Albums

Very rare old, vintage albums maybe. If you want to hear old vintage stuff, go to YouTube, there is a mind boggling amount of music on YouTube. Otherwise, old albums are junk you get from thrift stores.

Like a lot of people my age, I’ve amassed a fairly decent sized collection of vinyl over the years. And though they range in age from probably the mid-60’s to the end of the album era, I would still think they are of doubtful value. I admit that my knowledge of that kind of thing is very limited though. I did receive a tip from a guy I once worked with when I was switching to CD’s back in the ‘90’s and contemplating what to do with them. He said that the ones of most value would be recordings of artists during times when their once successful careers were on the downslide prior to another upswing. Those would be the rarest because they sold the least – but, are still of value to someone because the artist – while temporarily down, was not out. I don’t know if this was simply his opinion (he was an audio engineer and musician) but it made sense. Trouble is I have no idea if I have anything like that since I tend to simply buy what I like – and ignore those kinds of details. God, I could be sitting on a Fleetwood Mac, Doobie Brothers gold mine!

Oh, I had a lot of them! Too bad I got rid of them not too long back (with possibly a few strays floating around that I may not realize I still have). There were some that really captivated me (novelty records usually did), and there were some in which I just enjoyed the music. Some I had managed to preserve on tape and CD, and I am happy for that, at least.

Only rock or old time rock and roll artists bring any kind of price at all. Old time 45's have some value, but in that category, the sleeves are usually much more valuable.

Even if you have a rare oldie, if it is in bad condition, forget it.

When I go into a used record store or a flea market I pick up every copy of Pablo Cruise's "A Place in the Sun" that I can get my hands on, hoping to one day corner the market.

Fuck there's a lot of them.

Depends, and as always with collectables, the more pristine the condition, the higher the price will be. Really obscure, really old, and rare albums by acts known only by collectors and music fanatics will get a lot of money, as will certain ones with various errors and first pressings by the big names. Bands and singers that are also rans aren't especially collectable: modestly popular bands whose records didn't sell very well yet aren't hard to find don't tend to be worth all that much. The least collectable records tend to be relatively recent ones or best of's. In other words, The Best of Foghat or The Cars' Greatest Hits just isn't isn't going to be worth much. Personally, I have a hard time relating to anyone who would rather pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for some of these rare records when you can often buy a cd reissue of it for say $13.98.

By my teens,I finally found something I cared about ; music.I did take care of my vinyl.However,I sold almost everything I had at one point,& some record dealer got most of the stash (for peanuts,too.) Later in life,I re-bought lots of it (& then some) used but in good condition.I have a couple rare ones,but most of it I just got to listen to.Some people are paying big bucks (in the hundreds) for some records now,but not the common stuff.

Like other things on this list, selected items can be very valuable provided they are in excellent shape.

However, your carefully preserved mint condition copies of Pat Boone's "In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy," or "Pat Boone Sings Winners of The Reader's Digest Poll" probably aren't going to bring you a big payday.