Vinyl Records Are a Collector's Dream

Remember licorice pizza? Not many decades ago, that was how we bought our music, on those big beautiful black discs that we jealously protected from heat and dust. Officially they were called LPs (for long-playing) but some of us thought of them as licorice pizzas. The music was accompanied by a slight static sound and often a persistent, regular, soft click. But since that was always present we didn't think much of it. Obviously today's music systems have eliminated those sounds.

Unless the wrapper of the gift was clever, you could always spy an album under the Christmas tree by its unmistakable shape. Like today's teens, we'd shut ourselves in our rooms and listen, but instead of an elaborate sound system, many of us played our albums on small turntables that folded up like suitcases. And if a record tended to skip, we fixed that by placing a penny on the turntable arm. These days if you ask a teenager about an album, they think you're talking about a book of photographs.

Evvvverybody Loves... Records

The difference in attitudes towards music a few decades ago and now was recently the subject of an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond." The father laments the fact that, 30 years earlier, his jazz record collection was accidentally destroyed. To make up for it, Raymond replaces the records with the same music on CD, pointing out the clarity and superiority of the sound of CDs over the original albums. But the father isn't satisfied. He remembers the music complete with the unmistakable sounds of soft static from vinyl records. It's not until his other son finds the same music on LPs and plays them on a hi-fi turntable that his father is happy. Crazy as it may be to aficionados of sound systems, to those of us who grew up treasuring our vinyl records, there's nothing like the sound of a good old licorice pizza.

In Dollars and Cents, How Much Are Your Records Worth?

If you're lucky enough to have an album collection and you're wondering what the value is, here are some guidelines provided by Beverly Records. These are industry standards that will help pinpoint what the fair market price for a given record is:

M is for "Mint." This means truly excellent, with no fading, wrinkling, color wear, no writing on the label, and no stickers. According to Beverly Records, if you have two supposedly mint records but can see a slight difference in them, one is not mint.

VG is "very good." This record should have a minimal amount of other noise, and may include minimal label wear.

G is "good." A good condition records shows some signs of wear, may have an audible amount of surface noise, may have some scratches, and doesn't appear to have been well cared for. Yet, it is still enjoyable.

F is "fair." As Beverly Records puts it, fair is the "beginning of bad". It plays all the way through without skipping but has a distracting amount of surface noise.

What is the best way to clean old records?

The verdict is still out. But here is one way that is recommended by Doug Hanners, who writes a column about records:

• Use a clean cloth, soft toothbrush, mild dish soap, and warm water.
  
• Avoid the label, since the color on some labels will run.
  
• Get the vinyl wet with warm water under the tap.
  
• Scrub gently with the toothbrush and soap.
  
• Rinse with warm tap water.
  
• Dry with clean cloth.

For tougher jobs, Hanners recommends using cotton balls and alcohol. But his favorite cleaner is Formula 409. He says it removes dirt but leaves the wax. It does leave a bit of residue, but Hanners says this is not a problem.

If you're interested in starting a record collection or beefing up an existing one, visit the Beverly Records Web site (see Additional Resources).