Sometimes you find the darndest things at thrift stores.
Today since I have the day off, I thought it might be nice to venture over to a few thrift stores just to see what I could find.
Low and behold, wouldn’t you know it but at the last of three stores I discovered something really groovy – I found the ’70’s!
Now I usually don’t buy many records at thrift stores. One because they’re usually this side of junk and beat to death and two I never really find any albums I want to add to my collection.
Thrift stores are notorious for tattered covers and unplayable vinyl but since I love the thrill of the hunt I thought ‘what the heck, why not?’
Well today I went into a local thrift/Goodwill type store and stumbled upon a small stash of records all in the shrink wrap, all in excellent condition and all by some of my favorite easy listening acts.
I can hear the cynical out there smacking their lips – Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond! – but hey I really like ’70’s pop music. I loved it on AM radio in the 1970’s and I love it now.
Nothing takes me back more than the music from 1975 to 1980 which was a time I really kept a close eye on the charts and lived for Top Forty radio.
These albums also contain some of my favorite songs from that period too like “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”, “Songbird”, “My Heart Belongs to Me”, “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again”, “Copacabana”,”Even Now”, “Love on the Rocks” and “Hello Again” – just to name a few.
Plus these albums sound sooo good on vinyl – warm and dynamic and and dare I say it just the right kind of mellow .. or should I say Manilow (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
The weird thing is that as I went through this small stack of records, I had the funniest sense of deja vu.
Not only did I find a stack of records I was interested in but all them still had their hype stickers still on the shrink wrap (I love hype stickers so sue me!) but they also had their original price stickers; three of them from the now defunct Turtles Records chain.
Even though Turtles Record stores were based in the South I remember seeing their logo and it was such a blast to see their price sticker and it just added that extra bit of nostalgia that I love. (I know, I know, weird but true!).
Seeing the five records I bought for the princely sum of $2 a piece – of course I wasn’t going to leave them there! – it looks like I went out shopping in the 1970’s for the afternoon and just got home to sit down and relax in a chair on my green shag carpet!
Anyway, for those who were there this blog post may bring back some happy memories of record stores in the ’70’s and or malls, etc.
For those who weren’t there, this is how music looked back then – no streaming, no computers – just cardboard, vinyl and plastic!
Feast your eyes (above) on my pristine vinyl catch of the day and grab a soft drink and relax, chill, listen to some music.
Until next time, be well and as always … Have a Nice Day!
Records, CDs and Music: 