Many music lovers out there enjoy collecting music and memorabilia from their favorite artists, but one of the most popular things to collect is records–vintage vinyl records to be more specific. There is a growing number of people making a hobby out of finding and collecting classic records. So what makes vintage vinyl records, well, vintage?

It’s no surprise that people get a lot of enjoyment from collecting things and among those collections the more rare and unique the item, the more it seems to hold value. Often what might make something feel that way is how old it is. There’s something in many of us that likes to have things that are retro and vintage, because well it’s rad! And music is one of those things. 

If you are familiar with the history of vinyl records, you know that vinyl records as we know them weren’t circulated until about the 1950s and reached their peak in the late 1970s. Despite music becoming more accessible than ever, there has been a resurgence of the vinyl format for listening. And with that has come a collection of those vintage vinyl records. 

Describing anything as vintage is pretty subjective. The word vintage quite literally means “of age.” So the title has a fairly open meaning with tons of room for interpretation. In the antique world, an item might be given the label vintage if it is at least 40-50 years old. So, for the sake of records, you could say vintage vinyl records are anything pressed before the 1980s.  

If you have a vintage vinyl record that does not necessarily mean you have a valuable vinyl record. An older record might hold some value, but it’s probably not just because of its age. The value of a record is based on many reasons. This can be what kind of condition the record is in, how rare or scare the production was, or just who the album is by. 

Some of the rarest vinyl records are ones by some of the most prolific artists from varying times in their careers. Often albums released by an artist before they hit it big probably have a whole lot more value than those records from later in their careers. Other factors that might make a record really worth a lot could be an artist signature, a rare LP that has uncommon cover art, or an album that was pressed with limited copies. 

There are other reasons someone would want to have vintage records over new ones. A big reason some prefer vintage vinyl is the way those original records sound. For others, it might be the appeal of the album artwork or anything extra that might’ve come from those retro records. Also, it could be the nostalgia of listening to the same music the same way for decades–music passed down through generations. 

So it’s difficult to say exactly what makes vintage vinyl records vintage. And it’s even harder to determine what makes that valuable. If you do have some records that you’d like to know the value of, you can easily check what those are going for online with a quick search. Just keep in mind that high-priced records are most likely those in mint condition. That’s why it’s so important to know how take care of vinyl records and to know how to clean vinyl records. 

Searching for rare vintage vinyl is a great hobby because you never know when you could find a hidden gem buried in your local thrift store or even in your garage! And if you haven’t been able to find your favorite artist on vintage vinyl, The Magnolia Store has some great classic records you should grab or you can check out some of our classic vinyl recommendations. 

If you want to grow your collection with new music every month, you should be a vinyl subscription member. Join the vinyl record of the month club today!