For as long as I can remember vinyls have been a huge part of my life, as daft as that might sound.

My Grandad has always been a huge fan of collecting records, maybe because he’s old fashioned and can’t wrap his head around the idea of being able to listen to an unlimited amount of music without physically owning a copy – but also because that’s just how it was in his day. If you wanted to listen to an album, you didn’t just download it onto your phone or stream it through your laptop, you actually had to go out and buy the record – imagine that ay?

When I was younger I’d spend hours rummaging through his collection. Even though I might not have known a lot of the artists (practically none of them) it didn’t stop me placing them on the record player and letting the needle do the rest of the work. I’d lie there and take in the music and for some reason, it felt 10x better than just plugging in a pair of headphones.

About 3 Christmases ago, I was surprised with a Crosley record player and it’s safe to say I was made up!

 

Ever since then, I’ve been building my very own record collection and whenever people ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas I find a new LP for them to buy me.

Now that it’s fast approaching Christmas, I thought I’d let you in on a few of my favourite records – just in case you know any vinyl nerds like myself.

1. The Balcony – Catfish and The Bottlemen

The first 12″ that I owned was an album called The Balcony by Catfish and The Bottlemen. It is definitely one of my favourites, but then again I might be biased because they are one of my favourite bands. In my opinion there isn’t a bad song on this album and when you open it up the lyrics to each song have been printed inside – which is pretty cool!

 

 

2.  Royal Blood

Royal Blood’s self-titled debut album is another of my favourites. It consists of 10 songs, 5 on each side, and includes hits ‘Out Of The Black’ and ‘Little Monster.’ Although it isn’t as nice to look at as the Catfish record, it sounds incredible.

3. Last Night Limited Edition 7″ – The Sherlocks

This limited edition 7″ by The Sherlocks is signed by each member of the band and holds just one song per side. There was only 1,000 of these little beauties made and each one is numbered individually numbered (I’m number 250). Side A holds my favourite song from the lads called ‘Last Night’ and the vinyl itself is actually green – which makes it even better to look at.

4. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis

Oasis are one of the most iconic rock bands to ever exist; FACT! I remember when my Dad first introduced me to this album, classing it as “proper music.” We sat downstairs with the album playing on repeat as we simply couldn’t get enough of it. 7 years on and they are now my all time favourite band – so much so that I went to see Liam Gallagher at Finsbury Park over Summer. They genuinely have a song for every single mood. Sad? Listen to Oasis. Angry? Listen to Oasis. Buzzing? Listen to Oasis. This record will forever hold so much value to me and I can’t thank my Dad enough for bringing me up listening to them.

5. I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It – The 1975

Wow, what a mouth full! As soon as I heard this album, I just knew that I had to own a physical copy. With that in mind, I went out and brought it a couple of days after it was released and I was definitely not disappointed.

This record is nothing short of breath-taking! The 1975 have been known to be daring and different and this album is exactly that; which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. Well, that, and the fact that it is so aesthetically pleasing to look through. The title of each song has been photographed in pink neon lights in a different but spectacular location. The effort that the band have put in to make this record perfect is evident. In this case it isn’t just a record, it’s a piece of art.

And if those albums still aren’t enough, check out this video to see more of my collection…

Thanks for reading,

Rio x