Twenty episodes. Zero gatekeeping. Everything you need to know to start a vinyl collection you will actually listen to, built by people who spend their weekends in record stores.
Maybe you just unwrapped your first turntable. Maybe you grew up on streaming and finally want to hold a record in your hands. Maybe you inherited a crate of your dad’s LPs and have no idea what is worth playing. Maybe you walked into a record store last weekend and left feeling like everyone else knew a language you did not.
This series is for you. Vinyl 101 is a 20-episode beginner curriculum that starts with the basics (what a record actually is, how to buy your first turntable) and walks you all the way to the deep end (pressing variants, audiophile labels, international record hunting). You can read it in order or skip to the episode that matches where you are right now.
No snobbery. No “real collectors” talk. Just the knowledge that makes a record shop feel like home instead of a test.
A groove, a needle, a spinning disc. Everything you need to know to start buying records, explained from zero.
The four specs that actually matter, the suitcase players that damage records, and three turntables at $200, $500, and $1,000 that will not let you down.
Ten records across every major genre, commonly stocked at any indie record store, every one a record worth a hundred listens.
The five-minute-per-play habits that separate collections that last decades from collections that slowly disintegrate.
When a $35 reissue beats a $200 original, and when a $15 used copy beats the reissue. Buying strategy for both markets.
How to flip the bins, talk to staff, read the wall, and shop like a regular on your first visit.
The Goldmine scale, what each grade actually means, and the red flags that keep you from getting burned on a used record.
What vinyl does better, what streaming does better, and why serious listeners use both.
Speaker placement, turntable isolation, the three room problems that matter, and how to set up a small apartment that sounds like a listening room.
The one rule that prevents 90 percent of collection damage, the shelves that work, and the environmental limits that matter.
First pressings, reissues, represses, and bootlegs. Why collectors care, when it matters, and when it really does not.
Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions, Blue Note Tone Poet, Music Matters. What the premium labels actually do differently.
The name in the deadwax, why the same album sounds different on different pressings, and how to find the one that sounds right.
When the cheap factory cart is holding you back, when it is fine, and the upgrade path that actually changes how records sound.
Why a turntable needs special amplification, the built-in preamp question, and the $150 box that beats the one inside most receivers.
Brushes, fluids, microfiber, and record-cleaning machines. What actually works, what is theater, and the one-time clean that transforms a used pile.
How serious collectors price, catalog, and trade. The database, the marketplace, the auction archive, and the etiquette.
The real hunting grounds outside the shop. How to work a show, find a sale, and pull grail records out of dusty crates.
Japan, Germany, the UK. Why overseas pressings matter, who to trust, and how to buy from halfway around the world.
What makes a collection a collection instead of a pile. Focus, restraint, and the art of knowing what to pass on.
The latest record shop guides, store features, and vinyl deep-dives from our blog.
Two episodes a week, straight to your inbox. No spam, no sales pitches, just the next chapter when it drops.