I had a ball working on this piece with Jeff Gold, the owner of Recordmecca. He is known for offering the rare and desirable: rock records and memorabilia. Jeff’s book, 101 Essential Rock Records, ranging from the Beatles, to early psych, electric blues, prog, glam and punk, not only covers some of the most coveted pressings, but some albums that may surprise you.
I really like this book, as you’ll see from the accompanying article. But Jeff and I also got to compare notes, not just about of collecting, but also about sonics. No surprise that some of these “investment grade” records are also the best sounding, but there are still a few bargains to be found. While these may not have the same level of rarity or collectability as some of the first pressings identified in Jeff’s book, they are also worth exploring. His book is easily worth the $39.95 retail price- aside from its reference value, it’s great fun to page through. It also isn’t a bad way to learn about some significant rock records from the formative years—most of these are pressings that you will not commonly see in a used record store, or even online except in rare instances. (If you do, grab them!)
I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as I did working on it. As to the book- well, I’ve spent far more on books about records, collecting or the like, and gotten far less enjoyment from them than this one. Highly recommended.
Bill Hart
Images courtesy of Jeff Gold.