Traveling Hobbyist

I Travel For Records

New Arrivals

Variety Records – Portland, Oregon

The city of record stores never fails to impress me. That really is the best way to describe Portland, Oregon. I’ve talked about my visits to more than 10 record stores in Portland, which isn’t even half of the stores in the city limits. If you include the suburbs, there’s easily another half dozen more….
How Much Hi-Fi is Too Much?

We’ve all been there. You realize one day that your favorite album just doesn’t sound quite right. You adjust what you can on your receiver, buy some new cables, and maybe even replace the cartridge. Is it the turntable? Or maybe it’s the speakers. The pre-amp perhaps? Screw it. It’s time for a complete overhaul…
Record Store Entrances are Memory-erasing Devices

I am not a millionaire. I’m barely a thousandaire on most days. That means I do not have the luxury of leisurely throwing any interesting-looking album onto the checkout counter when I find myself at a record store, especially with the price of records as high as they currently are. Rather, I comb through record…
The Record Store of My Youth

I wasn’t always this cool. I wasn’t always the guy people stared at when I walked into a record store. The collector that makes shop owners sweat and rack their brains for the most obscure and rare item in their shop. Will it be enough to satiate me? What if I already have it? Or…

The Cost of a Vinyl Record Set up

Vinyl records have been around for a very long time, but in the last 10 years, the hobby has undergone some pretty major changes. Although the medium looked to be dying out for many years, it has recently made a massive comeback. Tons of people are just now getting into the hobby of record collecting…
Vinyl Record Storage: From the Best to the Good Enough

Once you have visited enough record stores and amassed enough records, the big question that needs answering is: How should I store vinyl records? Not only do you want to find a vinyl record storage solution that is aesthetically pleasing for your specific listening space but it also needs to protect your precious records from…
Colorados Best Record Stores: Beyond Denver

It’s easy to get sidetracked doing silly things like hiking or drinking copious amounts of microbrews when you’re in the Centennial State, but tons of amazing record stores are well worth your time between hitting the dispensaries and the ski slopes. Although Denver is very much the cultural center of the state and it has…
The Best Record Stores in the United States

There are many things that can make a record store great. The selection, the store’s place in the local music scene, and of course the people. Everyone has that special record store in their life, and I’m sure the record store you are thinking about now is indeed the best record store in the world,…