Go-Go’s: Beauty and the Beat (IRS SP-70021, 1981).
Nobody was cooler than the Go-Go’s in 1981. I recently spent an entire lunch break watching old television clips and they’re all amazing. If you haven’t seen the 2020 Showtime documentary, do it. The story about returning the towels to Macy’s after the album shoot is just one hilarious detail.
Edith Frost: In Space (Drag City DC940, 2025).
Her first album in 20 years was a return to everything we’d been missing plus a new emphasis on strange keyboards and atmospheric textures (which I guess had always been there come to think of it). Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 20 years for the next one!
Grateful Dead: American Beauty (Warner Bros WS-1893, 1970).
I prefer their studio recordings. Don’t love the live stuff. I don’t really value improvisation. I prefer my folk songs to be well crafted, arrangements planned out and performances rehearsed. I also love Crazy Horse so maybe I’m full of shit. But I love this album. And even though my sleeve has a big chunk out of it, the vinyl sounds perfect.
Merle Haggard: If We Make It Through December (Capitol ST-11276, 1974).
Man, there’s *nothing* wrong with this album. The title track alone is worth the price of admission, which for me was $2 at the same neighbor’s estate sale where I picked up those two Beatles albums up thread. As if Hag’s songs aren’t sad enough, every time I listen to him I think of Kaleb Horton, which makes me even sadder.
Hallelujah the Hills: A Band Is Something To Figure Out (Re-Vinyl, 2016).
Earnest chugging anthems from the nicest guy in indie rock. This one doesn’t feel as personal or emotionally heavy as I’m You or DECK but it’s still got lots of great moments. Happy they eventually invested in better vocal mics.
Hallelujah the Hills: Against Electricity (Jealous Butcher JB172, 2018)
In my obstinate old age I have started referring to all instrumental music as “jazz.” This is a jazz album originally created as the soundtrack to front man Ryan H. Walsh’s book Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968. It’s moody and cool.
Hallelujah the Hills: I’m You (Discrete Pageantry, 2022)
Belated #vinyl release of the best album of 2019. I got intensely into this while going through some weird shit in the months before covid. It’s so great. And heavy. And funny: “I was first in line for the Solipsistic Sad Guy Seminar / But inside it just turned out to be another bar.” Life-changing album for me for real.
Hallelujah the Hills: Diamonds (Best Brothers BBR005, 2025)
The first (and hopefully not last) of the four suits of the DECK to be released on #vinyl. Such a bonkers idea to write and record 52 new songs (plus two jokers!) and release them all at once. Worth the wait. Diamonds contains 13 of their best songs, everything great about this band.
The Handsome Family: Wilderness (Carrot Top SAKI055, 2013)
Signed by Rennie and Brett. Sounds a lot different if you forget to switch from 45 to 33, ha ha. All their albums are great but their later stuff has a quiet confidence that feels like a long, comforting hug…from a vampire before she sinks her teeth into your neck.
The Handsome Family: Unseen (Milk & Scissors M&S001, 2016)
I normally prefer my records like I like my coffee: black, but I’ve got to admit this green translucent vinyl looks pretty cool. This is a more soulful Handsome Family album with lots of piano. They’re so good.
George Harrison: All Thing Must Pass (Apple STCH639, 1970)
I found this album buried in the back of a cubby hole in my mom’s house when we were clearing it out after she died. The house she moved into when she married my dad, the house where I grew up. All things must pass. It’s the only message I’ve received from the afterlife.
Human League: Dare (A&M SP-4892, 1982)
I heard “Don’t You Want Me” at J. Crew at the mall a few years ago and decided those synths would sound great on #vinyl. I was not wrong but this album could use a few more good songs than it has.
Pixies: Surfer Rosa (4AD CAD803, 1988)
Bought whatever the in-print version is, made in the Czech Republic, but it sounds alright to me. One of my favorite albums of all time, but I only had the twofer cd with Come On Pilgrim. I am one happy prick.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: The Nashville Sound (Southeastern SER99881, 2017)
“If We Were Vampires” makes my wife cry. She doesn’t even have to hear it, she just has to think about it and her eyes well up. It’s got to be weird for Isbell to have written one of the deepest love songs of all time, a collaboration with his spouse, and then get divorced and still have to sing it. And he does. He’s been closing shows with it. God damn, right?
Michael Jackson: Thriller picture disc (Epic 8E8-38867, 1983)
I’ve had this since it was new. I was a big MJ fan when I was 11 and 12…and beyond. I was a total denier about the abuse for longer than reasonable and even now I don’t *want* to believe…because his music was (is?) so important to me. And for me it all started here with this perfect album.
The Jacksons: Triumph (Epic FE36424, 1980)
Despite having loved MJ and even digging into the early J5, I never got into his Jacksons era. Not sure why I bought this album…because it’s not great. Must’ve been cheap. Probably won’t ever listen to it again.
Waylon Jennings: Ol’ Waylon (RCA APP1-2317, 1977)
The only two things in life that make it worth livin’ is guitars that tune good and firm feelin’ women. This was my dad’s record. He died when I was 10. “Luckenback, Texas” was his favorite. Mine too but the whole album is good. Has a lot of that weird late-70s country flange guitar tone and some goofy covers. But the good stuff is really good.
John Prine: BBC Sessions (Rhino R1 728494, 2026)
A Record Store Day release with just Prine and an acoustic guitar, recorded for the BBC in 1973. No liner notes, no details. Nine songs, all sound great. Pretty unnecessary if you have the first two albums but I don’t have any Prine on #vinyl so this is fun.
Joni Mitchell: For the Roses (Asylum RCV5 5057, 2026)
RSD release featuring Mitchell’s rejected album art with a talking horse showing its ass. This version apparently reuses the Bernie Grundman cut from 2022, which was confirmed to be from the analog master tape. So it sounds good. You can probably find a used original pressing for way cheaper but this is fun.
Weezer: 1192 (Ernest Jenning EJRC236, 2026)
One more unnecessary but fun #RSD release, this is a collection of pre-Blue album Weezer demos. Sounds about as good as you’d expect demos to sound, proving that “all analog” doesn’t necessarily mean “high fidelity.” Exuberant performances though.
Neil Young: American Stars 'N Bars (Reprise MSK 2261, 1977)
Picked this up used on Record Store Day. Has one of my all-time favorite songs. All your dreams and your lovers won’t protect you… Maybe the Star of Bethlehem wasn’t a star at all?
Elvis Presley: That’s the Way It Is (RCA LSP-4445, 1970)
Four live songs from Las Vegas and eight Nashville studio cuts from the time when Elvis was in great shape and his voice at its peak. Everything he did from 1969 to 1971 is worth checking out, especially the live stuff, before his live show became a caricature of itself.
David Johansen: Here Comes the Night (Blue Sky FZ 36589, 1981)
Back to alpha order after the brief diversion for RSD. Found this in the dollar bin and it’s a little weird that this is his only solo album I have on #vinyl, but I couldn’t pass it up. Features Blondie Chaplin on guitar/vocals and the Modern Lovers’ Ernie Brooks on bass. Not quite as 1981 as you might expect.
Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros. BSK 3296, 1979)
I didn’t give this album a chance until well after I’d gotten deeply into Tom Waits and his lore. It’s crazy how big of a hit “Chuck E.’s in Love” was with this sassy “little girl” laying down hipster jive with the best of them. “Easy Money” would’ve fit on Nighthawks at the Diner. “Danny’s All-Star Joint” is fun as hell. Here comes Rickie with the girdle on tight!
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Daptone DAP-019, 2010)
She was so great. Glad I got to see her in concert once. Her voice could make even dopey white girls shake their hips with serious soul. And Daptone did such a great job of creating an accurate vibe for this, elevating it from beyond pastiche to true pop art like Andy Warhol’s Brillo boxes.
King Tammy: Welcome to the County Fair…Motherfucker (Scratch and Sniff SNES002, 1998)
There was a moment when King Tammy was the best band in Kalamazoo. And the scariest. They’re all sweet guys but they were true freaks. Amazing musicians, they played a sort of acid-drenched alt-metal and always seemed like they were on the brink of homelessness or institutionalization. They recorded this album with Kramer. Which makes sense.
Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express (Capitol SW-11603, 1977)
My kid got me into Kraftwerk when he was 3. He was into trains and we would watch train videos on YouTube together. Some dude compiled 120+ photos of the VT601 and set it to side 3 of The Mix. We watched that video dozens of times. Maybe hundreds. Trains! Robots! Express!
Kris Kristofferson: Jesus Was a Capricorn (Monument KZ 31909, 1972)
The fourth album by the guy who gave country music the “illusion of literacy” according to Tom T. Hall. And yeah, Kristofferson is as smart, good-looking and talented as anybody who ever did it, the lucky son of a bitch. The title track is “owed to John Prine” and you can hear why.
Kris Kristofferson: Songs of Kristofferson (Columbia PZ 34687, 1977)
This is a greatest hits album and it’s perfect. Twelve songs and they’re all great. Kristofferson is the ultimate example of nontoxic masculinity. Tough but sensitive. Rugged but gentle. Damaged but he’s working on it. And there's nothin' short of dyin' half as lonesome as the sound on the sleepin' city sidewalks, Sunday mornin' comin' down.
Funkadelic: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow (ORG Music ORGM-2328, 2026)
Look what showed up in the mail today! Restored by Dave Gardner and Catherine Vericolli, all analog, mastered direct from tape to lathe, and oh man it sounds so good. Best American rock group, hands down.
Oh no I broke my thread! Oops.
Attached: 1 image The Modern Lovers (BMG 964216351, 2026) Couldn’t resist. Found this #RSD release on ebay for what I would’ve paid in the store so I snatched it up. One of my favorite albums of all time (although I consider the 1989 Rhino CD release my definitive track listing). This sounds really good though. So fun. @[email protected] #vinyl #ModernLovers #JonathanRichman
Led Zeppelin (Atlantic SD8216, 1969)
I spent plenty of years making fun of dick-swinging classic rock but this really is a remarkable achievement, executing such a wholly formed vision on a debut album and essentially kicking off a new decade. It just sounds huge.
John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band (Apple SW3372, 1970)
A friend picked this up for me at Amoeba Records. It’s my favorite solo Beatle album for sure. John at his most vulnerable and least cynical. Plus a Cookie Monster impression! I still remember the first time I heard “God” and how the “I don’t believe in Beatles” line landed like a punch in the gut.
John & Yoko: Some Time in New York City (Apple PCS 7161, 1972)
I somehow ended up with a UK pressing of this. I like my solo Beatles unfussy and this one certainly is that. Lots of wailing sax and I must admit they have a rockin' band. There’s even some pretty stuff (“Luck of the Irish”) but overall its vibe is confrontational and aggressive. Which is cool. The lead single is hard to listen to these days.
The Libertines: Up the Bracket (Rough Trade LP065, 2002)
Such a great album from a band that showed so much potential. Two sweatily charismatic singer-songwriters anchored by a booming rhythm section. Doherty would blow it all on crack and Kate Moss but we didn’t know that yet. For now they were just cool and fun and exciting.
Little Feat: Down on the Farm (Warner Bros HS3345, 1979)
I bought this album entirely because I love Souled American’s cover of “Six Feet of Snow.” But it’s really not my deal at all. Slick cocaine-infused soft rock. And the picture on the jacket is creepy and weird. I know people respect Lowell George but this is not for me.
Love: Forever Changes (Elektra EKS-74013, 1967)
This is mastered quiet but that’s what the volume knob’s for. The soundstage is deep and dynamic and groovy. My copy has a lot of surface noise but it only detracts from the experience on the super quiet parts. Classic for a reason.
Wilco: A.M. (Sire 1-45857, 1995)
Jumping out of order again because I was checking my shit for PVC damage. This has been living in a clear PVC sleeve since 1995 and the #vinyl looks fucked up but it plays alright. Switching out to a better sleeve just in case because I love this album. Used to see the promo cd in used bins all the time back in the day and I would always buy em and give em away to friends, a physical form of “file sharing,” I guess.
The Lower Leisure Class: Stories From… (Leppotone LT2103, 2018)
Friends I’ve known since college, a supergroup of dudes who were in all my favorite bands around #Kalamazoo in the 90s. Multiple songwriters, great harmonies, sad stuff, fun stuff, they’ve called it “Michicana,” which is perfect. I love these guys and I love these songs.
Luscious Jackson: In Search of Manny (Grand Royal GR001, 1992)
Grand Royal’s first release. I bought it from the label back in the day. It still doesn’t get cooler than this. With a cutting-edge combination of beats and live instruments, it set the path for a lot of what we now associate with the 90s. Made my 20yo self jealous of my friends who lived in NYC.
The Lucksmiths: Happy Secret (Lost & Lonesome, 2023)
My favorite Lucksmiths album, it’s really a collection of various singles and compilation cuts recorded in 1998, originally released by Candle Records and finally released on vinyl 25 years later. Clever wordplay and heartbroken storytelling. It’s perfect.
The Lucksmiths: Why That Doesn’t Surprise Me (Lost & Lonesome, 2022)
Vinyl reissue of the Luckies’ 2001 classic featuring several of my favorite songs, e.g., “Synchronized Sinking” and “The Great Dividing Range” and “The Year of Driving Languorously.” And just today I pre-ordered the reissue of 2005’s Warmer Corners.
Madonna: Like a Prayer (Sire 0-21170, 1989)
“Specially priced maxi-single” ft. five remixes of the title track plus the lp version of “Act of Contrition.” This song, of course, is great but do you need five remixes? Why not? Especially when Prince’s guitar is more prominent on the extended version.
Madonna: Ray of Light (Maverick R146847, 2021)
Best Madonna album? Probably. I love William Orbit’s production. Natural sounding guitars and drums and Madonna’s voice has never sounded better. The whole thing sounds so good. This is a recent pressing but it’s really well done. No complaints.
Jake