Call me old-fashioned, or just call me broke...

[emdasher]

Is it wrong that I feel unhip and behind the times for not owning a blu-ray player and not reverting to vinyl as my preferred method of listening to music? That shit seems so hott right now!

[Sarah]

Is it wrong . . . ?

Yes.

[Bryan]

Don't know if you're seriously after A/V advice. Regardless, this may be stating the obvious:

Blu-Ray will probably get a lot cheaper in the next year or so. Also, unless you have a massive HD tv, it won't improve the experience much. Wait on it. Chances are good that if the economy continues to tank, you'll find other things to worry about/spend money on.

As for vinyl, it's a very inexpensive way to buy old stuff. Also, shopping for LPs is more fun than the iTunes store. A decent used record player will set you back a couple hundred bucks, maximum, and will keep on giving.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

the problem with jumping on the vinyl bus now is that its going to get expensive.  had you been "in-the'know" prior to the vinyl revival, you would have gotten a lot of good stuff for cheap.  but we all know thats all this is when it comes to vinyl: a pissing contest.

i wouldnt worry about either of those things, emdasher.  youre not missing out on anything you'll regret later.

[erika]

Honestly, why does it matter how you listen to music? Isn't it just the songs that matter?

And blu-ray is hardly mainstream. I think you may be overthinking this. Just enjoy your music and movies however you want to and don't worry about bein a techno-hotty.

[John Junk 2.0]

I give vinyl two years TOPS before the vinyl revival backlash starts and we start reading articles in the NYTimes Styles section where people are like "Elizabeth Altschul, an intern at the New York Times Styles section a trendy fashion magazine, relates her personal odyssey with the problematic platter: 'I tried to get into vinyl and go with the crowd,but it's too unwieldy!  It won't fit anywhere on my bike and if I leave it on the window sill all day it warps. Sorry, vinyl, but I'm going back to digital!'

[iAmBaronVonTito]

Honestly, why does it matter how you listen to music? Isn't it just the songs that matter?

i know what youre getting at, erika...but it really can matter.  i suppose it depends on preferences.

otherwise, i agree with JJ.

[Bryan]

the problem with jumping on the vinyl bus now is that its going to get expensive.  had you been "in-the'know" prior to the vinyl revival, you would have gotten a lot of good stuff for cheap.  but we all know thats all this is when it comes to vinyl: a pissing contest.

i wouldnt worry about either of those things, emdasher.  youre not missing out on anything you'll regret later.

I guess it depends what you're after (and probably where you live). If you just want to build a collection of good, mainstream stuff from the 60s/70s/80s - stuff like Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Talking Heads, etc. - vinyl is still pretty cheap.

I don't bother with new stuff on vinyl, for just the reasons that Junk specifies!

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I don't have a lot of space, so I've been drifting back and forth on getting a record player.  I live a block away from the flea market where Small Change is selling his record collection, and I can see that getting really dangerous. 

That said, there was a recent study (please don't make me go dig it up) that the human body really can tell the difference between analog and digital sounds, and prefers analog.  I don't know what that means, really, but it makes me want to go to live shows and listen to vinyl.

And Junk, an article like that in the NYT Style Section would actually mean that the vinyl backlash is over. 

[yesno]

We've mentioned this before, but if you're going to have physical formats vinyl is the only way to go now.  There is nothing about ugly-ass CDs, from sound quality to artwork, that can't be reproduced with digital files one way or the other.  CDs are this half and half format, I've got no use of them.

I've also got no money for silly collectable vinyl.  And you can still find cheap vinyl at thrift stores, though maybe not in cities with large hipster infestations.

[jamesp]

I'd especially not worry about Blu-Ray since new movies in the format cost like $30, compared to like $15 to $20 on DVD.

[Gilly]

Vinyl takes more effort to build up a collection but it's much cheaper.

[Phantom Hugger]

Part of switching to vinyl for me was to curb my music consumption. Anything I buy on vinyl I have to really like and take the time to sit down, listen and flip the side half way through. Plus big ol' artwork and liner notes (goes along with loving what you buy).

For one off 'Kung-Fu Fighting' type novelties, iTunes will scratch that itch.

[Emerson]

I'm a cheapskate. I grew up listening to a shitty walkman play songs I taped off the radio. Between basement shows and amateur fireworks displays, I lost a lot of my hearing as a teenager. Although I do (barely) prefer the sound of vinyl, I regard sound quality as a luxury.

Records are easier and more fun to manipulate - I miss cleaning up my apartment while listening to instrumentals at the wrong speed. And CDs were always a hateful scam.

[John Junk 2.0]

Although I do (barely) prefer the sound of vinyl, I regard sound quality as a luxury.

I'm with you.  Does my used-from-craigslist, barely-functioning cabinet/record player sound better than the $80 computer speakers I bought from Staples?  Not exactly.