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Friday, March 11, 2022

My Vinyl Collection & More (#AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal )

       It's that time of year!  April is almost here!  Inklings of spring are in the air as alphabet letters are appearing everywhere!


#AtoZChallenge 2022 banner


Yes, of course--it's time as the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge comes our way once again.   Here's what I'll be doing this April 2022...


#AtoZChallenge 2022 Theme Reveal


        This upcoming Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will be my 13th go at the event that I first began in 2010.  Over the years I've had themes about marketing, Manhattan, movies, and myself.  One year my theme was all about blogging (why not?).  Last year's theme about rivers was one of my favorites since I learned so much as I researched it.  One thing we've seen over the course of hundreds of bloggers doing the Challenge for over a decade now is that there are a myriad of topics than can be blogged about.  That's what makes blogging so intriguing and informational.

        For my 2022 theme I will return to a favorite topic:  Music.  Or more specifically:  My music in the form of my music collection.  This theme was inspired by G.B. Miller in a post he put up in 2016 where he came up with the idea of exploring his CD collection.  That was an idea that immediately struck me as a good idea for me to pursue one year.  And this is the year!


About 300 of my remaining vinyl albums

      My music collection consists of thousands of vinyls, cassettes, and CDs with a sprinkling of a few 8 track cartridges.  My focus in my Challenge theme will be mostly my vinyl LP collection.  Over the years I've gotten rid of over half of the LPs I've accumulated in over a fifty year period.  For many years I haven't had a turntable on which to play them, but I've still kept many records that were meaningful to me in hopes that someday I might be listening to them again.  For now my remaining records reside in the top of my bedroom closet.  Waiting.

        Embarking on this Vinyl Collection theme gave me an opportunity to organize the records into alphabetical order (like I used to have them back when I listened to them regularly).  I was also reminded about what records still remained and how many of my treasured old albums I had gotten rid of.   In the early nineties I began my first purge when I began selling off my albums individually at fairly decent collector prices.  That's when albums like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and many of the more marketable albums flew out of my possession  The money was helpful at the time, but now I kind of wish I had those albums back.

        Later--about ten years ago--I sold off four boxes of 200 albums to a guy that had a used record shop.  I made a firm offer of $200 for the lot. That was far more than I would have gotten at a yard sale or otherwise.  The dealer offered far less, but I didn't budge.  He climbed in his truck as if to leave then stepped out again with $200 cash in hand and walked away with the records.  He knew he had gotten a decent deal as there were some real gems in the collection and all in quite good condition.  I ended up with cash that was nice to have, but once again I do wish I had those records back.

        During the course of April I am going to do give you an overview of some highlights of my album collection from the standpoints of my personal favorites as well as the more quirky anomalies of my musical recordings.  Some entries will have personal stories about how I obtained the albums as well as why I chose to purchase some of them.  I've taken lots of photos that will be interspersed throughout the April posts so you can see what the albums look like.

        Most of the collection dates back forty years and more, weathering storage in not always the best of environments as well as a half dozen or so moves from one place to another.  Time has taken a toll on this collection, but still I'm somewhat proud of it.  Not that it's particularly valuable, but the collection contains a lot of fond memories as well as countless hours of listening pleasure for me.

         I hope readers will enjoy exploring the albums in this collection.  Maybe you will find some that you too have owned or have been curious to know more about.  I'll forewarn you that much of the collection is pretty weird and seemingly random, but for those who have an inkling of my musical tastes that might not be new knowledge.  Still, hopefully there will be something to interest many readers.

          This is all part of my life soundtrack--dear to me and possibly entertaining to the readers of Tossing It Out.  I do hope that you will join me on this musical journey in April.


What delights are to be found in this collection?










46 comments:

  1. That will be cool.
    You need to get a digital turntable and transfer your records into iTunes. (Or just save them as WAV files.)

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    1. Alex, maybe someday I might consider such a thing. Or maybe just go to YouTube or some other service if I want to listen.

      Lee

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  2. Thanks for the shout out! Strangely enough, you just put a seed of an idea, which was inspired by you, by me inspiring you, of doing something like next year.

    Hopefully, being the King of Procrastination, I will be usurped and replaced by the Earl of Timeliness. Which means I'll have my den back together again (very long story) by then, thus allowing me to pursue a truly frivolous fun thing.

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    1. GB, glad this caught your attention. It's an idea that I've been waiting to use since you posted your idea. Suits me very well.

      Embarking on my theme has helped me get some things reorganized. I highly recommend it and it is fun.

      Lee

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  3. There are about 200 albums up top a shelf in our family room. Just far enough away to be hard to get to. I think about purging, but then I think, who are they harming? Pretty sure there are cassettes up there, too...

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    1. Liza, if you purge your collection then I recommend doing some research and taking the time to get the best return on your albums if they are in good condition. I think they are worth keeping if you have the space and don't need any money right away.

      Lee

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  4. I’m surprised you have not done a music challenge before in the A to Z challenge. This will be great to listen to and I will look forward to gaining more knowledge on music. My brother has a huge collection as well.

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    1. Birgit, I've done A to Z music posts on my other blogs so that kind of sufficed. The idea of an inventory of my actual collection is an idea I haven't tackled yet so I figured it was time.

      Lee

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  5. This will be fun. Good choice of them.

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    1. Jamie, the theme is one that can lend itself well to the A to Z Challenge.

      Lee

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  6. Hi im new to Blogger im adding you so i can read more

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    1. Todd, welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog.

      Lee

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  7. I love your theme, Arlee, and will try to catch some of your posts. Good luck with the challenge!

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    1. Debbie D, sounds like your kind of topic. Look forward to some of your input on albums I share.

      Lee

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  8. As a fellow vinyl junkie I'm loving this and looking forward to reading your posts

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  9. My V post for last year...
    https://www.dpfinnie.com/2021/04/v-is-for-vinyl.html

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  10. Cool theme! Looking forward to it!

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    1. John, a theme that seems up your alley for sure.

      Lee

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  11. What a great theme! I am looking forward to exploring your music collection!!! This really will be super fun!

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    1. Alice, I enjoy sharing my music collection as much as I enjoy scouring through someone else's collection. I hope my readers enjoy.

      Lee

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  12. Great theme, Arlee. And so much "you" :-)

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter - Theme Reveal - Enter the New Woman

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    1. JF, as much music as I've done on blog I guess it is "me".

      Lee

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  13. This sounds like the coolest theme ever! Can't wait to start reading it.

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    1. CW, I do miss the days of going to record shops to search and explore music on my quest to find great albums. Hope you enjoy my posts.

      Lee

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  14. Great theme. I'm looking forward to seeing if I have any of the same albums. I keep saying we should either get a player or get rid of them but the collector/hoarder husband refuses.

    Janet’s Smiles

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    1. Janet, hang on to the albums if they had meaning at one time! I often think back on albums that I no longer have and listening on YouTube is just not the same as being able to hold the album and read the liner notes.

      Lee

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  15. I love vinyl records! I miss mine so much, since they've been in storage 900 miles away since June 2017. At least some of them are supposedly currently with my brother, but he's made it clear he cares more about his girlfriend and her husband than his own family. I'll have to get someone else to ship my belongings to me. It's been so long since I've seen them, I half-forget some of the ones in my collection.

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    1. Carrie-Anne, my albums were in storage for so many years while I was on the road. Fortunately they were at my parents house so they stayed safe though maybe not under the best storage conditions. Hope you are one day reunited with your collection.

      Lee

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  16. Lee,

    Music is always an excellent go-to theme for the challenge. It'll be neat to see what sorts of albums you still have in your collection and I presume you'll share even feature the music in your post which is always a bonus. I can't help but to include a song with my most of my posts which means you'll find a musical nugget offered at the end of my upcoming A2Z posts. I'm looking forward to the fun to be had in April with you and all the A2Zers! :)

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    1. Cathy, music has been such a big part of my life that I keep going back to it in my blog posts. I hadn't originally planned on including music clips, but then the other day I figured I probably should since there will be a lot of interesting or unique albums I'll be sharing.

      Lee

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  17. This is a wonderful theme and it's going to make for some much looked forward to entertainment. Yaaaaaay! I can't wait for April and the A to Z to begin.

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  18. Great theme! And I once bought a stack of LPs from someone who had upgraded them to CDs. Great deal for me, so I can relate to you selling off yours.

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    1. Dena, sometimes we do things for a reason that seems to make sense at the moment (making space and getting money) and then later regret it.

      Lee

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  19. I miss my record and album collection too.
    Music is the best!
    Best wishes, Arlee.

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    1. Anita, we often don't know what we have until it's gone.

      Lee

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  20. Wow, this brings me so many childhood memories. I´m lookin forward to seeing what you´ve got in your collection for this month. Have fun.

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    1. Absenta, a collection is all about memories. Tangible things that reconnect us to our pasts.

      Lee

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  21. As a product of the 70s I'm very excited to see what you have.

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    1. TGWMom, hope you find some music you remember.

      Lee

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  22. As someone who is nearing her 70th birthday, I've had a long relationship with records - 78's, 45's and 33 1/3's. Too bad I no longer have my vinyl. I enjoyed some of your River posts and I'll be stopping by.

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    1. Alana, the River theme had been my favorite to date, but I'm having such a great time putting these vinyl posts together. I've been listening to the music as I go and had forgotten how wonderful some of the music is. I've gained a greater appreciation for my collection and don't think I'd let any more of my records go unless it were absolutely necessary. Hopefully my kids or grandkids might have an interest in keeping them after I go.

      Lee

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  23. Sounds interesting. A music collection is such a personal and meaningful glimpse into someone's life!

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    1. Anne, As I've been preparing my posts I have getting somewhat on a personal level. What we like reveals something about all of us.

      Lee

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