I've been collecting records for years now, roughly since I was about 14/15. Since this time I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on records, I would never hazard a guess because I think my wallet would probably start crying. But, I have all these records here in my amazing record box and I see no point in not showing them off here as, let's be honest, records truly are works of art as they are so beautiful with their big, bold cover arts and crisp sound on good players. They truly are unmatched in terms of collections and quality. Shout out to The Lipstick, The Girl and Her Wardrobe for giving me the idea to do this, So let's begin with the A's.
Aerosmith - Pump
This album is one of the greatest debuts ever, possibly one of THE greatest albums ever. It is a perfect representation of everything that was right with rock in the 80's with excellent songs like Love in An Elevator, Young Lust and Janie's Got A Gun. This is the original pressing of the album as when it was released as my Dad gave me this out of his collection because he doesn't really listen to it anymore.
The album isn't in perfect condition but for a second hand album that is over 30 years old I can't really complain because the pressing is absolutely crisp as they usually were when Vinyl was the only way of listening to music. The pictures on the sleeve for the record are questionable though.
Alt-J (∆) - An Awesome Wave
As you can see, inside the gatefold contains all of the lyrics to every song on the album in really satisfying squares of text. I really like this idea because it saves having to either search for them online or just listen in general because sometimes the high-pitched singing and distortion can be hard to understand.
The album comes really beautiful cream-coloured vinyl which just tops off the way that this album is physically pleasing. Not to mention that this is a really good press and the songs are definitely made to sound brilliant on vinyl, with the vocals taking centre stage on the pressing with the instruments being slightly quietened.
Alt-J (∆) - This is All Yours
Of course, being a completionist, I have to own Alt-J's second album swell. It all comes with being a collector, trust me. Although this album isn't as good as their near-perfect debut it still has it's highs with songs such as Every Other Freckle, The Gospel of John Hurt and Left Hand Free. What I love more about this album however is the fact that they really evolved their sound instead of staying the same which I really love to see in an artist
I have to say, the fact that the lyrics are once again printed on the inside of the gatefold in those pleasing squares is arguably my favourite thing about this record because it stays in tune with their first record and it's just aesthetically pleasing.
This album was released in two different sets, Blue and Green vinyl and Red and Yellow vinyl. It was completely luck which one you got and I have to say I am quite disappointed that I didn't get the red and yellow one because I don't really own any yellow vinyl except for the 7" of Broken Jaw by Foster the People. However, this is also a really nice pressing this time it is pretty much perfectly in tune with the CD copy which has it's positives and negatives but that's by the by.
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
The album cover is probably a fine description of the album and really matches the songs that are on this, about living on the breadline and getting messed up in general. Alex Turner's accent is incredibly strong on this record so I would give it a miss if you don't like British accents in songs. However, the Sleeve contains some really interesting photos and the vinyl is pressed really nicely on a record that is somewhere between heavyweight and flexidisc.