There are plenty of excellent guides to the turntable online, so I don’t need to rehash anything here, but I will just say for the record that one of THE most extensive and comprehensive guides to record players is the Turntable Basics post at AudioJunkies.com.Wow, that is extensive! A great start for newcomers to turntables, indeed.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into at conventions and shows (not record collector shows, mind you) who are completely surprised that not only is vinyl in vogue once more but that thousands of new vinyl albums are coming out, both reissues and new material.

Not sure where these people have been hiding since even Best Buy carries vinyl these days, but at EVERY show there is at least on surprised punter.

So let’s answer a few basic questions: Is there new vinyl coming out? Yes. Do companies still manufacture turntables? Yes. Do these companies still make replacement record needles? Oh yes indeed!

If there’s one thing I would strongly urge people reading this to do who haven’t done so already, it’s to purchase a turntable and get back into record collecting. Simple fact–at almost every record store there is a bin of cheapies, some for a dollar apiece.

That makes getting into vinyl and collecting new-to-you music FAR CHEAPER than downloading single MP3s. I love MP3s for their portability and ease of use as a DJ, but vinyl is still my hands-down favorite for the whole music listening experience including the artwork, which is far more enjoyable in those 12×12 formats.

–Joe Wallace

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