LPs, anyone?

[jducoeur]

One of our projects for this weekend was going through the record collection and breaking it down into four roughly equal piles: Get Rid Of It, Think About It, Replace It and Over My Dead Body. Having put the latter away, it's time to start figuring out how we're going to dispose of the rest.

So, a few questions. First, is anybody here actually still keeping / acquiring old LPs? They're an extremely mixed bag: besides the usual 70s and 80s pop and rock, there's a bunch of classical (and a little period), a modest amount of folk, and assorted eclectica ranging from Firesign Theater to Wendy Carlos to the Berrymans. Most of what we're getting rid of can at least theoretically be obtained on CD -- we're tending to keep the albums that are genuinely irreplaceable, but we're not spending a lot of effort trying to figure out whether particular classical/early recordings exist on CD. I can produce an index if anybody's seriously interested, but probably won't bother otherwise.

Second, any recommendations of what to do with these? I'm assuming that a few of them are worth a bit of money, but most aren't terribly rare. My initial guess is to try Freecycle, but if anybody knows any good stores that are still interested in record collections that aren't entirely trite, we might check them out...

Comments

[aishabintjamil.livejournal.com]

If you come across anyplace that takes them, I'd be interested in hearing about it. I have a largish selection of older classical and 50's pop stuff on vinyl from my mother that I'd like to do something with. I don't care if I get money for it, but I'd like it to either end up with someone who'll be happy to have them, or somewhere that will benefit a good cause. These folks (www.gotbooks.com) used to say they took vinyl, but I don't see it on their web site any more, so they may have stopped.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

The cost of LP-to-MP3 conversion tools has gone way down, and the quality has gone way up. You may want to wait for the after-Christmas sales, and score such a tool - and rip as many of them as you MIGHT care about.

I know there is a used record store in Cambridge on Mass Ave, but I am not recalling its name.

Robin and I have a large collection of "wish we could play them" LPs, and we are seriously considering getting such a toy, when our financial situation justifies it.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Looks like one good option for resale is In Your Ear, in Harvard Square.
http://www.iye.com/html_index.cfm?page=home

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

There is a used LP shop in Brattleboro (not far from us - about 2 hours from you). I was skeptical when they opened, but they have remained in business for about 2 years now.

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested in some of the esoteric ones -- Firesign, for example.

There's a really nice used record store up on the North Shore somewhere, I'm having trouble remembering which town it's in, but I think it might be Gloucester or Marblehead or maybe Beverley. Sounds like the Harvard Square suggestion you've already gotten is more useful.

[serakit.livejournal.com]

What's an LP?