If you are someone who collects vinyl records, chances are that you or someone you know have questioned whether or not you are “Addicted To Records.”
So, are you a Recordholic??
Once again, I turned to our faithful Facebook Community for help. I reached out with a post that asked:
“What are some signs that ‘someone’ might be addicted to records?”
The response was OVERWHELMING. It seems a lot of our friends in the community have a great deal of experience in facing their addiction.
So after about an hour, I received over 100 responses to the post. There were so many awesome and creative things that it is quite hard to narrow it down to just the Top 5. Although, I guess it helps that there were a lot of common themes. So here goes…
Number 5: You Own Multiple Copies Of The Same Record
There were a variety of responses that spoke to this ‘Sign.’ Things like…
“A willingness to buy multiple copies of an LP (or 7″ single) because the sleeves are slightly different.. ”
“The fact that I just ordered a 3rd copy of the new ‘Much The Same’ record… ”
“Having a perfectly good old reissue, but feeling the need to buy an OG pressing for way too much money.”
“You buy records you already have with money you do not have?”
Number 4: You Hide Most Of Your Purchases From Those You Love
This one had some really creative stories!
“I bought the ‘Venom’ box set and took it from the delivery man and put it right in my shed. Waited until she wasn’t home and opened it. ”
“Hiding the bag when you walk into the house ”
“(When you) Walk in the house, and already know where to stash it before you can get it to your collection, without answering any questions… Posting for a friend of course.”
“When you hide all of the shipping boxes in the closet and sneak them into the can on trash pick up day, so your spouse can’t bi*tch about how much money you spend on records.”
“Having them shipped to the office to dodge the spouse.”
Number 3: You Have More Records Than You Have Storage Space
Check out some of these…
“Having more records than corresponding bin space? ”
“Running out of room to put your records, but that doesn’t stop you from buying more! ”
“When you run out of shelf space, but continue to bring them home, and just stack them on each other.”
Number 2: You Are Unable To Pass By A Place That Sells Records, Without Entering
And the community had this to say…
“Unable to walk past a charity shop/car boot/market without scouring it for vinyl and coming away with at least one purchase!”
“(When) you can’t pass up checking out a box of records or buying a box… Can’t pass a yard sale without asking if they have any (records) they want to get rid of… Yep, I’m hooked…”
“When you can’t pass a flea market when on a road trip, and you and your spouse split up, and talk on the phone to discuss what we’ve found.”
Number 1: You Are Skipping Meals And Other Life Necessities In Favor Of Buying Records
This was the most hardcore theme, that’s why it made number one…
“You forgo new clothes for your new job and spend the cash on vinyl. ”
“Buying very little food and spending a bare minimum on other necessities of life. The money being spent on records is far more than it should be ”
“Have you ever bought a record instead of food? ”
“Having 6 sales meetings for the day but managing to fit in a stop at the record store instead of lunch. ”
“Spending a lot less money on food & alcohol as opposed to black crack…”
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So that was the Top 5 of the most common responses we received. However, there are DEFINITELY some notable highlights that really take the cake. I couldn’t write this article without at least mentioning them.
So here are a few bonus “Signs” provided by our community:
“I get ticks when I walk into a record shop.”
“I am not sure how you would word this, but… I knew it was a problem when I came home to find the bookshelf that my husband’s records were on had collapsed from all the records he had, and even that incident has never deterred him from buying more records…”
“Re-organizing and cataloging the local shops’ bins… just so you can find it easier later… and it helps you get a better deal on a STACK.”
“When vinyl arrives, I tell my better half that I pre-ordered that a few months ago- I completely forgot that I ordered it… That line Used to work!”
“When your wife says- Don’t you have enough records?”
“You get into a sweat trying to get to an estate sale, just to see the vinyl.”
And finally, the one that I think is quite literally the ‘Nail in the Coffin’… I’ll just leave this here. Not much to be said after this one.
“Google Mapping record stores during a relative’s funeral.”
