard otherwise, all because they could pick up that vinyl at pocket money friendly prices)) Anyway a big thanks for sharing your stories and keep up the good work!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for sharing yours as well ! Phil :)

[@nrod66]

Hi, Phil! Fortunately I have no horror stories concerning vinyl records. But I have a sort of regret for having bought cds for sometime in place of a record. Thanks for your much appreciated video and till next time. Nelio.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@ldesaes]

One of your best videos!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@rolandconnor575]

Hi Phil, I can really relate... When I was single I had one entire bedroom with all my vinyls covering three walls, like wall paper. My now wife, didn't have that, so they are now in my billiard room but only one row along the bottom. Cool that vinyl will not go away for awhile though not sure what AI will bring.

[@simontaylor8365]

Kept mine at my parents. Thank god. Never sold it. Considering selling some of the valuable ones now but only because of their worth. No other reason. I’m still 50/50 cd/records and probably always will be.

[@grahamevans9606]

I got my first CD player in October 1985. That was the moment my vinyl started to be sold cheaply or given away as I picked up the CD version.

[@Mikesmallfanclub]

Hi Phil I got rid of a lot of my vinyl collection back in the eighties and immediately regretted it so off I went on a mission to recover has many of the ones I got rid of,I managed to recover most of them through eBay and second hand record shops I’ve had cull on CD,s recently has I’ve run out of space but have kept the majority, I’ve always been a vinyl man because that’s what I was brought up on and you can appreciate the artwork more but still buy the occasional CD, great vid has always Phil.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@normanmacfarlane6724]

Love this show Phil but this podcast has broken my hesrt😢 I too am one of those who traded in ther LPs for cds . Even a Let It Be 1970 box set with the book . I felt foolish and stupid , still do . Now I have built up a respectable vinyl , cd and blu ray collection . I have warned my daughter that some items on my shelf are irreplaceable and when I am gone she must look after and cherish my collection. Just casting an eye over my boxsets I see my T Rex Slider boxset 😂❤ worth well over $1,000.00. I retrospectively hang my head in shame. Greetings from Western Australia 😂❤

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Be kind to yourself, you can see from all the comments many of us did this! I have that T-Rex Box Set as well

[@darcyska]

Only more recently, since 2019, have I decided to be a more multi-format collector. Growing up we had tapes, CDs, and vinyl, but I mostly bought CDs growing up. Got into vinyl in the early 2000s with a friend when his dad gave us both his record player and albums - getting into classics like Yes and Tull. Now I go for the music on plenty of formats and love all of it!

[@strat1999]

Phil, I sold all of my albums in mid eighties. Replaced them all with cds. Never regretted it, ever. Albums suck on so many levels, I wouldn’t know where to start. Love your show!!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@gordonenright5158]

Wow Phil. I just turned 59 and at around the same time you did, mid 1990s I had no working record player for quite a few years. My wife was being driven crazy with all these things we never used. I finally got rid of ALL my Vinyl. I kept nothing. I regret it now. I am sad about it.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

It’s not easy is it. Thank you for sharing, take care

[@stevelowerson6347]

Another great video Phil, the thought of you giving your records to charity shop gives me the shivers. Out of interest, what is the Rainbow box set on shelf over your right shoulder?

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

It’s a box set called Light in the Black - I have reviewed it on this channel.

[@Steven-ot2iy]

I feel your pain here. I was a very early adopter to the CD format. I later got rid of all my Cassette Tapes & 8-Tracks. Thankfully, I gave all my vinyl to my kids with the exception of 50 or so very rare titles. I wish I had all that stuff back. I only purchase vinyl if is it a vinyl only exclusive release that I am interested in these days. I just don't have the storage space anymore. Sigh...

[@jonjackson5372]

I too am a multi format man. I began with LPs, then bought some titles on cassette and had cassettes and LPs for many years. I began collecting CDs in 1990 and had several friends and acquaintances who completely replaced their albums with CDs (an expensive choice since many titles were available only as very pricey imports). I never went that route but needed to abandon a large vinyl collection when I moved to NYC. I have since replaced most of these and added many more. I now buy some titles on vinyl and some on CD. I have way too many LPs and CDs!

[@MetalTheet]

I started too buy records in 1977 and end of the eighties I started too buy some cd's. they were expensive but as they went down in price i started too more. In the nighties i upgrared my recordplayer too a Thorens TD160, but in the late 90's i never used my recordplayer. Last year i bought a new rega player and after this i play records more and more. The lucky thing is that a never sold a record and still own my collection and always stored them in my living room. The pity is that my cat scratched some of the sleeves. Nowadays most of my cd's and records are still in my living room. I finally are buying some record but mostly cd's, because there are much cheaper and still sound great. I also love the sound of records so i can call me a multi format man.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Yep 👍 your a multi format man :)

[@kenmorgan5999]

Hello Another similar story here. I started with cassettes (only had a tape -as well)then transferred to buying records. Left all my vinyl at my late fathers house. Luckily most survived. Dad did get rid of some but stopped - they were in alphabetical order and he threw away (I know!) a & b's so all ac/dc, aerosmith, bowie, black sabbath, beatles etc were mostly gone, rediscovered them when clearing house after his death in 2016. Have got most back via fairs & ebay. There is something about holding a LP in my hand, The whole practice of getting record out of sleeve is like some sort of eastern tea ceremony to me lol. I still love CDs especially deluxe editions & boxsets, Managed to pick up Restless Heart suoer deluxe edition for £23 at weekend inspired after watching your video. Thanks for the great Now Spinning Magazine!

[@slowpawstevet3676]

i would have loved an 8 track back in the day, could only afford cassette but there ya go......(-; i did continue buying vinyl in the 90s when everybody was dumping theirs, it really boosted my collection, especially with Classical music, still have most of them today. BTW they call those brown spots Foxing in the antiques trade.

[@brewt1mer]

My family moved to cornwall at the end of 1986 ( I'm 53 now ) I also replaced my albums with cd and only got back into vinyl in 2015 and I haven't looked back...I still get cds but I also love vinyl...I've never really been into streaming as I love physical media and I always want to support the artists I like by buying their music.

[@fitterstoke45]

Isn't it funny how we hanker for the most expensive format at any given time? In the eighties we turned our backs on LPs for CDs which cost twice as much. Now it's the other way around, except that LPs often cost three times more than their CD equivalents. I dallied with the odd vinyl purchase ten years or so ago but now consider them poor value, lovely as they are. My music buys are now about 90/10 CD/vinyl, with my collection proportioned at about 50/50. But irrespective of format, I agree with you that physical music carriers are the way to go. I do stream music but only to audition potential CD or LP purchases. I don't feel the pleasure of collecting and ownership unless I have a tangible format in my hands!

[@texeast8680]

Phil, in the 1980's I also bought cd titles that I had on vinyl but I did one thing right, I kept all my vinyl records from the 70's & early 80's and I continued to take care of them and to this day they are all in mint shape and play very well. I am so happy I kept them as I did at one point think about selling them when cd's came out but for some reason a little voice in the back of my mind would not let me do so. My collection today is about 50% cd's 50% vinyl. I do prefer the cd box sets as you get more for your money and I have many wonderful cd box sets. I consider myself a triple media owner as I am very much into mutlti-channel dvd's and blu-rays also and I grab up as many dolby atmos audio disc's as I can afford. Thanks Phil for all you do on your channel and have a good day!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts - Phil :)

[@WhizzRichardThompson]

I'm so glad I never got rid of my 300+ records (even though most of my mates did). Some of my fave records I've bought remastered CD copies (eg Made In Japan) but kept the originals. Well done me. 😊

[@danaeloucaidou4991]

I never sold a single record. Even the ones i never liked and spun just once. Someof my records are 30 years old and perhaps played once. I LOVE the records I bought in the late 80s and ealry 90s. Then mobed to CDs by the mid 90s. Up through to 2015. Then back to vinyl.

[@stevelowerson6347]

Regret not buying vinyl in the 90s as like most people I started on CDs, some of these vinyl records so hard to find now and if you do, are so expensive.

[@turtletronify]

Same here. Really regret not buying the first three Oasis albums on vinyl as they are apparently great pressing/mastering but now cost a fortune - if you can find one in great condition as I doubt they were exactly cared for during the 90s Britpop party days.

[@robertmorgan9205]

I too got rid of most of my records when CDs came out. I kept all my Pink Floyd albums and, weirdly, a double album of James Bond music and an LP of the soundtrack of the Good, The Bad And The Ugly. Nothing wrong with either of those but my Led Zep, Santana, Hendrix (first pressing Electric Ladyland), Aphrodites Child etc etc all went. I’m now back buying records (many that were replacements) along with CDs but it still irks me a bit that all those original ones went.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Wow, so many of us did this !

[@ChristinaM69]

The only horror story I have is that I got rid of my records and cassettes and replaced with CD's in the early 90's. I should've listened to my Dad when he told me to hang on to my records. I have a nice CD collection and started my record collection up again in 2008. Thanks for the advice on CD sleeves for space saving. What a game changer! Like you, my collection is about 50/50.

[@markkaminski4496]

Yep as you and many others are saying, had a hugh collection 1000+ vinyl records back in the late 70s through to around mid l ate 90s, then got into cds, had a huge amount again close to 1000, of them ss well, still have a few hundred, gradully got rid of certain bands, just keeping my favs Motorhead, Sabbath, Saxon, Uriah Heep, UFO, Purple, so on. .But got rid of vinyl, mostly because did not have a job for many years, and could not aford them, but my late father bought ne a record player back about 10 years or so, so had to get vinyl again, got a fair load of original ones back again only favs, back in the day bought just about everything in the heavy metal rock vein, have pretty much what need now, unfortunity some are new presings, so ruddy expentive compared to the old days. Great subject again Phil .

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@mikewest1542]

Anyway Phil you can’t take it with you so don’t fret my friend !

[@29xthefun]

I call them records too. Vinyl to me is a word posh people use for them lol. I never had a lot of music as just never had the money but when I got into the 90s CDs were so expensive I would often get music on record as it could be as low as £5 for a new LP and as high as £18 for the CD. Also many new indie bands would do first few singles only on 7" so that also got me into records. When personal CD players came in that is when I really swapped over. But luckily never sold off anything. Still have the same turntable my mum got me and the wee cleaning brush too lol.

[@JohnFiocchi]

I started buying vinyl in 65' and in the late 80s I began replacing it with CD. I couldn't believe the clarity of the compact disc. I was already disappointed in record surface, occasional scratch, warpness, production etc. Many albums in the 60s and 70s sounded like they were recorded in a cardboard box . Starting in the late 80s I began buying Japanese imports. I couldn't find the music I wanted on CD in America so I used to special order from Japan. Things like Anthony Phillips, Greenslade, etc. Jade Warrior were on the Line label which wasn't phased properly. They weren't mastered properly until the 90s. Early Fleetwood Mac and Humble Pie I had to buy the Japanese imports. I couldn't locate them elsewhere. I eventually ended up collecting Univers Zero and Art Zoyd from the Rock In Opposition movement, Electronic Music for decades like...Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Wendy Carlos , Mort Garson, Beaver & Krause, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and many other obscure artists. In Progressive Rock I collected most of The Enid, Goblin, Pulsar ( Symphonic)....loads of Krautrock....Canterbury...for years and years...and it's still stored in book cases sitting in closets. 😅

[@mikewest1542]

I would love to move to Cornwall myself , hate London now ( that’s for another day) . I would try to move the vinyl but looking to purge my collection now , just in the hundreds , thankfully not thousands . Also have as many CDs too 😅

[@jazzpunk]

Pre-CD...I was an LP-guy...although, I did have ~6 8-Tracks (why?!?!), 3 store-bought cassettes, & ONE Reel-To-Reel (Maria Muldaur's album with "Midnight). R2R...what a mess & waste of time. I was still buying LPs when the CD craze began. I could get 2 LPs vs 1 CD. Still remember that Xmas morn > Parents bought me my 1st CD Player (Sony), my brother gave me my 1st CD (GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROAD ST). Yes, very clean sound with no noise. Impressive.

[@jazzpunk]

...the bulk of my LPs are still stashed at my mom's. My horror story is Comics. When I hit 10 in 1968, my parents told me I was too big for that stuff...and so they were "donated" (so I was told)...same for my Baseball cards in 1972.

[@rickfereday1877]

I was like you Phil I got rid of all my vinyls for CDs and decided to go back to vinyls around about the time we went into lockdown.

[@redrocker7857]

I’m 62 years old and I went through the same process as you.I had a ton of records by the time 1987 came around.I was wanting cd’s but they were very expensive.So I sold all my records and my stereo console that I had since I was 14 years old (wish I still had it).I bought a full stereo system with cd player for about 1200.00 dollars.My wife thought I lost my mind.Then bought cd’s like crazy for many years.When my 20 year old son (who worked in a music store)told me vinyl was coming back I was shocked!Over time I started buying vinyl again.Now I buy records all the time.Love both formats but I prefer vinyl probably due to nostalgia and I think many improvements have been made to vinyl reissues and turntables today.I’m constantly searching for new releases now that I have more time to.Collecting music has never been as fun as it is today in my opinion.Thanks Phil for all the videos!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for watching and sharing your story - Phil :)

[@andrewmaplethorpe1125]

Did a very similar thing and sold all my vinyl to upgrade to the cd version back in early 90s. It wasn’t the better sound quality that wowed me it was more the instant skip past that track I didn’t like and the (then) hi tech random play button that wowed me on CD players. Got back into vinyl about 5 years ago and is my format of choice for those albums I want and to support the artist but do still buy occasional cd and also use streaming in the car or those times I just want a random playlist of songs.

[@stevelowerson6347]

Thanks for reply, unfortunately I am a newcomer to your channel so missed that, will try and dig video out though. Thanks again for reply n keep up the good work.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Welcome aboard!

[@julianirving9868]

Phil, oh so true a story. What records I have left are in the loft waiting ‘permission’ from the other half to bring them back down to play again. New turntable needed first however as mine was broken by the removal men. Tapes are in a cupboard so cd and downloads are my go to at present. Kind regards

[@frederickbartel2837]

My story is something of the reverse of yours. I was pure LP/vinyl throughout childhood. When I got my first car, however, I started going for audio cassettes since I spent less time listening to music at home and listening more when I was out and about. When I left home and relocated across the country, my records stayed behind at my parents' house. Then when CD players in cars became the norm, I curtailed my cassette purchases and collected CDs only, both for home and for use while driving about. Most of my old records were discarded by my mom when she was cleaning house one day, and the remaining ones were so worn they weren't worth keeping, and I eventually junked all of them. The large number of cassettes I'd acquired were also junked since I never played them. So for me it's CDs all the way with a small amount of streaming.

[@PJHVols]

I’m at this weird place where I only buy CDs if they are boxsets (for the most part) . If it’s an artist I’m interested in but don’t want to spend $175 on a vinyl box set but still want to listen to it (like the Dio cd box you did a review on relatively recently) then I’ll opt for the $50 or less box set.

[@paulbrookes413]

I still have All my 6 LPS 😁

[@iang1]

Ha ha, similar tale here and similar horror realising "omg, I must have sold that in one of my culls, WHY?!!". Its amazing how we succumbed to the insidious message from 'out there' that we were being left behind by keeping vinyl and not buying the big new shiny techy futuristic CDs. It happened with styles of music too, that change from being a teenager in the 70's to entering the 80's and thinking real organic rock music was gone forever to be replaced by the thin sounding, synthetic 80's stuff. Although I never really got into that new wave era and was grateful for the AOR, American bands and prog revival that eventually saved the 80's from a musical wasteland!. Luckily the more recent 'big thing' of downloading left me cold and have completely ignored it.

[@anthonymcnamee6297]

I got rid now I’m clearing CDs too much to listen too shame there’s not some kinda museum with all sorts in

[@graemeknowles1431]

I grew up in the CD era..I love buying them still to this day. Have so many CDs ❤

[@davesmusictank1]

It is the kind of story that I had similar feelings about. However, I continued with vinyl until 95. CDs by then were cheap enough to buy so I started buying CDs and then got rid of my vinyl collection until one moment in the late 2000s when I met up with two friends who still bought vinyl and were DJs. That started me back on the vinyl trip again buying singles,. 12-inch singles and albums in the genres these guys were playing. I started gigging with them as a DJ with my own unique twist on jazz, salsa, and sixties beat music Hence (as Jazzy D, with DJ Ally Smitha and DJ Abo as the threesome that played all the old jazz, sixties beat, boogaloo and funk etc in various venue around Brighton, often together, but also on our own gigs. When the 2010s came around I had massed a massive collection of vinyl in these genres and after some bad financial moves and rent problems, moved out of Brighton selling all the vinyl I had collected. At that time it was 70 per cent vinyl. But now that I am collecting again, it is still Cd that is the main format I buy, simply because of price and of course box sets. These days I operate on the fact that if it is not on CD then I will be the vinyl, and that does happen sometimes. I am now probably75 per cent CD and the rest being vinyl.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for sharing your story that was fantastic to read? It is amazing how much music and collecting it shapes our lives!

[@thomaswery3087]

Growing up in the 60s it was of course all vinyl.When cds became the thing I went to that.Have a large collection of both right now but I did stop buying vinyl exept for my favorite bands

[@denisespainhower2153]

I didn’t get rid of my vinyls ( around 200 or so) back in the day but I did replace nearly all of them on CD. I have continued purchasing CDs ever since. Still have the records but rarely play them. Use them as wall art often though.

[@ronnienose8608]

Do you still live in Cornwall? I do, and am very happy to have discovered your channel. Thank you for your work on here. Ronnie

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

I do, near Penzance !

[@richardwillis6936]

I started with albums (vinyl) in the early 70's, bought an 8-track recorder in the mid 70's, and upgraded to a cassette recorder in the late 70's, with which I would record all my vinyl into each new format, while still buying everything on vinyl. The collection of records and tapes was huge. In the mid 80's, the CD age arrived, and I traded all my records and my turntable to a guitarist friend of mine, for enough cash to buy a CD players and around 10 discs. Now I still had my record collection that I had transferred to high quality Maxell cassettes,but the sound detail quality paled when compared to the CD versions. By 1991, I had amassed over 300 CD's. Then came the divorce and bankruptcy. The CD collection was sold off (mostly) and in conjunction with that, my cassettes were stolen (I suspect an inside job!). After a couple of years of struggle, I began to collect again, strictly CD's. The collection grew quite large by the early 00's, numbering in the thousands, then in 2008, the roof caved in again when my employer was convicted of fraud (ponzi scheme) and I again had to declare bankruptcy, and again, a large portion of the collection had to be sold to cover living expenses. Fortunately by this time, I had discovered ripping CD's to a hard drive, and still had the music as high kbps mp3's. After recovery from the last financial apocalypse, and extended unemployment, I realized that the sound of the compressed mp3's was far inferior to the CD sound I had become accustomed to, and the collection began anew. The collection is back up in the thousands, and now ripped into FLAC or WAV files on a dedicated hard drive used for my digital music players (for listening at work or on the road) and my computer which is hooked into my home system. For me, when the CD age began, I jumped in head first and never looked back. I always wondered why people went back to records after the CD age, because, to my recollection, when records were at their most popular, most audiophiles were listening to reel-to-reel tapes as the height of audio fidelity, but, personal preference aside, as long as it makes you happy, more power to you!!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you for sharing the highs and lows of your musical journey! Phil :)

[@jimhawkes]

Sadly your journey with "format" echoes mine... so much stuff on vinyl went in the 90's!

[@jollyroger4331]

I held to my record collection when I made the switch to CD’s in 1989. I still remember the first 2 discs in bought the same day I bought a CD player Macauley Schenker Group - Save Yourself LA Guns - Cocked And Loaded I even saved all the long boxes Until I moved to a different apartment and I tossed them😮😢

[@747jono]

Grew up with records then cassettes moved to cds yes initially very expensive. Got rid of vinyl slowly replaced with cds. Now recollecting vinyls sorry records again and cds. Always physical product for years now. Yes remember selling vinyl some rarities as well space was a problem.

[@Fritha71]

I might have been one of the few who really wasn't impressed the first time I heard music on a CD... My best friend and her boyfriend had just acquired their first ever CD player in 1990 and she excitedly asked me to listen when she put a CD on (can't remember what it was, sadly) and I just looked at her with a "so?" expression on my face. It sounded sterile and cold, somehow mechanical. I told her as much and she thought i was crazy, haha. Once vinyl really started to disappear in the early 90s it made me depressed more than anything because I had always dreamed of having that classic wall of records one day (I even mention this in my old journal from 1990...!) and I had just about started to buy them in earnest when LPs suddenly went away. Several years passed before I actually relented and got myself a stereo with a CD player, this happened in 2000. But it took me a few more years before I started to purchase CDs on regular basis. I was fine with the sound now! =D Never gave up any of my handful of vinyl records and they are still with me, even though my old record player gave up decades ago and I never replaced it. The last vinyl record I ever bought was Greatest Hits by Eurythmics in 1992. Didn't get into collecting vinyl when they came back, I have stayed with CDs because they are just so much more compact (no pun intended) when living in a small apartment with very little extra space.

[@TheVinylOrchard]

I benefitted hugely from people dumping records at charity shops! Some proper bargains!!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Bargains from charity shops are quite rare now !

[@TheVinylOrchard]

@@NowSpinningMagazine sad but true. In fact prices are ridiculous

[@risingstar7161]

At one point my vinyls went up in the loft. Not good in hot weather!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

It they are stored upright and packed together they can survive, many don’t unfortunately

[@brianoakley980]

I couldn't afford CDs Phil! They were 15 quid back in the 1990s. Serious money, so although I bought them, it was never in the quantity that I did Vinyl..Remember the Record clubs?...they gave you 4 and you had to commit to 4, I remember I was struggling to find my fourth free one from their list so I bought an unheard of before one...Dire Straits 1st lp..ho hum .

[@holspa]

What i did was buying vinyl during the 90s, and first ten years of the 2000s. Now they are to expensive to many times for me and prefere cds. Take careee

[@trupax2210]

Oh how they laughed at me! Lugging my record albums from place to place. The only inevitability is when the new format arrives and they will laugh once again

[@chuckmaddison2924]

He's a multi format man. Living in his streaming land Isn't he a bit like you and me.. Just had too 😊 I make do with KZbin on phone sent to an overpriced HiFi with Bluetooth.

[@JWD1992]

Funny, I have been a record guy all my life. The fact that you got rid of your records doesn't bother me. My collection exists because people got rid of their records. However, the fact that you came to regret it horrifies me. I know I will never be in that position myself, but the concept is still scary, haha.

[@PSN489]

Alright Mate , Mrs Aston must be a very understanding Woman !!!. Yes I am guilty has charged with vinyl being dumped in 1991 and I mean the lot, I have not tried to replace however, simply cannot afford it. I do buy the odd vinyl now however. Is it me or is there an awful lot of snobbery attached to vinyl these days with the cd treated with disdain ? . Anyway , confession over . Take Care Mate.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Sue is a very understanding woman 👩 there is some snobbery which I why I also defend and promote the CD format. Thank you for watching - Phil

[@billyfletcher9449]

Phil I have a very similar story…. What was I thinking?. I’ve probably bought back all the vinyl I’d sold/given away.

[@ianlewis8086]

When CDs came in a mate of mine sold his collection as he was moving to cd. I must have bought about 200 from him. At that time I refused to go to CDs. I hung on until labels were not releasing the record, only the cd. Then I had to get a cd player 😂

[@user-ym6nx3dn2z]

Sold Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys to fund an overseas trip in 2000. MISTAKE of note. Having grown up with 78's, singles and vinyls, 8 track in car, later cassettes too, still treasure all those formats. have a Thorens tt that plays 78's and 16 and 2/3 - remember those ? Phil Phil what's a poor boy supposed to do ?

[@risingstar7161]

Sold my brunswick copy of the whos my generation album for around £40!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

I did worse than that - thank you for sharing :)

[@andrehendrik]

I share your trauma. I've had to book 3 additional sessions with my therapist to work through this!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Haha

[@risingstar7161]

How times change now you can't give cds away

[@EddyTeetree]

You had two sons and didn't call either Martin (or David or Brownie or perhaps Lagonda which would be way cool). What a lost opportunity lol. Tho odd thing about your story to me is that you gave away all your records but kept the turntable. Did you repurpose it as a potters wheel? I could care less what someone calls them but “vinyls” is plainly just bad grammar. Cheers Big Ears. 🤗

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

I still had a lot of records in the garage so pottery was never an option :)