Do you vinyl peeps use album covers? My OCD is kicking in...

So, I generally use album covers on all new albums and collectibles. But my OCD is driving me crazy because when the space in getting tight in the cube (ikea storage), the covers tend to slide back on the album and stick out from the rest of the stack. I know, who cares...me! Or do you guys just not bother using them at all?

 

The fix is to put the outer sleeve on with the opening facing up, and then slide the record/inner sleeve in from the top behind the jacket.

 

No, the proper way is to put the sleeve opening facing out, not up.

Now let's discuss the only proper way to mount a roll of TP.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it just ain't an anal retentive, obsessive -compulsive hobby without plastic sleeves. Kinda required.

 

yeah, slide the record in from the top. that's the correct way to store them.

 

If it unrolls from the back side of the roll that's just wrong...

 

I'm in my 50s now and, at best, I'll be able to listen to LPs for another 40 years. I take them in and out of the cubes a lot, no covers used. I know that over time the album covers will wear. I don't care as long as the albums within last as long as my ears and brain do! As often as I see people rolling into the record stores these days, selling relatives' albums on the cheap so that hobbyists like us can grab them also on the cheap, I see little monetary value that any of us are likely to enjoy during our lifetimes from collecting, so why be anal about keeping the covers in good shape?

 

Opening at the top not only makes storage easier it also helps protect against dust a bit better

 

Most of my records are on those cheap shelves they sell from Bags Unlimited. Those have such a tight clearance that a top opener would probably bunch up. The records I have in Peaches crates do have the opening facing upwards, but it's still spine side out.

 

I'm with you on this. I refuse to put covers on covers.

It's just so...


Besides, a bit of ringwear adds character.

 

When I was a kid I meticulously put all my comic books in bags, because they were going to be worth millions one day. That never happened. I refused to mess with covers for a long time, now I use them for the records I paid too much for just for fun.

 

Exactly how I put my LP's on my shelf. They don't slip out and get damaged either.

 

I tend to think of myself as a temporary custodian of albums while I am on this earth. As such, I want any future owners to get as much joy and pleasure out of my records as they can. It's not about collecting or selling. It's about preserving. It also helps feed the OCD monster

 

Sleeves go on everything.

 

I *only* put outer sleeves on mine to add a layer of dust protection. Even then, only about 25% of my collection has outer jackets. I'm opposed to actually buyin any sonthe ones I have have come from album purchases

 

Plastic sleeves drive me nuts, so I never use them inside or outside of an LP jacket. It's been my experience that all that plastic creates a static-electricity scenario that is frustrating at best & a playback nightmare at worst. And no, paper inner-sleeves don't damage my LPs or negatively affect their playback. But then again I buy records to listen to music, not for 'collection' purposes. YMMV...

 

This is my standard job interview question, I tell them to pick one.

 

Either is better than my wife's preferred method of leaving the new roll on the back of the commode until I come to use it.

 

I have a few plastic outer sleeves lying around. I use them if I think it's gonna rain when taking them to and from my friend's place. Otherwise it's just another unnecessary step when trying to play music.

 

Is there a Cat in the house?

 

Pictured: Vinyl Peep.

 

Putting an album in a poly sleeve is not OCD, it is a best practice. It is very low cost, low effort and keeps your albums in good condition. Certainly you have been through bins of used records and have seen what happens when they are not used.

Not using a sleeve so you can make more room on a crowded shelf for more records is crazy talk. I buy my sleeves about 50 at a time and it's about the same thickness as three or 4 LPs.

 

I've always kept LP's in plastic sleeves, when I was a teenager Buch Spieler used to give you a plastic sleeve with every new LP you bought. Unfortunately most of those sleeves haven't lasted 30 years.

I buy the cheapest sleeves from Sleeve City and most of the LP's that I want to sleeve have been sleeved, I'm not obsessive about it though. I'm still a couple of hundred away from having everything sleeved but it's not a high priority. When I have the extra cash, I usually buy the more-important replacement inner sleeves.

 

I figure my collection's not going anywhere until they take me out feet first, so I ditched all my plastic outer sleeves yeas ago. Doesn't matter to me if there's a bit of wear.

John K.

 

I'd rather the greasy fingerprints be on a protective outer than on a cover.

And paper is fine for inners provided they stay clean. The problem is when dirty / dusty records go into them and they get contaminated.