Why do I love vinyl?

It’s expensive, fragile, and finicky, yet I still have many reasons as to why I adore records and record collecting.

The first, and most obvious reason, is collecting. Having a physical manifestation of my music taste is incredibly rewarding. Then liner notes, the gatefold images, the full size cover art, it’s all so tactile and satisfying. Oh-- and securing a rare colored limited pressing of an album I love hits all the pleasure centers in my brain so hard.

Secondly, the hunt. Crate digging is THRILLING.

I love going to a new record store in a new town because you NEVER know what you will find in the new arrivals or used record bins. Anyone could have traded anything in at any time. The possibilities are endless. The rush you feel when you flip to that record that you’ve been looking for is unrivaled.

Finally, there’s the ritual.

I truly feel like the art of listening to a full album, in order, as it was intended, is lost with this radio/Spotify/shuffle generation that I’m a part of.

Of course, I use Spotify and listen to singles as well — but it is really nice to be able to take an hour out of your day to sit down, throw a record on the turntable, listen to it, flip it, listen to it (maybe repeat that again if it’s a double LP) and then return it to the sleeve. It feels complete, and makes you appreciate the album infinitely more than skipping through a few tracks and moving on.

	My music taste is pretty all over the place. I'm sitting at roughly 1500 records, and I'd say 200-300 of them are from the 50s to 80s. The majority are from 1990 to present day, which is an expensive era to favor. My favorite genres are Indie Pop/Rock/Folk, Hip-Hop, Downtempo Electronic, Ambient, Vaporwave, Grunge Rock, and Brazilian music.

My YouTube channel’s first iteration was called "Damnit Sandy" in which I shared my collection with Sandy who was the lay man to my vinyl obsessed madman. The audience was to look through Sandy’s eyes as I showed off my record collection and waxed poetic on various artists and albums that I held near and dear to my heart. We were floored at the positive reception and growth the channel received over first year.

Damnit Sandy evolved into Too Many Records (aptly named, I think.)

So, if you’re still reading this far, thank you! I can't wait to share my obsession by continuing to create videos for the channel, posting to the blog and talkng with fantastic guests on the podcast! I hope you all come along for the ride.