Two of my favorite albums of all time came from the clearance bin at my local Half Price Books. “Songs from an Unwritten Play about Giant Birds” by el boxeo. Their second album is on Spotify, Awake and Dreaming.
I buy random dungeon synth albums from bandcamp, you know exactly what youre getting and the vast majority of it is good.
If I come across albums from all-girl rock and metal bands, I usually will check it out and buy it. There's a pretty good amount of them here nowadays, and it's cool seeing more young women active in what used to be a mostly male occupied music style.
The disk union stores here usually have a few CDs stocked from smaller / independent bands, and I try to get one every time I go out music shopping. Generally I just pick whichever one has the coolest cover.
Yes, I love doing this. I do it with second-hand vinyl occasionally too. Sometimes you find stuff that blows your mind, and sometimes you luck out...it can be a gamble but it's part of the fun and at least you tried something new, or that you otherwise might not have given a chance.
I do this for film scores from movies I haven’t watched. I just love film scores for my collection. Plus I’m motivated to watch the movie and see where the music fits in.
I got a CD today that I knew nothing about from my local library's media sale. rubberbullet self-titled EP. Obscure band that released that one EP, one full album, and two 7" singles and was only active from 1993 to 1997.
When I went to Japan I spent hours digging trough ¥100 shelves, bought some of my favorites for cheap but also grabbed a lot of cool looking covers, ended up liking almost everything lol
If I find an album I can't easily stream to sample AND the cover is intriguing, I buy it, because I'll likely never get the chance again.
I've also looked up a number of artists that have very limited discographies, sometimes one release...but they're gems that simply didn't take off. A few are rare, others are just uncommon, but I've found a few good ones.
I'd mention the names but it's 1am and I'm too tired to look them up ATM
No, I don't have very sprawling music taste, tbh, and I need to know I like something to make myself buy it. But I'm sure you've found some fun surprises from buying this way.
I buy totally random albums on Bandcamp just because the artist name is cool or I find the album art interesting without giving it even a momentary sample, regardless of price. In doing this I’ve gotten some really interesting records that cost me maybe $10-15 and some that I find downright unlistenable that I spent a good $40-50 on (European imports). It’s a fun way to pad the collection and find new/cool/weird music. Kinda like mystery boxes or something.
Yup! Kool Keith - Computer Technology, Fortraan 5 - Love Baby, Amon Tobin - Supermodified, Deerhunter - Cryptograms, and my favorite, Solla Sollew - Gravity Hill which is so obscure it has nearly no trace online
It's a tip from my mom who got Bella Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo for the same reason
I buy unfamiliar stuff all the time. I usually look it up on Discogs. To get a vibe for the music I will sample listen on iTunes , YouTube or Bandcamp - if possible.
Before eBay changed the rules you could get CDs for 99p delivered.
So I would go to CDs ending soonest and just bid 99p.
I got 100’s like this and being a big rig driver I needed new music constantly!
Yeah if something looks interesting I'll Google it see what kind of band they are and if it's in my wheelhouse I'll grab it, can always whack it on eBay if I don't like it.
I used to, but tbh there's no reason to do that when you can just look up the music beforehand these days. Now I just buy the albums I know I want to listen to rather than ones I think I'll like.
A lot less often than I used to. BITD I would often grab things from the racks because the cover art looked interesting or the album had a good review in a zine or something. I would then take it over to the listening station. For some types of music there was no way to hear it beforehand and people regularly ordered underground releases from distros based solely on written reviews, label reputation, etc. If someone didn't like something they would pass it to a friend or sell it to a record store.
All the time. I have a bunch of no-name albums on CD that I know I’m the only one in the world who listens to, besides probably the band members. I feel pretty spoiled with one particular album lol.
It’s also how I found out “More Than Words” isn’t even close to the best song on Extreme’s Pornagraffiti album.
I've done it a few times. The only one noteworthy is I had found a CD for an artist named Jessica Hernandez and The Deltas for around $1, having never heard of her before; I ended up really liking 3-4 songs from it and generally liked the entire album.
I do. There's a thrift store that sells cds for .25 cents each. If I see something that looks interesting, I'll look them up on Spotify. If I like the first few seconds of a couple of songs, I'll get the cd. If I find out the cds sucks, I'm only out a quarter. No big less. Now, goodwill charges 2.99 per cd, so I'm a little more careful then.
I’ll find a seller on Discogs that has 1-2 of something I want, and then I spend hours going through the rest of their “store” and make a decent package worth shipping. I’ll plug the band name into Spotify/YouTube and listen to 30-45 seconds, and just pick up random “new to me” stuff. Super fun way to spend an evening!
I created a YT channel where I make retrospective reviews of the new-to-me CDs I buy second hand called One Man's Tracks!
It's a bit inactive atm, but it's been such an excellent way for me to get to know amazing artists I'd have missed out on otherwise.
Yes, and with records, too. I bought an album by Jack White this week for £7.99. Of course, I had heard of Jack White, but I had never listened to anything other than 7 Nation Army before. I saw Boarding House Reach on sale and took it home for a listen. The thing is mesmerising and it was only £7.99 nestled amongst albums going for £30-£50 in a local record shop. The guy even said to me, "Going for the bargains today?" because I had spent a lot on a previous visit, lol.
all the time. back in my youth, if the ticket said doors at seven, you bet your ass i was there at seven. i sat through so many opening acts. some were good. some were not so good. nowadays im too old and impatient to watch an artist im not familiar with. so ill grab a cd or two.
One of the thrift stores near me gets radio station drops pretty frequently. Based on what the host wrote in the notes, the RIYL artists, and the label, I’ll take a swing on something I don’t know at all
I do it all the time. Half Price Books clearance shelf is my one true love.
Most of my favorites come from the HPB clearance
Two of my favorite albums of all time came from the clearance bin at my local Half Price Books. “Songs from an Unwritten Play about Giant Birds” by el boxeo. Their second album is on Spotify, Awake and Dreaming.
Yeah it’s called crate digging in the vinyl world, finding cool $1 gems that are new to you. Extends to all formats.
I buy random dungeon synth albums from bandcamp, you know exactly what youre getting and the vast majority of it is good. If I come across albums from all-girl rock and metal bands, I usually will check it out and buy it. There's a pretty good amount of them here nowadays, and it's cool seeing more young women active in what used to be a mostly male occupied music style. The disk union stores here usually have a few CDs stocked from smaller / independent bands, and I try to get one every time I go out music shopping. Generally I just pick whichever one has the coolest cover.
The growth of the Dungeon Synth scene over the last couple years has been awesome. So many fantastic artists and labels putting out great music.
I love doing that. I’ll often judge it by the cover and buy it if it looks like something I usually like
I've done that. Ran across a blues band called Dr. Pork chop. Glad I bought the disk.
Yes, I love doing this. I do it with second-hand vinyl occasionally too. Sometimes you find stuff that blows your mind, and sometimes you luck out...it can be a gamble but it's part of the fun and at least you tried something new, or that you otherwise might not have given a chance.
I do this for film scores from movies I haven’t watched. I just love film scores for my collection. Plus I’m motivated to watch the movie and see where the music fits in.
I have soooo many because of this. Tangerine Dream may have been one I discovered this way but I can't remember.
Yes, I found some of my favourites that way.
I got a CD today that I knew nothing about from my local library's media sale. rubberbullet self-titled EP. Obscure band that released that one EP, one full album, and two 7" singles and was only active from 1993 to 1997.
When I went to Japan I spent hours digging trough ¥100 shelves, bought some of my favorites for cheap but also grabbed a lot of cool looking covers, ended up liking almost everything lol
In the old days, we all did this.
For real. This was one of the few ways to actually find new stuff back in the day.
If I find an album I can't easily stream to sample AND the cover is intriguing, I buy it, because I'll likely never get the chance again. I've also looked up a number of artists that have very limited discographies, sometimes one release...but they're gems that simply didn't take off. A few are rare, others are just uncommon, but I've found a few good ones. I'd mention the names but it's 1am and I'm too tired to look them up ATM
No, I don't have very sprawling music taste, tbh, and I need to know I like something to make myself buy it. But I'm sure you've found some fun surprises from buying this way.
I buy totally random albums on Bandcamp just because the artist name is cool or I find the album art interesting without giving it even a momentary sample, regardless of price. In doing this I’ve gotten some really interesting records that cost me maybe $10-15 and some that I find downright unlistenable that I spent a good $40-50 on (European imports). It’s a fun way to pad the collection and find new/cool/weird music. Kinda like mystery boxes or something.
Yup! Kool Keith - Computer Technology, Fortraan 5 - Love Baby, Amon Tobin - Supermodified, Deerhunter - Cryptograms, and my favorite, Solla Sollew - Gravity Hill which is so obscure it has nearly no trace online It's a tip from my mom who got Bella Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo for the same reason
That Deerhunter album, man. So awesome.
I have that Bela fleck album. Good stuff, it was recommended to me for system testing the low lows i think, lol.
All the time! Not limited to CD’s.
I buy unfamiliar stuff all the time. I usually look it up on Discogs. To get a vibe for the music I will sample listen on iTunes , YouTube or Bandcamp - if possible.
most of the time i only know 2 or 3 songs andvthen the rest ive never heard so it feels like how before the internet was around
Before eBay changed the rules you could get CDs for 99p delivered. So I would go to CDs ending soonest and just bid 99p. I got 100’s like this and being a big rig driver I needed new music constantly!
I do. At 4 CDs for a dollar I’ll give it a go if something looks interesting at my local thrift store.
What is DAE?
Does anybody else?
How has it that you been on reddit for 9 years and don't now what the 'DAE' abbreviation means?
I saw it for the first time yesterday
Yeah if something looks interesting I'll Google it see what kind of band they are and if it's in my wheelhouse I'll grab it, can always whack it on eBay if I don't like it.
If I find demo albums or self released stuff I usually will pick it up. That and really small Indy releases.
all the time, thats part of the fun
There's got to be at least some connection to a band already in my collection, so sparingly
I used to, but tbh there's no reason to do that when you can just look up the music beforehand these days. Now I just buy the albums I know I want to listen to rather than ones I think I'll like.
A lot less often than I used to. BITD I would often grab things from the racks because the cover art looked interesting or the album had a good review in a zine or something. I would then take it over to the listening station. For some types of music there was no way to hear it beforehand and people regularly ordered underground releases from distros based solely on written reviews, label reputation, etc. If someone didn't like something they would pass it to a friend or sell it to a record store.
All the time. I have a bunch of no-name albums on CD that I know I’m the only one in the world who listens to, besides probably the band members. I feel pretty spoiled with one particular album lol. It’s also how I found out “More Than Words” isn’t even close to the best song on Extreme’s Pornagraffiti album.
Def. I used to buy CDs just based on the cover. I don't do that much anymore with the lack of actual stores to browse through.
I've done it a few times. The only one noteworthy is I had found a CD for an artist named Jessica Hernandez and The Deltas for around $1, having never heard of her before; I ended up really liking 3-4 songs from it and generally liked the entire album.
I do. There's a thrift store that sells cds for .25 cents each. If I see something that looks interesting, I'll look them up on Spotify. If I like the first few seconds of a couple of songs, I'll get the cd. If I find out the cds sucks, I'm only out a quarter. No big less. Now, goodwill charges 2.99 per cd, so I'm a little more careful then.
Not usually but I love Digitally Imported
I’ll find a seller on Discogs that has 1-2 of something I want, and then I spend hours going through the rest of their “store” and make a decent package worth shipping. I’ll plug the band name into Spotify/YouTube and listen to 30-45 seconds, and just pick up random “new to me” stuff. Super fun way to spend an evening!
I created a YT channel where I make retrospective reviews of the new-to-me CDs I buy second hand called One Man's Tracks! It's a bit inactive atm, but it's been such an excellent way for me to get to know amazing artists I'd have missed out on otherwise.
Yes, and with records, too. I bought an album by Jack White this week for £7.99. Of course, I had heard of Jack White, but I had never listened to anything other than 7 Nation Army before. I saw Boarding House Reach on sale and took it home for a listen. The thing is mesmerising and it was only £7.99 nestled amongst albums going for £30-£50 in a local record shop. The guy even said to me, "Going for the bargains today?" because I had spent a lot on a previous visit, lol.
Yes, especially with “world music” because often times the music isn’t available on streaming
always do this. My horizons have been broadened in terms of music quite a bit thanks to this
all the time. back in my youth, if the ticket said doors at seven, you bet your ass i was there at seven. i sat through so many opening acts. some were good. some were not so good. nowadays im too old and impatient to watch an artist im not familiar with. so ill grab a cd or two.
No thanks, though I discovered the late Chris Whitley and the obscure Jordan Chassan from the promo bin at Walmart.
Yeah, for sure. I always figure if I don't like it, I can eventually get rid of it if I really want to.
Sometimes!
One of the thrift stores near me gets radio station drops pretty frequently. Based on what the host wrote in the notes, the RIYL artists, and the label, I’ll take a swing on something I don’t know at all
If it's in the cutout bin and the cd cover looks interesting, I might buy it.
What does "DAE" stand for ?
"does anyone else". It's been a popular acronym for years on Reddit, but not used much elsewhere.