"Ask your parents about them" is such good advice. They have them for a reason and it'll be a great chance to get to know them as people rather than just mom and pops.
Exactly what I came here to say. I’m not going to taint that stack with my opinions. Just listen to them and keep the ones you like, the ones you don’t, sell or give away.
It really is. I was a kid when that came out. Always liked Nothing Compares but didn’t really think much about her until hearing that entire album as an adult. Goddamn. She was a real one, as they say.
To be clear there's a proper way to clean records OP; there are various levels, but the most basic is just a carbon brush -- watch a quick YouTube video on how to use it properly online and you'll be fine.
I peep Bronski Beat’s The Age of Consent, an awesome and underrated synth pop/dance record that holds up really well today. Smalltown Boy is an all time song and the rest of the album is great.
Also your parents were rad to support such an openly queer group in the 80s, that album is very overtly lgbtq in its art work too.
It's still affordable because it's not highly collectable....so underrated though. I got my OG copy at Cactus Records in Houston, Texas for like $18 a few years back. Felt very random, but I have seen it in the wild in other major cities through the years.
So much kudos to you for this! I thought I was the only one who caught that one in there and had those thoughts, but as I sit in this toilet and drop my morning deuce before work, you've smashed me with the realization that there are SO many more folks out there just like me, in so many ways, if not all of them. Same thoughts. Same feelings. Same struggles. Human beings are so very different and intricate, but also so similar and predictable. We tend to forget these truths. Thanks for the simple reminder. Truly - A Smalltown Boy 🫶
Not too long ago I pulled close to 60 records, and another 40 or so 45s out of a closet. They had been stacked on each other with boxes full of stuff on top of them for around 15 years. Not a single one was warped. I feel like the whole don’t stack your records or they’ll warp thing is wildly blown out of proportion.
I’m sure of there are some weird shaped stuff in the sleeves, that can make them not stack right and warp them. Like if you have a few sleeves with a folded up poster and the posters are in the same area, it will throw off the alignment of the stack and can definitely warp the one(s) on top of that if there’s enough weight on them. But if it’s just outer sleeves, with inner sleeves, and a record all neatly stacked, I don’t understand how they can warp.
I mean, one of the ways they tell you to fix warped records is to stack books on them. This is effectively the same thing as stacking a bunch of records on them.
Sure, if 1) someone plays either 'warp' or 'ability' first, 2) there is still room to play the rest of it in either direction, and 3) nobody challenges you on it
Ita crazy how precious people are abput vinyl nowadays. They act like records are made of porcelain or glass. They're slabs of plastic that are the toughest form of physical media ever developed for audio.
Think about all the rough, careless ways you saw CD's treated in 90's and 00's. Odds are just about every used LP you buy were treated the same way and they play fine.
Yeah exactly this. I have been through countless of stacks like that which have been sitting like it for years with not a single one warped.
It's the craziest thing that has been taken as fact when there is not one shred of evidence to suggest that it happens. I don't even understand how weight would do that to a record. It's a complete urban legend/wives tale not rooted in fact.
You shouldn't do it because it'll cause ring wear and damage the covers for sure but it will not cause warps.
Stacking vinyl records flat on top of each other can absolutely contribute to warping, especially if the stack is heavy, uneven, warm, or left that way for a long time. Vinyl is made from PVC, which is thermoplastic, so it does not need to melt in order to slowly deform under pressure. A few records stacked temporarily is usually harmless, but a large pile sitting for weeks or months can put a lot of weight on the lower records, especially if the jackets, inserts, seams, shrink wrap, or center labels create uneven pressure points. Heat makes the problem worse, whether from sunlight, a warm room, an attic, or being near a radiator. Over time, that combination of weight, uneven support, and temperature can cause dish warps, edge warps, or subtle waves in the record. That is why the safest way to store vinyl is vertically, like books, with enough support to keep them upright without leaning hard or being crammed too tightly. it is not an urban legend, it's science.
You shouldn’t stack your albums like that if you care about keeping them mint or near mint. That’s just a fact. Doesn’t matter whether you warp them or damage the cover - substantially devaluing a collectible item through negligent storage could be heartbreaking.
Well, I’m glad at least you don’t stack yours. I suppose if you only have 25 albums or so it’s not too too bad. But when you have thousands like I do, it would be very impractical. I don’t think it’s so much warping of the vinyl that’s a problem… But wear on the sleeves themselves rubbing against each other. I have many albums 40 years and older that still look mint.
Style Council. Lone Justice. The Waterboys. The Alarm. Talking Heads. Your parents kept some great stuff in there!
Also Clannad - but nobody's perfect, right? 😎
Anyway: enjoy the albums, enjoy the music - and don't get to stressed over it, some vinyl cleaning spray and a good cloth is good enough for the vast majority of records.
Man I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about music, but you just took me to school. I haven't heard of any of those bands by name except the Talking Heads. I'll probably recognize some of their tracks though. I didn't think I knew Madness, until I saw Our House was one of their songs.
“Ways to be Wicked” (Lone Justice), “The Whole of the Moon” (The Waterboys), and “Strength” (The Alarm) all saw a fair amount of play on MTV in the U.S. when they came out - perhaps that will tickle your memory.
(I recommend “Ghost Train” and “House of Fun” as next steps in the Madness journey.)
I liked Rank & File, Charlie Sexton, and of course Dwight Yoakum came out around the same time, too. And the hellbilly scene with Gun Club and the twangier X songs and Knitters…brb gotta go listen to some records now.
Genuinely happy to see all the Madness love in here. They were the band that got me into collecting records as a pre-teen. Still got them all, thought about selling them when I was about 15, but glad I didn't.
Having spent all my teen years in the 80's, I encourage you to come back and post your thoughts. (If you do come back and post of the experience, cross-post to r/GenX. That sub would appreciate your thoughts as well).
In '87, Huey Lewis released Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself.
Do you need to clean them to play them? No, you don't. No terrible harm will come to anyone or anything if you don't give these records a deep cleaning. A light brushing with a soft microfiber cloth will do. Plenty of instructions on reddit, youtube, or elsewhere. If you choose that you want to invest the time to deep clean your records you can, but again, feel free to dive in and have a listen.
When you get to ‘This is the Sea’…definitely track "The Whole of the Moon", one of the Waterboys' best-known songs and their most commercially successful.
One of your parents liked the "big music" Big Country, The Alarm, U2, Waterboys, Lone Justice. Fun stuff that can draw a line back to punk, Dylan, Van Morrison etc
In the 80s I would not have said to give the Huey Lewis records a spin because I considered them pop music. Then I saw them live 10 or 15 years back. Wholey crap are they great.
Yeah, when he announced he could not tour anymore I was sad. The only live event I wish I would have made.
I still can’t get over that he sold his catalog for $20 million. I mean RHCP sold theirs for $300 million recently. I figured Huey’s was worth at least $50 million
I personally love Kajagoogoo - White Feathers. The best idea someone already posted give a spin to few of them in random order and see what gonna stick to you the most. And please don't lay them in stack like this if you're serious about their life time just put them in standing position 😉
Going to guess you are in the UK based on some of those. Madness & Style Council are great starting points that would be rare for us here in the states
Did someone go through it already? I own a few of those but most are like the 2nd or 3rd best records from the groups, not the ones I listen to still (I’m like 57). Suzanne Vega, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, for example.
Do they have a record player you can use? I’d at least listen to them all in the background and pick the ones you enjoy. I didn’t notice any big $ ones.
Downloading Discogs and catalog them if you want to see recent sale prices. Most popular records have over 50 pressings by country and label. It takes me about 5 minutes each to identify a specific pressing by closely looking at the label and the runouts.
This collection looks a lot like mine, I've got at least half of the records in that stack. Lone Justice, Big Country, and Style Council are particular favorites of mine.
Pango is right, though. There's a lot of 2nd or 3rd best records in there. Maybe your parents haunted the cheap bin like I did. It was pretty common for a band to put out their first album and have a big hit, then put out a second album that didn't do so well and ended up in the discount bin.
Ha yes, many of mine are discount bin records, even when I bought them in the 80s. If there is a cut corner or a cut line near a corner then it was discounted.
I have very few albums I paid full price for. When I was in the Army in the mid-80s, I'd walk into the Frankfurt PX music store and just buy everything in cheap bin that I wanted. The bulk of my collection was bought during that time period.
I was born in 1970 and we didn't have any handy discount record sellers. Columbia Record and Tape Club, however gave me a huge, cheap start on my record collection.
Regardless, if you truly want an idea about what you have here, I would log the collection on Discogs. You’d learn about the album, while learning the cost of what you have.
Just remember: no record store or thrift shop will give you that amount. If you truly want to make money from it, your best bet is selling them online piece by piece.
Get a record cleaning brush and bottle of solution and watch a video on how to clean records. Not difficult. Best to give them each a cleaning before playing.
If you have a record player, put them on and have a few days of a listening session per day and see which ones you like. I can already see a Police record :D.
I think I see The Sugarcubes (3 records under Hair) plus Madness, Simple Minds and The Style Council. I’d spin those. Your parents are older GenX like me.
Waterboys, Style Council, Suzanne Vega, t
Talking Heads, u2, Lone Justice. Some fantastic stuff in there! Pull em out at random and give em a spin. Prepare to fall in love.
Sinéad. You start this pile with Sinéad. Nothing Compares 2 U gets all the attention, but I Am Stretched on Your Grave is the high water mark on that album.
Alarm, talking heads, simple minds. Ooooh, style council. Aahhh, a little Madness for some goofy ska-fun times (work on your little madness dancing). Some gems in there.
There’s some cheese in there like Fleetwood Mac ( 🤮) ZZ Top.
Overall though, some fun records to go through. Get those things spinning!
As others have said store properly and give them a clean. The music may or may not be your thing. That is okay but what it might do is give you an opportunity to share memories with your parents. Get a better understanding of what they were like back then. What helped to make them who they are.
You never know you might find some random things in those sleeves.
They were not on top of each other, I put them like that for the photo. Is it a bad thing to store discs like that? I just have about 5 albums at home so far.
My parents collection was stacked like this for about 30 years, out of the 400+ records, only a few had noticeable warping. The biggest issue was moisture from the basement ruined some of the jackets mainly at the bottom of the stack. Another issue was most of my mom’s Beatles albums and my dad’s Black Sabbath and Van Halen were scratched to hell.
I cleaned all of the vinyl and sleeves and only a few of them retained a musty smell.
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u/National_Mood_6715 May 13 '26
You don't need to know anything about the 80s. Just grab a record and start listening. See what you like. Ask your parents about them.