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Top 20 Records of 2025

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Welcome to the year-end edition of the Paradise Found Records blog, It was our best year yet, and we greatly appreciate the support of our customers in the Front Range and Northern California. We love sharing good music with you, and there is nothing better than seeing your smiling faces! Record Store Day 2026 is on April 18 and we’re looking forward to more events and listening parties in the coming year. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and for making our jobs so much fun.

2025 was another great year for new music. The big story last year was Chappell Roan, whose late 2023 release The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess continues to sell well at both locations. The big music story this year was KPop Demon Hunters, an American-made Netflix movie that greatly expanded K-pop’s popularity across the globe. The film starred fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x and became the most-watched film on Netflix and some of the most-streamed music on Spotify. If you’re unfamiliar with the music or movie, just ask someone born this century and they’ll bring you up to speed. There is a KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack album out on vinyl, but our biggest sellers in 2025 included Hayley Williams’ excellent Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party and, as always, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, a perennial favorite.

My two favorite albums of the year, by Jeff Tweedy and Geese, both came out on the same late September Friday. I’m tempted to crown the Geese album number one for its sheer brilliance and originality, but I think Jeff Tweedy’s ambition deserves to win out. Twilight Override is his best solo work, and its thirty songs are a salve for trying times.

Here are my top twenty records of the year (the top ten are listed in alpha order), including the five best archival releases.

Big Thief – Double Infinity

What do you do when an original member (bassist Max Oleartchik) departs after nine years? If you’re Big Thief you lean into the jammier style of songs like “Time Escaping” and “Love Love Love” from 2022’s superb Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.  Much of the credit for the appeal of Double Infinity goes to multi-instrumentalist Laraaji, whose zither, piano and percussion appear throughout along with distinctive vocals on “Words” and “Grandmother.” This may be a transitional phase for Big Thief, but even when not up to their high standards it’s still consistently satisfying. (Favorite track: “Words”)

 

 

Alex G – Headlights

The tenth record from Alex Giannascoli aka (Sandy) Alex G aka Alex G’s is his first major-label release. The good news is he doesn’t stray from the formula of 2022’s excellent God Save The Animals other than dialing back on instrumental numbers. A true one-man-band, Giannascoli plays nearly every instrument here and varies between folk-rock and indie-rock with weird Auto-Tune and other vocal effects and found sounds mixed in to keep things interesting. He closes the record with its most rocking song, the rollicking “Logan Hotel,” recorded live with his touring band at the eponymous Philadelphia location. (Favorite track: “Afterlife”)

 

 

Geese – Getting Killed

The Brooklyn group’s fourth album is overstuffed, manic and wholly original. Lead singer Cameron Winter’s December 2024 solo effort was subdued, but here the group moves in the opposite direction, creating a hybrid of Talking Heads, Captain Beefheart and Radiohead that explodes off the turntable. Winter’s expressive voice soars above it all while guitarist Emily Green’s chiming guitars lead the songs towards powerful finishes. This is that rare album that sounds bizarre and off-putting at first–opening track “Trinidad” literally features Winter screaming “There’s a bomb in my car!”–but quickly worms its way into the brain and rewards repeated listening. (Favorite track: “Islands of Men”)

 

S.G. Goodman – Planting By The Signs

The title of S.G. Goodman’s third album refers to following nature’s cues. In Goodman’s case, those cues were learned in the hollers of southeast Kentucky where she grew up “living like the sun don’t shine on the same dog’s ass every day.” The record leads off with driving Americana before settling into pretty, sparse folk duets with Bonnie Prince Billy and Matthew Rowan. “Heaven Song” is my favorite closer of the year, a nine-minute, slow-building shaggy dog story that finds Goodman meandering through a life of love and loss in an old Chevy Malibu, ultimately concluding that a philosophy of “Maybe if I see it then I’ll want it” may be the closest she’s going to get to finding meaning. (Favorite track: “Heaven Song”)

 

Haim – I Quit

Haim’s follow-up to 2020’s superb Women in Music Part III might not quite reach that album’s heights, but it still showcases the sisters’ ability to cover a lot of musical ground. First single and song-of-the-summer candidate “Relationships” features beat-heavy Queen Bey style while “Down to be Wrong” is an unabashed Tom Petty tribute. Whether she’s shredding on her electric guitar or singing confessional Americana, middle sister Danielle adds R&B to the sunny SoCal sentiments of her Laurel Canyon ancestors to create sumptuous sounds for the streaming generation. (Favorite track: “Down To Be Wrong”)

 

 

My Morning Jacket – Is

The tenth studio record from Jim James and company is their best since 2011’s Circuital, and the secret is the songs. Bringing in famed Pearl Jam/Bruce Springsteen producer Brendan O’Brien also works wonders. “Time Waited” and “Squid Ink” throwback respectively to their more soulful and anthemic aspirations, while “I Can Hear Your Love” and “Beginning at the Ending”  take the sound in a more concise pop direction. “Half a Lifetime” starts with a staccato structure before delivering a chorus for the ages. It’s always refreshing when a band finds a new gear this far into its career. (Favorite track: “Half a Lifetime”)

 

Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman

After the psychedelics-fueled rock of 2023’s Strays, Margo Price returns to her alt-country roots on an excellent fifth record. Whether she’s quoting Kris Kristofferson in “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” or spinning Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years” into the Nashville pop of “Love Me Like You Used to Do” with vocal help from Tyler Childers, Price has a knack for memorable melodies and wears her Nashville outlaw country badge like a pair of comfy slippers. Price’s powerful live shows have helped her build a steady fan base; she’s way overdue to break through in 2026. (Favorite track: “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down.”)

 

Snocaps – Snocaps

In late October this infectious debut from an Americana supergroup dropped with no advance notice. Snocaps members include Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) and MJ Lenderman (the Wednesday guitarist member who’s solo Manning Fireworks was one of 2024’s best albums) along with Crutchfield’s twin sister Alison and Brad Cook. The songs are more indie-rock than what you might expect–imagine the Breeders with a bit of a country disposition–and bring the Crutchfield sisters together for the first time since they played together as P.S. Eliot last decade. Lenderman’s contributions recall the Byrds more than the Neil Young vibe of his other work. The end result is a wonderful, unexpected treat. (Favorite track: “Heathcliff”)

 

Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override

The Wilco front man’s latest is an impressive 3-LP, thirty-song attempt to raise spirits through art. Whether he’s encouraging listeners in “Feel Free,” joking about a miserable prom in “Forever Never Ends,” embracing small joys in “One Tiny Flower” or paying tribute to the Velvet Underground in “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter,” his passion, humor and dedication shine throughout. Simultaneously ambitious and simple, the record is a heartwarming gift. “Amar Bharati” may be a tribute to the Indian ascetic who has kept his arm raised in devotion for fifty-plus years, but it’s just as easily a metaphor for Tweedy’s unceasing determination to make creating art his raison d’etre. Deeply personal, Twilight Override goes places Wilco hasn’t gone, no small feat. (Favorite track: “Amar Bharati”)

Wet Leg – Moisturizer

The Isle of Wight’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers burst on the scene in 2021 with two slices of indie-rock heaven, “Chaise Lounge” and “Wet Dream.” Their ensuing debut album maintained that energy and confirmed them as legit. Moisturizer impressively takes things up a notch. Now fully embracing music as a career, they’ve also declared themselves a band and not a duo, boosting the fellow musicians who contributed to the debut. Together they craft unique earworms that showcase their sense of humor and skill at creating irresistible hooks. (Favorite track: “Davina McCall”) 

 

 

(Next 5: Matt Berninger — Get Sunk; Car Seat Headrest — The Scholars; Lucy Dacus — Forever is a Feeling; Mavis Staples — Sad and Beautiful World; Wednesday — Bleeds)

Five Best Archival Releases

Buckingham Nicks – Buckingham Nicks

In 1973 Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks worked with producer Keith Olsen on an impressive debut of Southern California folk-rock. Olsen famously played the album for Mick Fleetwood, who was in LA shopping for a new front man, and the rest is history. The LP has been out-of-print since its original release and has become a grail over the following decades. In September the pair finally put their acrimony aside long enough to coordinate on a repressing so that it’s finally reasonably priced and easily found. It’s required listening for Rumours and Fleetwood Mac fans; you can hear the seeds of “The Chain” in “Lola (My Love)” and of “Second Hand News” in “Don’t Let Me Down Again.” The LP also includes an early version of “Crystal,” later reworked on Fleetwood Mac. (Favorite track: “Don’t Let Me Down Again”)

Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake died in 1974 after only three records of highly distinctive folk. It wasn’t until twenty-five years later, after “Pink Moon” was used in an Apple ad, that his music found the audience it deserved. Notoriously shy, Drake only played a handful of shows and fans have since grabbed onto any available archival material. This box contains a treasure trove of recordings from his 1969 debut, including reels discovered in the collection of folk peer Beverly Martyn. Not everything here is a revelation, but it’s still powerful and stirring to hear Drake develop songs including “Time Has Told Me,” “Man in a Shed” and “River Man” into the shape that would make them folk standards. (Favorite track: “River Man” Take 1, 4th January 1969)

 

Grateful Dead – Enjoying The Ride

How does a group that’s released more archival material than any other musical act in history celebrate its sixtieth anniversary? If you’re the Grateful Dead it’s with a 60-CD (and one cassette) behemoth that includes all or parts of twenty-nine shows spanning 1969-1994 from twenty-one of their favorite venues (including Red Rocks, of course). With a $600 price tag and a limited run of 6,000–which sold out within weeks–this one was only for the most hardcore heads, but props to the Dead for finding a way to top their many prior boxes. Start saving now for 2035’s 70th anniversary release. (Favorite track: “Hard to Handle” Live at Fillmore East, New York, NY 4/25/71)

 

 

Patti Smith – Horses (50th anniversary edition)

Patti Smith and Debbie Harry were the only female bandleaders to emerge from the mid-seventies New York scene; Smith incorporated poetry from the beginning and has more recently become an excellent author, as evidenced by the three books she’s released in the past decade and a fourth, Bread of Angels, that came out in November. The 50th anniversary edition of her beloved debut comes with many previously unreleased delights including her original demo tape and a great take of Smokey Robinson’s classic “When The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game.” (Favorite track: “When The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game”)

 

Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food

The sophomore Talking Heads effort was their first with Brian Eno as producer. Together they went on to produce some of the best and most influential music to come out of the New Wave movement born at CBGB in Manhattan’s East Village. The deluxe box includes a number of interesting outtakes and a live 1978 New York show, but the real treat is a DVD of 1978 concert footage from New York and Berkeley (only available in the CD edition). Stop Making Sense may have shown the group at their peak, but the trademark nervous energy on display herein is a slice of heaven for anyone looking to witness the roots of one of the most important American acts ever. Be advised, the Berkeley footage is not high quality but still very much worth checking out. (Favorite track: “Found a Job” Live at the Entermedia Theatre, New York, NY 8/10/78)

In Celebration of Neil’s 80th Birthday: His Ten Best Records

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No other rock musician has been more prolific over the past sixty years than Neil Young, who turns eighty in November. Young has put out forty-three studio albums since 1968 in addition to being a part of Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Stills-Young Band. He’s also released eleven live albums and offered deep dives into his vault via three 10+ CD Archives boxes that only go through 1987. Famous for a “first take is the best take” approach and a dedication to following his muse regardless of the damage left in its wake, Young has used numerous backing bands. Crazy Horse is the best-known, but Young has also recorded with Booker T and the MGs, Pearl Jam, the Trans Band, Promise of the Real, and most recently the Chrome Hearts.

To describe Young’s output as intimidating is an understatement. I’ve devoted two blogs in the past to his buried treasures. To honor a musician who’s surely earned a spot on the Mount Rushmore of classic rock, here are his ten best studio releases in reverse order.

10) Harvest Moon (1992)

Love him or hate him, Neil Young’s aversion to standing still can be frustrating for fans and fellow musicians; in 1975 he abandoned the only Stills-Young Band tour halfway through because he wasn’t feeling it. In the early nineties he pivoted away from the grunge movement he helped spawn to return to his folk roots with this collection of softer numbers. Bringing back Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and Nicolette Larson for vocal support for the first time in over a decade, Harvest Moon helped him reconnect with fans scared off by years of extended, often distortion-drenched material. The album welcomes like a warm embrace born from hard-won experience: opener “Unknown Legend” paints lost youth in mythical terms, “From Hank to Hendrix” grasps at the embers in the last days of a long-term companionship, and the title track might just be the most inviting song he’s penned, an elegant waltz celebrating deep love and romance.

9) American Stars N’ Bars (1977)

Young’s penchant for changing his mind mid-production has resulted in many LPs cobbled together from disparate sessions and parts, and he has abandoned countless albums. His decision to not put out Homegrown was so last-minute that it famously required buying back copies that were ready to be shipped to stores (he ultimately released the album in 2020). American Stars n’ Bars, whose cover was designed by actor Dean Stockwell, is the best example of this approach to making records. Side one contains deliberately sloppy but infectious tracks like “Hold Back The Tears” and “Bite the Bullet” with backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson, and “Saddle Up The Palomino” starts with Ronstadt’s laughter. Side two features “Like a Hurricane,” one of his most beloved songs, alongside the beautiful if brief “Star of Bethlehem” with harmony by Emmylou Harris. It also includes “Will to Love,”  perhaps the weirdest thing he’s ever recorded, which equates the search for love and meaning with a fish struggling upstream sung to a crackling fireplace. Whether the track succeeds or not is debatable, but it’s certainly unforgettable.

8) Ragged Glory (1990)

Young embraced a grunge ethos early on in his career; “Cinnamon Girl” might be the first grunge song, and a garage-focused spirit has always been intrinsic to his harder rock. His well-deserved rep as the Godfather of Grunge dates largely to Ragged Glory and Freedom, the 1989 album that preceded it, both featuring Crazy Horse. Nirvana and likeminded Seattle artists exploded in the years immediately after the two LPs, and Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder and others credited Young with inspiration. After wandering through a musical desert in the eighties with a number of failed genre exercises, he rediscovered his original drive here. “F*!#in’ Up,” “Love to Burn” and “Love and Only Love” feature shredding, barbed guitar solos, while “Mansion on the Hill” marries psychedelic optimism to grunge’s metal urgency.

7) Comes a Time (1978)

Neil’s music is easily categorized as hard or soft. In the case of Rust Never Sleeps, he literally divides the album in half with acoustic songs on one side and rocking numbers on the other. Like Harvest Moon, Comes a Time stands apart from most of his discography in its presentation of nothing but the folk side (with one exception, “Motorcycle Mama”). It works because it includes some of his best material and the harmonies of frequent late seventies contributor Nicolette Larson, who had her biggest hit with a cover of its “Lotta Love.” From wistful opener “Goin’ Back” through the evocative longing of “Peace of Mind” to the singalong title track and the nostalgic departing sentiment of closer “Four Strong Winds,” this album is a home run if you prefer Neil’s gentler sound.

6) Zuma (1975)

Young’s first post-Ditch-Trilogy release reunites him with Crazy Horse and finds him slightly more accessible, although the darkness is always just a shot away. His more tender side is reflected in “Pardon My Heart” and “Through My Sails,” the latter with harmonies by Crosby, Stills and Nash, although “Drive Back” hints at the punk fury to come in Rust Never Sleeps. The album’s highlights are the long, slow jams of “Danger Bird” and “Cortez the Killer.” The latter quickly became a crowd favorite as it recalled the extended improvisational spirit of “Down By The River” alongside iconic lyrics that romanticize the Aztec civilization as it thrived before the Cortes armada wreaked death and destruction in the sixteenth century.

5) Rust Never Sleeps (1979) 

By the late seventies punk and new wave ruled the airwaves. Young’s timely response was this half-acoustic, half-electric record that tapped into punk’s popularity while still containing some of his prettiest folk compositions. “Thrasher” is one of Neil’s most personal songs with its confession of his motivation for leaving others in the lurch in pursuit of his muse. “Pocahontas” describes man’s departure from nature and the resulting loss, while “Sail Away” is a touching love song. The electric side kicks off with arguably Neil’s finest hour, “Powderfinger,” a tale of a young man painfully discovering the horrors of war that includes the classic phrase “Numbers add up to nothing.” Elsewhere he sews the seeds of his Godfather of Grunge status with the loud, angry “Sedan Delivery” and “Welfare Mothers” before concluding with the epic “My My, Hey Hey (Into the Black)” featuring one of his best-known lyrics, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” 

4) On The Beach (1974)

Neil Young’s response to the stardom that resulted from Harvest was his “Ditch Trilogy” of Time Fades Away, Tonight’s The Night and On The Beach, so-called because he claimed to be deliberately driving his notoriety into the ditch. The third album is the best and most inviting of the three. Kicking off with the minor hit “Walk On,” the first half features the keyboard- and pedal-steel-centered “See The Sky About to Rain,” the stripped-down banjo of “For The Turnstiles” and the driving “Revolution Blues.” The second half takes a more meditative turn with the deep blues of the title track followed by “Motion Pictures,” an elegy to then-wife actress Carrie Snodgrass, and the nine-minute-long, mostly solo “Ambulance Blues.” The title track contains one of my favorite Neil lines: “Though my problems are meaningless, that don’t make them go away.”

3) After the Gold Rush (1970)

Young’s third album eschewed the longer jams of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere; its longest and best-known track, “Southern Man,” clocks in at only six minutes. Instead it focuses more on the lush harmonies Young was exploring with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, even if only Stills from that group contributes here. “Tell Me Why,” “Birds” and “I Believe in You” all would’ve fit comfortably on any CSNY release. The record also include three meta Young tracks that marry his sadder instincts to that high, mournful tenor: “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Don’t Let it Bring You Down” and a cover of Don Gibson’s country hit “Oh Lonesome Me.” By turns angry, sad and hopeful, After the Gold Rush helped Young find a wider audience even as it leaned into elements that led detractors to describe him as relentlessly depressing.

2) Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (1969)

By the time Young’s sophomore album came out, he had already achieved stardom through Buffalo Springfield. His eponymous debut is a logical extension of his Springfield work, but it is Everybody Knows This is Nowhere where he demonstrates surprising new range and the more improvisational aesthetic that would fuel his best work. “Down By The River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand”–two nine-plus minute tracks with extended, spirited guitar shredding–were both composed the same day as opener “Cinnamon Girl,” when he was tapping into a creative streak spurred by a 103 degree fever. The album also has its mellower side in the heartbreak of “The Losing End (When You’re On)” and the haunting “Round and Round (It Won’t Be Long).” 

1) Harvest (1972)

Picking a single Young record to start with implicitly means missing much of his style. But if you must, Harvest, his bestselling effort, is the place to start. It features two of his biggest hits, “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man,” and a lot more: the freeform jamming of “Words (Between the Lines of Age),” Ben Keith’s evocative pedal-steel guitar on opener “Out on the Weekend,” and the interesting if not entirely successful orchestral productions “A Man Needs a Maid” and “There’s a World.” Add the country stomp of “Are You Ready for the Country,” the angry, rocking indictment of “Alabama” and the junkie lament “The Needle (and the Damage Done),” and you have the single greatest collection of Young songs. James Taylor adds banjo and stellar backing vocals with Linda Ronstadt to “Old Man,” a surprisingly mature sentiment from the then-twenty-four-year-old Young.

The Next 5:

11) Tonight’s the Night (1975)

12) Greendale (2003)

13) Sleeps with Angels (1994)

14) Mirror Ball (1995)

15) Silver & Gold (2000)

Top Five: David Bowie’s Best Records

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2024’s comprehensive Rock ’N’ Roll Star! 5CD box set features a deep dive into David Bowie’s legendary The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars and is a great reason to celebrate a highly influential artist. Nearly eight years after his death, Bowie is still as important as ever and it’s easy to spot devotees across the full spectrum of music.

David Bowie may have borrowed from others (who hasn’t?) to create his unique synthesis of glam, rock and pop, but ultimately his chameleon-like style was wholly his own. The London native, born David Jones but forced to change his name because original Monkees member Davey Jones beat him to fame with that moniker, combined the androgynous spirit of Lou Reed, the pre-punk energy of Iggy Pop and the showmanship of Alice Cooper to forge his own musical fashion. The conventional wisdom is that Bowie made his best music in the seventies, but he reached peak popularity in the eighties and made great records right up until Blackstar, a powerful examination of mortality released the same month he died.

Bowie’s ability to shape-shift has inspired countless acts that followed, so picking five best records is no easy feat. Fans will have their own passion for which record touched them the most. While you can’t really go wrong anywhere in his catalog, here are the five Bowie albums that resonate the most with me, in chronological order (not including live albums, an entire sub-genre of the Bowie discography):

Hunky Dory (released December 1971)

Bowie’s first big hit in the UK, “Space Oddity,” came in 1969; it failed to land in the U.S. that year and only became a hit here upon its re-release in 1973. Bowie struggled to replicate his UK notoriety elsewhere before Hunky Dory was released at the end of 1971. His most focused effort to date, every song displays the pop sensibility that would find him a global audience. Hunky Dory’s leadoff track, “Changes,” quickly became an FM radio staple in the states, but the ensuing decades have burnished the popularity (and stream counts) of many other tracks. The anthemic “Life on Mars?” piano ballad is now one of his most favored and oft-covered songs, while the Velvet Underground-inspired “Queen Bitch,” the theatrical “Oh! You Pretty Things” and the breezy pop of “Kooks” each get better with age. Hunky Dory is a great place to start because it’s also the first time Bowie started to achieve stardom on both sides of the pond. 

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (released June 1972)

Bowie wasn’t nearly the first musician to pen a rock opera, but when he did he leveraged his androgynous, other worldly appearance for maximum effect. Aided by guitarist Mick Ronson, the album navigates a path through apocalypse-themed balladry (“Five Years,” “Rock and Roll Suicide”), pop (“Starman,” ”Star”) and rock (“Hang On to Yourself,” “Moonage Daydream”) while telling the story of a band that flames out as quickly as it flares up. Arguably Bowie’s finest work, this is a breathless romp that never gets old and flies by without a single weak moment. Artists have been paying tribute ever since to its Sgt. Pepper-like adoption of a new persona.

Station to Station (released January 1976)

Bowie first hit the top of the charts in the U.S. with “Fame” from Young Americans, his 1975 “plastic soul” album recorded largely in Philadelphia in late 1974. But it was that LP’s follow-up, the cocaine-drenched Station to Station, that revealed surprising new depths and variety. The ten-minute-long title track leads off  with a train whistle blow that dissolves into a funky, mechanical march before ultimately resolving into an frenzied, extended guitar-driven coda. Elsewhere, “Golden Years” and “Stay” build on the R&B of Young Americans but add more heart and energy without the plastic, while “TVC 15” prophesizes interactive media alongside an infectious, anthemic chorus. The album closes with a breathtaking cover of “Wild is the Wind,” the ballad first popularized by Johnny Mathis and Nina Simone in the fifties (Fun fact: Bowie was a huge fan of Simone and the two became close friends).

Low (released January 1977)

Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, helmed by producer Tony Visconti and featuring the cutting edge synthesizer effects and production style of Brian Eno, starts here. The first side is bookended by short, instrumental tracks that surround five songs of catchy synth-pop weirdness, while the second presents four tracks of atmospheric music. Bowie was hardly the first musician to travel down this path, but he was by far the most popular musician to expose his audience to the ambient genre and it was a radical departure from expectations. Low is forward-thinking enough to make it the most influential of his many records. The title track of its successor, Heroes, might be the most popular song to emerge from the Berlin Trilogy, but Low is where Bowie took his musical expansion to a new level and inspired punks, new wavers and ambient soundscapers to step out of their comfort zones.

Blackstar (released January 2016)

Bowie’s death from liver cancer powerfully coincided almost to the exact day with the release of his final album. Blackstar is a haunting, jazz-tinged effort that radiates the self-examination terminal illness forces (the title track, “Lazarus”), rues the passing of time (“Girl Love Me”) and concludes mournfully with “I Can’t Give Everything Away.” By making some of his best and most meaningful music while struggling through his final days, Bowie proved his art was timeless, evocative and capable of simultaneously inspiring sadness, hope and gratitude for a life well-lived.

Insider’s Guide to Vinyl Shopping–Part One

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Welcome to the latest Paradise Found Records blog. One of my favorite rock films is Almost Famous, the 2000 movie from director Cameron Crowe that recounts his days as a teenager writing for Rolling Stone in the seventies. There are no shortage of great lines, but my favorite is when Penny Lane, the “band-aid” played by Kate Hudson, tells William Miller, the Crowe stand-in played by Patrick Fugit: “If you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.” I have spent a lifetime visiting my friends at the record store. Not only is it a great way to discover new music and revisit beloved classics, it’s always a fun experience. I never leave unsatisfied, even on those rare occasions when I walk out empty-handed. Our owner Will Paradise has also spent decades visiting record shops around the world. It’s no accident that Paradise Found offers a varied, extensive inventory for shoppers ranging from newbies fresh off the acquisition of their first turntable to collectors in search of rare, pricey vinyl.

With that in mind, here is part one of my list of hacks for more effective record-shopping. A good record store can be overwhelming in its selection; while I regularly spend hours scouring bins with my want list in hand, you may have less time to browse and it can’t hurt to know how a hardcore collector shops.

Perhaps the best proof of my passion (my wife might call it an obsession or, less kindly, a disease) is this: although I could splurge and buy everything on my want list on the music database/marketplace Discogs or eBay tomorrow, what would be the fun in that? I prefer the thrill of the hunt, for example checking bins for Lulu’s New Routes, the hard-to-find 1970 LP recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with Duane Allman on guitar, in order to achieve the excitement of having my eyes go wide when I finally discover it “in the wild.” Some records take years to find; Rumours and Abbey Road are always going to be in stock. 

Since there are many facets to record shopping, I’ve divided them into sections. Obviously, your results may vary and you’ll shop in whatever way provides the greatest pleasure. If in the end you feel like you’ve visited your friends–and I like to think that includes the knowledgeable, passionate and helpful music lovers that work at both Paradise Found locations–then you can say “Mission accomplished.”

JUST ARRIVED USED LPs

Whenever I walk into Paradise Found or any other record shop, I always make a beeline for the “Just Arrived Used LPs” section. At our Boulder store it’s near the back, where Jon Martinez, our seasoned record buyer and man with the most vinyl knowledge in Colorado, works. We buy a lot of vinyl, and everything but the pricier collectible and bargain bin material passes through the Just Arrived Used LP bins. Experienced shoppers know the best stuff often never makes it out of these racks before being grabbed. We pride ourselves on having new, sealed copies of the latest releases, but buying out of the just arrived bins is a great way to discover new (and old) music, pounce on rare stuff, and sometimes save a little on more recent releases. We also segment these bins by genre so that you don’t have to search through Folk if you’re strictly looking for Jazz. Albums that haven’t sold out of these bins ultimately get moved to the specific artist’s section in the alphabetical bins. If it takes more than thirty seconds for me to get from the front door to the just arrived bins, I’ve probably slipped and fallen on the way in my urgency to get there before someone else does.

THE WALL

No, I’m not referring to the Pink Floyd album (although any fan of that band will tell you it’s essential), I’m talking about the wall to the left of the cash register in our Boulder store where we put the very rare, expensive items. We display some of our pricier vinyl along our east side, but those tend to be sealed box sets and recent UHQR releases (e.g. the recently reissued Steely Dan series of multi-album, 45 rpm pressings that sell new for $175 to hardcore audiophiles). While you may find audiophile material on the wall, you’re more likely to see extremely hard-to-find releases that make collectors salivate.

Wall records can cost hundreds of dollars, and often have some lore surrounding them. For instance, while there have been (per Discogs) 478 versions of The Doors’ excellent 1967 debut, the conventional wisdom is that the 1992 DCC Compact Classics pressing has the best sound. A clean copy of that album will run at least $250. Other rarities include vinyl editions from the CD heyday of the nineties and aughts, when vinyl pressings practically disappeared. For example, The Beatles’ Let It Be…Naked, an edition of the classic with an different mix and varied song selection that’s devoid of the Phil Spector touches that Paul McCartney hated, will run around $200 since it came out in 2003 when next to no one was buying records.

Nineties hip-hop and indie records similarly sell for big bucks; they are highly coveted by many collectors since it is not unusual for them to not have been repressed in the intervening years, although that is changing as record plants ramp up production in response to increasing vinyl demand. Once rare Fiona Apple and Grateful Dead LPs are now readily available at lower prices in newer editions, although the original pressings are still desirable to collectors. The Wall is always my second stop after perusing the Just Arrived Used LPs section. Of course, it’s also the budget-busting section of the store: finding a grail combines the excitement of landing the big fish with the recognition that I’ve spent (or overspent) my budget for that day’s excursion. But such is the life of the intrepid record shopper.

VINYL WEIGHT

One aspect common to the vinyl resurgence of the past decade has been the proliferation of 180 and 200 gram pressings. But what does that actually mean? Back in the days before CDs, albums rarely mentioned their weight; indeed, most albums were 140 grams or less. That said, there are some specific advantages to heavier vinyl.

Generally speaking, the weight of an LP has no impact on the sound quality unless you have a high-end audio system. Both the width of the grooves and the RPM speed are more impactful. However, 180 gram and heavier vinyl is sturdier and will provide a longer shelf life and also be far less likely to break. Heavier vinyl is also less likely to warp, which impacts both the sound quality and the potential to damage your cartridge. Finally, heavier vinyl provides a better platform for your stylus and turntable suspension, and as a result will minimize or eliminate vibration that a higher end stereo system may pick up, albeit often at barely detectable levels. That said, the source recording and the quality of the pressing ultimately have more to do with what you hear. Many manufacturers use the 180 gram description to attract consumers, but unless you consider yourself an audiophile you shouldn’t (pardon the pun) attach too much weight to the promotional stickers that record companies slap on records to make them appear more valuable. Remember, most LPs released before CDs were either 120 grams or 140 grams, and few people complained or attached much significance to the weight a record tipped the scales at.

Part Two of this series will discuss Mobile Fidelity Sound Recordings, Japanese pressings, Discogs and ways to take care of your collection. But first I’ll be back next month with the highlights from the list of just-announced exclusive Record Store Day releases out Saturday, April 20.