My vinyl records collection

If somebody told me in early 2022 I would buy a vinyl turntable and starting a vinyl records collection, I don’t think I would have believed it. Like I’ve said in the linked blog entry, I’m not audiophile and not a “vinyl nostalgic”. Because I remember this medium while I was a kid and the sound of the family turntable was awful, the needle jumped a lot, and the “cracks” were not really enjoyable.

But today, since I’ve bought this turntable and enjoyed my first vinyl records after decades, I’ve set a small collection of records. Here is my current collection state sorted by music kind.

Video games

Because my first one was in this category, let’s start with this one.

• Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Soundtrack : a compilation included in the Collector Edition of the game
• Final Fantasy XIV LP Soundtrack : a four albums compilation of various musics from Final Fantasy XIV’s soundtrack, from A Realm Reborn to Shadowbringers. An Endwalker edition has been announced, it’s already pre-ordered.
• Final Fantasy IX : a selection of FFIX soundtrack
• Final Fantasy X : same for FFX
• The Legend of Zelda Heroes of Time : A symphonic suite performed by the Slovak National Orchestra of The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time themes. That’s the record on the photo above.
• Chrono Cross : The Radical Dreamers vinyl edition : A suite of rearranged themes from Chrono Cross.

Movies Soundtracks

• The Dark Knight soundtrack : because this soundtrack is awesome
• Top Gun soundtrack : when you need your 80’s rock sound shot in your face
• John Williams Berlin concert : a medley of various John Williams movies soundtracks recorded live in Berlin
• Hans Zimmer concert in Prague : if you need an absolute epic vibe in your house, just buy this one, it’s an awesome concert
• Gladiator Soundtrack : Another nice Hans Zimmer soundtrack.

Anime Soundtracks

• Bubblegum Crisis soundtrack : episodes 1, 2 and 3, if you need a shot of 80’s music from Japan, these albums are for you. I haven’t bought all of them because I’ve only enjoyed the first three, after it became a little repetitive.
• Les Mystérieuses Cités d’Or soundtrack : and French-Japanese animation series from the 80’s, a show I’ve really loved when I was young, with awesome musics.
• Goldorak French theme : actually, this LP just contains the 3 French songs for the TV show and the rest is an audio version of the firsts episodes. It was more for collection than listening, because I’m just a Goldorak (Grendizer) fan.
• Ghost in the Shell (the first movie) : because the soundtrack of this movie is unique
• Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, Ein version : Imported from the USA, the only issue with this edition is the missing ending, The Real Folk Blues. It’s a shame this masterpiece is not present.

Rock / Pop

• Téléphone - Un Autre Monde : French rock band, a good classic
• Pulp - Different Classes : I’ve discovered Pulp quite recently, and I love it.
• Prince’s song for the Batman movie : At first I thought it was the movie soundtrack. I can’t say I’m a Prince fan, but these songs are still very nice.

Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

That’s one of my favorite kind, I’ve fallen into Metal since the High School (with Black or Death metal) and today it remains one of my usual sound with the more classic rock.

• Europe - The Final Countdown
• Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast : My favorite Iron Maiden album
• Helloween - Helloween : Same, for Helloween :)
• Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction : sadly, the record has an issue and some tracks don’t play good… Too bad, because this album is great.
• W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. : I’ve almost screamed like a teenage girl when I’ve found this album, their first one, in a pictured version. It’s really hard to find W.A.S.P.’s records here because it’s a such underrated band despite its awesome talent. I’ve discovered them a couple of years ago and I love it.
• Cinderella - Night Songs : Also a very good sound from a very good band !
• Scorpions - Love at first sight : I’ve always been impressed to see how heavy metal or hard rock bands can produce such beautiful ballads.

Electro

M83 is almost the only band I listen to of this kind. But it’s truly awesome. It’s a French origin band who creates ambient and electro songs with a powerful sound music background and vibe. Their work has been used in some commercials of movies trailers. They made the soundtrack for the movie Oblivion. The main theme song of this movie is beautiful, and when you see her singer performing live, she’s just awesome.

• M83 - Hurry up we’re dreaming
• M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, Lost Ghosts

I also have a “wanted” list I hope I can reduce at each discs fair or in retailers, but some of them are really really hard to find. One of my most prioritized target is The Crimpson Idol from W.A.S.P. because it’s the first album I’ve heard from them, and this opera rock is awesome on every single point. Some other albums are quite difficult to find because they have been release at the time when vinyls had lost their market and been replaced by CDs. Some of my collection is composed of reprints, but others are original one and that’s a great pleasure to find a rare item !