GoKawiilDid you just buy a record player and realize you’re surprisingly low on music to play on it? You’re not alone: Everyone has to start their vinyl collection somewhere. That means getting some of your favorite music in analog format.
While we always recommend you hit up a local independent record store when shopping for your next album—especially on Record Store Day—sometimes you want something very specific or hard to find. Here are the best ways to buy those records online.
Don't forget to check out the rest of our buying guides, including the Best Turntables and Best Bookshelf Speakers, and information on How to Set Up a Turntable.
Discogs' online marketplace is the first destination for serious collectors. Screenshot courtesy of Parker Hall
The center of gravity for vinyl collectors, sellers, and independent record stores alike is Discogs. The platform allows folks to buy, sell, and trade discs from their collections. There are rarities aplenty, but also lots of deals and desirable titles. This is the best place to find albums, singles, and box sets, since nearly everything that's ever been pressed to plastic is in the Discogs database, and somebody in the site's global marketplace has a sales listing for what you're hoping to buy.
You'll find all formats of music on Discogs—vinyl, cassettes, CDs, and even tape reels—so you'll need to select the vinyl category before searching for whatever you are after. With around 12 million records for sale in the United States alone, you're unlikely to run out of things you want before you run out of cash. Make an account, register your collection (Discogs' app makes it easy to catalog your library by scanning barcodes), and start searching for new gems to fill it out.
Bandcamp is the premier platform for artists and labels to sell directly to fans. Screenshot courtesy of Parker Hall
If you're looking for truly independent music from all over the globe, select the Vinyl tab at the top of the Bandcamp homepage and get to browsing. You may have to do a bit of digital crate digging to find something that you like, but you can search for music using genre tags, by filtering searches to see what's newly released, or by browsing geographic locations. (Don't sleep on the Japanese reggae scene.) For an easy place to start, check out Bandcamp's daily blog to find the editorial staff's recommendations.