The 7 Types Of Record Collectors

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You already know that vinyl is making a comeback. It’s all over. It’s difficult to avoid seeing the vinyl revival in Wal-Mart and IRS advertising. Your entire social network is purchasing a turntable. I mean all of them. After that is over, you should consider the type of record collector you are. Do you want to dedicate your entire basement to your new activity, or are you only interested in collecting your favorites? Here are some of the different types of record collectors I’ve seen in the brief time I’ve been collecting.

1. The Lifer

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Lifers have a room of their homes devoted to the vinyl they have accumulated and have never stopped collecting vinyl. The best crate diggers on the planet are lifers, who can spot a rare copy of The White Album from a mile away. Their lives revolve around Craigslist advertising, flea markets, and garage sales. They have an advantage when shopping because they are aware of the prices of almost everything. They’ll pay $2 to discover that diamond in the basement of their friend’s grandmother and then sell it for $200. They enjoy hunting even though they enjoy music. Although I’m not a Lifer, I find it intriguing to observe them in the wild.

2. The Obsessive

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Every delightful or collectible item that can be found is owned by obsessive record collectors. In addition to having more albums than they know what to do with, this kind of collector also finds it impossible to resist a re-release of an album they already own. Really, they can’t resist anything, and restraint is NOT making daily record purchases. Between 20–30% of an obsessive’s collection are things they haven’t even opened yet. I don’t have an obsession, but they affect me. I love obsessive collectors, but I don’t want to be one. At least I don’t possess THAT much, so I can rationalize these purchases.

3. The Completist

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I tend to be a bit of a completer. I “need” to own every single release from a select group of musicians, possibly even every single side project or guest appearance. For me, this goes back to my childhood sports card collection and the need to finish the set for a certain season or my favorite team. I do require every single Wilco release, including reissues that merely differ in the color of wax they are printed on.

4. The Audiophile

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This man is someone you are familiar with. He owns the best system available and exclusively listens to and purchases the purest pressings of each album. He also obsesses over details like who pressed an album and whether it was digitally or analogly mastered. He can identify who played on each record and will give you a speech on why 180-gram albums are overrated (I’m worrying about this more and more). Also, he presumably has a stack of 78s. I kind of want to be this person, but I lack self control.

5. The Casual Collector

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This is your typical collector. When they first start collecting, they acquire a small number of their favorites and then add 3-5 titles year, some of which are new and others of which are vintage. This guy is also most likely the most sane of the group. I try to be like this person numerous times a year, but I almost never succeed. Boring!

6. The Limited Edition Collector

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I once tried to win the election for this organization’s president. The items that are “limited to,” “hand numbered,” or “pressed on cotton candy splashed, translucent, 200-gram vinyl” are purchased by this group of collectors. The amount of copies of an album already possessed is not taken into account, much like with completists, as long as it’s a version they don’t already own. I’m getting well from this illness right now.

7. The Nostalgist

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Those who are nostalgic are currently emerging from the shadows. They are either investing in their first record player or returning to the scene after decades of riding the CD wave. Just the top songs or their favorite albums from the past are purchased by nostalgics. They just want that copy of Rumors to throw on the table whenever they feel the need; they don’t care about colored vinyl or numbered copies.

If you collect things, you probably fall into a few of these categories. There are a ton of additional categories you could add to this list as well. What kind of record aficionado are you?

Sources:
https://medium.com/@TheLongRun/the-7-types-of-record-collectors-d7e4d802ce2

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An accomplished graphic designer and blogger based in Manila. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, they have developed a keen eye for aesthetics, typography, and visual storytelling.
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