Do you go record hunting while you are on a trip?

I've never really gone on trips for vacation very much, but I used to drive all over New England for work and found out where all the good used stores were and hit any where time permitted in the town where I was going or along the way. I don't do that much any more, but a made a work trip a couple of months back and got in a stop at one store each in Columbus and Cincinnati on the way. Once you start you can't stop.

 

I certainly do, when I get the chance.
Last week I had to make a trip to Cambridge, 7 hours on a bus for an appointment of 1,5 hours. The only thing to ease that pain was the one hour I spent browsing through a fine collection of second hand records in a local market stall. It turned out to be a little goldmine, so I'm glad I found it by googling record stores in Cambridge beforehand.

 

Only on LSD trips.

 

That's sad. We all make mistakes when we are young. Let me tell ya, my very best childhood friend passed on the opportunity to study piano in Julliard because his then girlfriend wouldn't 'let him'. How crazy is that? She left him for another guy a couple years later and that's that. His piano soloist career never picked up. So, you were lucky in a way it was just the turntable. I am happy with my turntable, I had a entry level Technics when I was young, but then stopped listening to vinyl for a very long time. My 'new' husband is a big time vinyl junkie and every since we've been together I rediscovered the beauty of how awesome vinyl sounds.

 

I do buy records when I'm out of town, but it HAS to be something I can't get back home. I didn't go to the other side of the country just to buy a common Bob Dylan album, or a Steppenwolf greatest-hits LP. However, if that store down south has a faintly rare Memphis garage 45, or Amoeba in L.A. has a 70's punk compilation CD that isn't making the rounds elsewhere...and the price is right...well, definitely!

 

I used to get down to the Mississippi delta on business several times a year and would haunt thrift stores, flea markets and junk shops to cadge for old blues 78s. Worked well, too--I ended up flying home with 78s from Bukka White, Elmore James, Little Brother Montgomery, Howlin' Wolf, Sleepy John Estes, the Mississippi Sheiks and others. I still get down there--was in Little Rock and New Orleans last year--but don't get down as often as I used to, and miss the hunt.

 

I wish. Never enough time.

 

Just got back from 2.5 weeks in London, Liverpool, and Copenhagen. Used the Around Me app to find record stores in each city and found time to poke around a bit.

But as one person said earlier, with Amazon and eBay there isn't as much of a need to track down albums overseas. I made a point to buy albums not readily available here in the US. I was in Copenhagen 15 years ago and it was a much different Internet landscape then compared to now. And the interesting part was many of the used CD and record stores I went to back in 2001 are now gone. : (

 

Yes, whenever possible. But, as others have mentioned, I don't have the same luck I did 10-20 years ago. So I settle for local craft beer instead!

 

I usually do some record shopping on our annual trip to London. I'll usually find something I wouldn't be likely to find in Toronto.

 

Do you mean while under the influence of some awesome psychedelics . . . lol

If so, then yes, I have lol

 

As time permits, absolutely. I've had some decent scores on road trips.

 

Have done in the past, and intend to do so in the future! There are so few record store in New York City, when you get down to it, that I feel it's almost a moral imperative when I am elsewhere.

 

Only on days that end with a Y.

 

Vacation - rarely
Visit home - Ann Arbor, East Lansing pilgrimages


Business trip with an overnight or a few spare hours - hell as in yes

 

I always do. Even on my honeymoon I made some time to go looking. In every city and state I have been to, I have always found things I never saw anywhere else. I always budget a small portion of my money to music in case I find something I want. Of course, this behavior is changing. I now have 99% of all the music I want and I don't seek out new music anymore like I used to. I would still look but if I didn't find something that was completely awesome, I wouldn't buy anything. I also do not spend near the amount of time looking as I once did so I wouldn't make a day of it. Online shopping has opened a door for music that didn't exist before. Almost anything I want is as simple as clicking the "buy it now" button.

 

Great score! I strongly urge you to get the tulip label DGs over the later circle labels.
Especially the monos, which people ignorantly pass over. The DGs that you may find in the super heavy cardboard sleeves (very rare here) will astound. A friend of mine got hit in the head with one as a kid growing up in Austria. Serious concussion. Those should have come with a warning.

UK Deccas in Canada? Don't neglect the early monos with the catalog numbers beginning with LL. Many of them outclass the later FFSS bluebacks that are so highly sought after. The earliest monos have a bright red and iridescent gold label. Those sound better than the later reissued LLs with the red/silver labels. And the earliest have one charming feature - they were pressed without a "lip" and are dead flat from beginning to end - doesn't affect the sound but I just like that for some reason. And as with many Decca/Londons pressed in the UK, they're inexplicably resistant to scratches and scuffs. Unlike most DGs, which can sound a lot worse than they look.

 

Arrived there after 5pm the past two years when headed to the USA the next day. They roll up the sidewalks for retail so early that I haven't been able to get from the hotel (near the airport) to the shops in time.

 

I occasionally get someone "on a trip" when they're in my store.

 

Concerts, and books, uh, music books.

 

Oh man, that sucks! Not many people get the opportunity to study at Julliard. I bet he's kicking himself for that, now. In my case, you're absolutely right that it was just a turntable. In a roundabout way, it turned for the best because it afforded me the opportunity to build another stereo system from the ground up. Believe me, I won't give up my current system (not to mention my vinyl and guitar collections) for anything.

 

Only if I happen to come across one, in which case I'll be in there for an hour or two. Records are also among the items that I bring with me as hand luggage on a plane - can't risk damaging or losing them.

 

What we need in every country is a record collector's tour bus that will take you to each store. No wasting time looking for a parking space. And there's lots of room for storage in the luggage compartments.

 

Thank you so much for the input. I have found some of the tulip ones and several really good mono recordings as well. I only grab the ones that are in near mint condition and have also at least very good + covers. I am amazed how some are over 50 years old and are in such good shape. Today I listened to the Sibelius Violin Concerto with David Oistrach, original Columbia Masterworks Canadian first pressing from 1960. Flawless vinyl and excellent cover for a buck. Unreal. Most of my later issued DG vinyl sound really well, even on my not so fancy Technics TT. Rich sound and no ticks or weirdness. Maybe because my husband gave them all a very thorough cleaning on his VPI 16.5 vacuum thingy. I was very disappointed with an Arthur Rubinstein Chopin LP on RCA Victor Dynagrove that looked very clean and shiny, but on the TT it sounds all scratchy and distorted. Not sure what was used as a source or why it is flawed like that. I will keep on posting on the classical music thread about my finds! Cheers

 

Always, I have found that I can easily carry 50 lps as a carry on when traveling. My poor wife has to spend hours in the stores but then we usually have to follow it with clothes shopping. Going to Tokyo next month on business and have one day off so looking to head to Shinjuku to hit the record stores.