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Classic Vinyl Records That Must Be Added to Your Collection

Make room in your collection for this mix of vintage and modern classic vinyl records.

By Joseph D. N. KendrickPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Photo by Wei-Cheng Wu on Unsplash

Vinyl records have been on the back burner for decades, with cassettes, CDs, and MP3 files consecutively taking over as the dominant method of listening to music. Somehow, whether purely for nostalgia or for the rawness of its audio quality, vinyl has endured these advances in technology. Today, we are in the midst of a vinyl renaissance, which has made vinyl records and record players accessible to all. The greatest albums of the 20th century are now available on vinyl alongside modern masterpieces of all genres. Here are a few classic vinyl records that have a place in every collection.

How could anyone ever pick just one Beatles album? While Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band tops Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums" list, my personal favorite is Revolver. Nothing can come close to affecting me the way "For No One" and "Tomorrow Never Knows" do. If you have your own personal favorite Beatles album, feel free to get that one instead. Better yet, get both of them. Or get as many Beatles records as you can afford: just about every single Beatles record belongs in a collection of classic vinyl records.

Not all classic vinyl records are "vintage," and To Pimp A Butterfly is classic in every sense of the word. This 2015 hip hop album features Kendrick Lamar's expert lyricism covering socially relevant issues and a production aesthetic that distills elements from jazz, funk, and soul into a multi-faceted and transcendent musical statement.

Dedicated collectors undertake the extra hassle of maintaining vinyl records because of the enhanced musical experience and audio quality that is gained from a vinyl record player. Just because To Pimp A Butterfly was recorded in the digital age doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed on vinyl. On the contrary, it's all the more reason to get this album on vinyl to enhance your enjoyment of this masterpiece.

I don't think I have to convince anyone of Led Zeppelin's importance in the lineage of rock 'n' roll. There's room for most of Led Zeppelin's discography in every collection of classic vinyl records, but for this list, I particularly recommend Led Zeppelin IV. This 1971 album contains some of the band's most consistent playing and some of their most jam-worthy tracks. To be honest, I'd pick this as the best Zeppelin album for "Black Dog" alone.

Childish Gambino, the musical alter ego of multi-talented actor and comedian Donald Glover, has exploded on the music scene in recent years. My personal favorite of his recordings, 2016's Awaken, My Love! leans more toward funk than hip hop in the best possible way. If you're building a collection of classic vinyl records, you would be remiss not to include at least one of Childish Gambino's vinyl records. With tracks like "Redbone" and "Have Some Love," Awaken, My Love! is my personal favorite.

When it came out in 1959, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue completely altered the jazz scene. It was the perfect culmination of experimental compositions performed by some of the greatest jazz musicians in the prime of their careers. Alongside Miles Davis, this studio album features John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb.

When I was a music student, there was a story about one of my professors, a jazz musician who was alive when this album was released: He wore out at least seven vinyl records just by listening to Kind of Blue so many times. That's the sort of impact this album had when it came out, and continues to have decades later.

For most jazz aficionados, this is the undisputed greatest album of all time. Even if you don't consider yourself a fan of jazz, you owe it to yourself to put Kind of Blue in your collection of classic vinyl records. Put it in your record player, make yourself a cocktail, and enjoy this phenomenal work of music.

Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout, is a modern classic. Featuring tracks such as "School Spirit" and "Through The Wire," this album was the world's first taste of the man who would become a powerhouse producer and one of the most controversial rappers of the 21st century. Even if you're only a casual hip hop fan, I highly recommend you grab this album on vinyl. The College Dropout has more than earned its spot alongside the other classic vinyl records in your collection.

There's a reason Jimi Hendrix is so revered for his jazz-influenced guitar playing and his deeply affective compositions. Are You Experienced is the debut album by Hendrix's UK-based band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and contains some of his greatest works including "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and my personal favorite, "May This Be Love." This album was extremely influential upon its 1967 release, and remains a source of inspiration for guitarists and rock musicians across the globe.

Featuring psychedelic cover art and Hendrix's unmatched swagger, Are You Experienced might just be the crown jewel in your collection of classic vinyl records.

With this 2013 release, Daft Punk pays tribute to the greatest albums and artists of the 1970s. With everything from the duo's synthesizer technique to the cover art, Random Access Memories recalls the positive feelings of the disco era. Daft Punk names some of the greatest artists of the 20th century as inspiration, including Michael Jackson, Prince, and Fleetwood Mac. Another studio album released in the digital age, Random Access Memories is especially suited to sitting alongside the classic vinyl records that influenced it.

After his tenure in Miles Davis's band, which included the landmark studio album Kind of Blue, John Coltrane established himself as a masterful innovator and bandleader in his own right. Every collection of classic vinyl records should have at least one record from Coltrane's discography, and this 1965 studio album, A Love Supreme, is an excellent candidate.

A Love Supreme is a four-part suite inspired by deep subjects such as peace and purity (after all, this was the sixties). It shows just how quickly jazz evolved after 1960, featuring extended improvisations and experimental compositional techniques. The long-form nature of A Love Supreme makes it another excellent candidate for your vinyl record collection. The unparalleled musicianship must be heard to be believed.

This expensive-but-worth-it box set is a great way to jumpstart your collection of classic vinyl records, featuring eight of Marvin Gaye's finest LPs from the 1970s including What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and In Our Lifetime. Marvin Gaye was one of the indisputable icons of the 70s, and each of these vinyl records has a place in every collection of good music.

If you're building a collection of classic vinyl records, you can't overlook any genre or time period. If you're familiar with Igor Stravinsky's name, you might think of him as a classical music composer, but that's only partly true. Stravinsky was a rebel and an innovator. In fact, when The Rite of Spring premiered in 1913, the Parisian audience nearly rioted. When's the last time a classical music concert caused a riot? If that fact alone doesn't make you even a little interested in this concert work, I don't know what will.

The ECM record label, headquartered in Germany, is an unparalleled producer of jazz and classical music albums. Their flawless recording quality and distinct minimalist cover art aesthetic have made them a destination for some of the greatest musicians of the past half century. If you're interested in listening to classic vinyl records of the highest quality, ECM should be on your radar.

Pianist Keith Jarrett has been a mainstay of ECM's lineup since its inception in the late 1960s, and his 1975 recording The Köln Concert is, simply put, a masterpiece. Deservedly the top selling album of piano music, it is 100% improvised by the man himself. It's hard to imagine any solo musician being able to hold your interest by improvising on a piano for an hour, but Keith Jarrett has been doing it for sold out auditoriums for decades. The Köln Concert is one of the most impressive musical statements ever, and deserves a spot in every collection.

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About the Creator

Joseph D. N. Kendrick

Writer of words. Haver of cats. joeykendrick.com

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