Listening / 6 MIN READ
What are those album ratings actually rating?
Five services, different scales, and the distinction between loving an album and recommending its pressing.
Vinyl Tools: guides for record collectors
Collecting / 4 MIN READ
Same album. Different record.
The cover gets you to the album. The label, catalogue number and deadwax get you to your pressing. Here’s where to look.
Reviews / 6 MIN READ
VinylBox: a closer look behind the scan
Smart folders, useful housekeeping and a subscription that needs to earn its keep.
Reviews / 4 MIN READ
Discographic, beyond the tidy collection
What the Discogs companion offers, and where its limits show.
Collecting / 5 MIN READ
Those scratches are trying to tell you something
A practical guide to deadwax and matrix numbers. Start with the inscription you can actually read.
Listening / 5 MIN READ
Your records deserve a listening history
Why vinyl listeners scrobble to Last.fm, and where Discogs comes in.
Collecting / 4 MIN READ
One barcode. Six pressings. Now what?
A barcode narrows the search. It doesn’t always finish it.
Collecting / 5 MIN READ
The asking price is only half the story
Read Discogs sales history without mistaking a hopeful listing for a record’s value.
Reviews / 5 MIN READ
CLZ Music: for collectors who mean business
Detailed inventory tools, an old-school interface and the cost of keeping it all in order.
Listening / 5 MIN READ
How to check turntable speed with your phone
RPM, calibration and what a wow reading actually measures.
Collecting / 5 MIN READ
Buying vinyl on Bandcamp
Check the edition, the shipping date and the postage before ordering.
Listening / 4 MIN READ
Five albums from this week’s Discogs best-sellers
The Cramps, Masayoshi Takanaka, Dolly Parton, Trio and Taylor Swift.
Collecting / 7 MIN READ
Five record cleaners, and the work each leaves to you
Manual baths, vacuum machines and ultrasonic cleaning. The useful strengths and the daily friction.
Listening / 4 MIN READ
How to clean your stylus without making it worse
Brush direction, inspection and why liquids and gels depend on your cartridge.
Collecting / 5 MIN READ
PVC record sleeves: the protection worth replacing
What flexible PVC gets wrong, and what to use around the disc and jacket instead.