Vinyl records experience a renaissance at used book and thrift stores

Maybe it’s the hiss as the needle drops. Perhaps it’s the crackles and pops as the record spins. Or it could be the rush of discovering a classic album buried among thousands of old records. In an era of digitizing and miniaturizing, vinyl is staking its claim in the music market. It seems counterintuitive to believe that bulky vinyl records might still be popular and profitable, yet in 2008, 1.88 million vinyl records were purchased, according to Neilsen SoundScan. Although that’s more than any year since SoundScan began tracking vinyl sales in 1991, the phenomenon seemed to remain an underground practice as digital sales boomed. However, the proliferation of record sales, even in Syracuse, suggests otherwise.

Scott Makarchuk, owner of Books and Memories, 2600 James St., hesitated to continue selling records when he bought the store almost a year ago. But within 11 months, he has collected more than 10,000 records in the basement of the used bookstore, all of which were brought to him by willing sellers. After Makarchuk inspects each, he chooses the best and purchases them for an average price of 85 cents before selling those best records for $3.95.

“I hadn’t used a record player since I was a kid so I didn’t see a point in continuing to sell them,” says Makarchuk, 43. “But after I saw record players being sold more and more and researched the industry, I realized there was potential.”
He has attracted a variety of buyers, ranging from teenagers to veteran collectors like Dave Zawadzki of Tully, who boasts a collection of more than 6,000 records, 600 of which are various reincarnations of Beatles albums. “It’s an addiction,” admits Zawadzki. “I can’t even use my garage because it’s full of records.” However, Zawadzki does sell some of his cache on eBay.
Similarly, Syracuse resident Ben Lambert sells directly from his home, which contains more than 7,000 records. The bedroom floors are covered with boxes full of albums, leaving only small pathways to tiptoe between. The walls are decorated with authentic posters and collectibles signed by John Lennon, Elton John, Genesis and other classic rockers.
Lambert calls his collection an addiction as well. “But there could be worse vices, right? I’d call this addiction a positive one. It’s my passion.”
As a guitarist, Lambert finds the analog vinyl sound warmer and more satisfying than compressed digital recordings. Both Makarchuk and Zawadzki echo that sentiment. “Analog is real music,” says Makarchuk. “There is a physical difference in the sound wave,” explaining that digital recordings sample sounds of the analog wave at a certain rate, which inevitably means some sounds are lost. Digital recordings can’t capture the complete sound wave, but analog and vinyl can.
“I think young people are responding to the sound,” says Lambert. “Plus, people have more trouble with CDs. Vinyl holds up well.”
Despite the stigma of the “broken record,” most albums, even with damage, are still playable. Though it is important to inspect a record before purchasing it, often even the most offensive-looking scratches are inaudible, as opposed to the disaster of a scratched CD. Physically, the thickness and heft of vinyl make it more durable. While one, seemingly light, scratch on a CD can cause an irreparable skip, a scratch on vinyl is often not deep enough to be heard. Those that are audible are easy to bypass by simply moving the needle beyond the blemish.

However, record collecting goes beyond the sound. The value of certain records is directly dependent not only on the artist, but the pressing. Like an original printing of a famous book, an original Beatles album is worth much more than the many bootlegs and reissues that are common to most shelves. Specific markers on an album—the record label, mono or stereo, album art, inserts, etc.—directly affect whether an album is worth $2 or $200. Many collectors use manuals to determine album value, but many simply know from years of experience.
“I’ve seen so many records since I’ve been collecting for 35 years,” says Lambert. “I know what to look for.” He also knows where to look. Lambert and Makarchuk had vendor tables at the annual Record and CD Fair held at the Ramada Inn in Liverpool on Oct. 11, where more than 10,000 records were for sale. Other fairs run by the same organizer, Jack Skutnik, are held in Binghamton, Utica, Ithaca and Scranton, Pa.
In Syracuse, vinyl junkies can also get their fix at Funk N’ Waffles, just off Marshall Street, most Salvation Army stores and Sound Garden on Jefferson Street.
For vinyl lovers, happiness isn’t just a warm gun; it’s The Beatles, also called The White Album, on vinyl, in their hands and on their turntable. Now it’s becoming easier than ever for them to feed their addiction, and it sounds so nice.                             
“You fall in love with it pretty quickly if you allow yourself to,” says Lambert. “It doesn’t take a lot of effort. People say, ‘Well, why wouldn’t I stick with my MP3 files and my CD’s?’ and I say, ‘I’m tellin’ ya, it’s a whole other kettle of fish. You get yourself a nice turntable and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”