A collection of nearly 1300 Beatles rare records is going on sale later this week.

Once part of a large private collection, many rare and unique pressings are set to be available via Discogs and Black Plastic Records, a record store in Dortmund which has worked to identify and catalogue the records ahead of their public release.

Available exclusively through Discogs Drops, the newly on-sale assortment includes original UK pressings, promotional singles, export editions, and rare releases from across Europe.

The musical treasure trove spans mono and stereo LPs, compilations, singles, and 7-inch EPs. Various international LPs will also be available with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies, as records didn't look or sound the same across differing markets and territories.

A 1964 Italian edition of No Reply / Baby’s in Black, for instance, features an early cover design that was later replaced by a more familiar international version.

Among the standout finds is a 1963 promotional pressing of Please Please Me, one of only 250-or-so copies produced for radio stations ahead of the single’s commercial release, as well as a promotional pressing of From Me to You, the group’s first UK number one.

According to Russ Ryan, Director of Seller Experience at Discogs: "People forget Beatlemania never landed the same way twice. Different sleeves, different pressings, promo copies nobody’s seen in 60 years. That’s devotion, and a lot of record culture comes down to that: wanting to stand as close to the music as a pressing can put you".

The first release of nearly 1300 records from the collection will be available exclusively through Discogs Drops beginning October 30th, 2026 at 1pm GMT (2pm CET). The sale will remain exclusive to Discogs for its first 10 days, while fans in Dortmund can browse the collection and arrange in-store pickup at Black Plastic Records.

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HMV has announced it will close its flagship Oxford Street store next year.

The store previously closed in 2019, nearly 100 years after first opening, when the chain collapsed into administration. HMV was rescued by Canadian retail tycoon Doug Putman, with the store at 363 Oxford Street reopening at the end of 2023.

Now it will close in March 2027.

The chain blamed a combination of soaring rent and the cost of “substantial” renovations. It said the landlord wanted to double the current rent.

However, the chain insists it will maintain a “significant presence” in London. It’s looking for an alternative site for a West End store, and will seek to minimise job losses by redeploying staff.

“This is a special store. It’s where we began 100 years ago and bringing it back to life in 2023 was a big moment in our recent history,” said managing director Phil Halliday.

“It’s frustrating that it has been made commercially unviable. However, we are looking ahead, and our focus is now on what we do to make exciting steps for HMV in 2027.”

What will those steps entail? Halliday didn’t say. But HMV is in rude health generally – the chain reported a 15 per cent rise in sales for the first nine months of 2026. Revenue from its 123 UK shops and online is set to reach £240million, up from £212million in 2025 – likely driven, in no small part, by physical media such as vinyl records and CDs.

So while it’s disappointing to see such a high-street stalwart suffer, there are still plenty of reasons for fans of physical media – and bricks-and-mortar shops – to be happy.

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Deal events that span a couple of days come in different varieties. The more disappointing sort sees a gradual thinning out of discounted products as people snap up bargains.

During certain events, however, the second day of sales can have just as much, if not more, to say for itself than the first.

And as far as physical media is concerned, that seems to have been the case for this Amazon Big Deal Days event. Overnight, a few great bargains on vinyl and CDs have popped up, so we thought it only right to draw attention to these last minute deals before they're gone.

Collecting physical media can be a costly business, but we think the extra expense is worth it – even more so at a discount. Not only does such a collection put your music in your own hands, it also remunerates artists more fairly, thereby keeping the music industry alive and well.

And after all, without music, what use would hi-fi be?

So, get stuck into these last minute deals before they're gone:

This bumper pack of physical media bargains could quite reasonably lay the foundations for an emerging collection, or top up an existing catalogue with some classic albums.

With 25 per cent off Nirvana's hit record, Nevermind, which catapulted grunge into the mainstream, we've kicked off this collection with head-banging angst.

But it can't all be slamming bedroom doors and charity shopping for the biggest pair of jeans you can find. So, for some balance, we've included some slightly older rock favourites, including a compilation album from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Deja Vu, and Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac.

If some synth-led new wave is more your thing, you'll be pleased to see a healthy 18 per cent off the 2023 vinyl reissue of New Order's Substance.

And there are a few more golden oldies there, too, with discounted CDs including Talking Heads' Speaking In Tongues, Prince's Purple Rain, and Low by David Bowie.

For something more contemporary, which (unbelievably) turned 10 years old this year, Drake's Views is currently reduced by 26 per cent on vinyl. Charli xcx's How I'm Feeling Now is also seeing a whopping discount of 33 per cent, so there really is something for everyone here.

Exciting though these discounts are, don't forget, they end tonight!

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Well that didn't take long. Fresh from its five-star review in April, Sony's latest Bluetooth turntable has now plummeted to a new low price. It's just £217 at Amazon as part of the Prime Big Deal Days sale – that's a saving of £82 off the RRP.

Read on to see why it's a great first step into the world of vinyl.

Sony Bluetooth turntable best ever deal

So why is it so good? It builds on its five-star predecessor (the PS-LX310BT) with a similar fuss-free design and straight-out-of-the-box functionality. It also has an aluminium tonearm with a precision pivot bearing, an aluminium die-cast platter and a rubber mat.

Because it's an automatic turntable, there's no need to fiddle with tracking weights or cartridges, which makes playback a breeze. If you're a bit daunted by all the turntable terminology around, a simple model like this is ideal.

Pairing via Bluetooth is very straightforward too, and with support for the aptX Adaptive codec, sound quality is top notch (as long as you pick a compatible wireless speaker).

As we wrote on our review: "We're taken with just how composed, controlled and well-organised the Sony sounds, marvelling at the effortless cohesion and solidity it brings to the entirety of Michael Jackson's Bad album."

There's genuine musicality, which is not always found at this price. And with over £80 off, there's never been a better time to dip your toe in the vinyl waters.

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Harkening back to when Prime Day occupied just a single day feels a bit like reminiscing about cars without seatbelts or steam trains.

The times have most certainly changed, and special though those early days of technology surely were, we are compelled change with them. These days, Prime Day happens several times a year, and this year's Prime Big Day Deals have finally arrived, to provide an autumnal dose of discounts.

As ever, when such an occasion comes around, certain members of the What Hi-Fi? team keep a diligent eye out for bargains on vinyl. What with the booming revival of physical media, we're always happy to give the format a helping hand, and hopefully get that extra bit of money back to musical artists.

So, this year, we've gone virtual crate diving, to find you deals on the records we think will give your hi-fi set-up a run for its money.

We're certain that even more records will see discounted prices on Prime Day, but, for now, here's the best and cheapest wax you'll find on offer:

Kicking things off with Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. is the Californian rapper's Pulitzer Prize-winning fourth album. The album strips back the ambitious jazz arrangements of Lamar's earlier work, going for a more trap-infused sound and diving into topics such as morality and faith.

Next up, The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street is, in our opinion, an album that no record collection is complete without. Blending country music, blues, gospel and rock across its tracklist, this album features paired-back recordings such as Sweet Virginia, which leave you feeling as though you're sat right in the middle of the band as they shamble their songs together.

Queen appear quite frequently during sales events, and their Greatest Hits II is a fine, if somewhat unusual entry point to the band's music. Tracking their biggest hits between 1981 and 1991, this record features big-hitters such as Under Pressure, A Kind of Magic and Radio Ga Ga, plus some tracks that might be new to more uninitiated listeners.

Dire Straits could be considered the sultans of sales, as their music so frequently pops up during these events. Nonetheless, their self-titled debut album has a well-earned place in the rock music canon, with some all-time classic guitar riffs. There's a reason this album went double platinum in both the UK and the US, after all.

The enigmatic Rodriguez is a character that has captured the imaginations of generations of music lovers. With a sound that is something akin to a fusion of Bob Dylan and Scott Walker, Cold Fact is at once eerie and comforting, and includes some of the singer-songwriter's best-loved tunes, such as Sugar Man and Crucify Your Mind.

But if feeling unsettled isn't your thing, maybe some classic guitar-led rock from Jeff Beck will put you at ease. Widely hailed as one of the earliest heavy metal albums, Truth is Beck's 1968 debut and introduces his talented backing group, The Jeff Beck Group.

To round things up, Chemtrails Over The Country Club is the ever-melancholic Lana Del Rey's seventh studio album. Featuring collaborations from Nikki Lane, Weyes Blood and Zella Day, this folk/Americana record was released to widespread critical acclaim and centres on themes of family, heartbreak and nostalgia.

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The Beatles have released an expanded special edition of their 1965 album, Rubber Soul, featuring new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, archival recordings from early sessions, and a variety of physical formats.

The special edition features new mixes by Giles Martin (producer and son of George Martin) and engineer Sam Okell.

Alongside the new Dolby Atmos and stereo mixes, the collection includes the original mono mix, the original Capitol US Album Version, and previously unreleased session recordings and home demos, plus a double A-side single featuring Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out.

A few versions of the new release are available, including single CD and LP editions, double CD and LP Special Editions, and four-CD and five-LP Super Deluxe editions. A Blu-Ray edition will also be available, featuring the Dolby Atmos mix, a hi-res stereo version and promotional films for Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out.

UMG and Apple Corps Ltd have also announced limited-edition orange vinyl and D2C exclusive Zoetrope vinyl editions.

Those willing to fork out on the Super Deluxe editions can expect to hear 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unreleased home demos, one of which, titled Little Girl, is touted to be a “previously unheard” John Lennon song.

Super Deluxe buyers can also expect an 88-page hardcover book to accompany their CD or vinyl, with an introduction by Paul McCartney and foreword pieced together from John Lennon’s own words.

The Rubber Soul special edition collections are available to order now. Full UK pricing is as follows:

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Standard: 1CD: £13.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Standard: 1LP: £29.99

Rubber Soul - Blu-ray Edition: £29.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Deluxe: 2CD: £22.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Standard: 1LP Zoetrope £31.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Deluxe: 2LP: £44.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Super Deluxe: 4CD Box Set: £119.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Super Deluxe: 4CD Box Set + Posters + Art Cards: £129.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Super Deluxe: 5LP + 7" Single Box Set: £189.99

Rubber Soul - Special Edition Super Deluxe: 5LP + 7" Single Box Set + Posters + Art Cards: £199.99

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You may have seen in the news recently that a vinyl pirate was jailed for three-and-a-half years after police seized the largest haul of counterfeit records ever found in the UK. The man made a whopping £2.7 million between 2017 and 2024 by selling knock-off versions of albums by Ed Sheeran, The Beatles and Taylor Swift, among others.

The counterfeiter used four 70-year-old vinyl presses to copy legit records at the industrial unit in Acton, west London. Police also found 3000 metal stampers and thousands of sleeves and centre labels.

In total, they seized 18 tonnes of evidence during the bust in 2024. The pirate was sentenced a couple of weeks ago.

According to City of London Police, the evidence pointed to "a long‑running, highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation capable of producing counterfeit recordings at a scale rarely seen in the modern music industry."

Which suggests that counterfeit vinyl is a substantial problem.

Indeed, the issue is pretty widespread, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), who referred the case to the City of London Police's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). Speaking exclusively to What Hi-Fi?, Peter Ratcliffe, the BPI's Director of Content Protection, said that unfortunately the vinyl format was becoming a victim of its own success.

"After 18 consecutive years of growth in vinyl LP purchases in the UK (and likely to be 19 after this year), it's sadly inevitable that some people with more sinister motives will try to exploit this demand and the love people have for the format," he said.

Since 2025, Ratcliffe’s unit has seized 600,000 units with an estimated value of around £8 million – and that's not including the nearly £3 million worth seized during the Acton raid in 2024.

A pretty bleak picture, then. But there are some glimmers of hope.

The BPI has been scoring "some notable successes", Ratcliffe said, "thanks in part to improved field intelligence and operational processes as well as greater industry collaboration".

He added that "we hope the problem is now in decline or at least is becoming contained". Fingers crossed.

Stay well away

We would always advise against buying counterfeit vinyl, even if it is cheaper than the real thing. Not only is the sound quality usually worse, playing a knock-off record can actually damage your turntable.

And that's before you get to the fact that it denies any earnings to everyone involved in creating and distributing the music, from the artists themselves, to everyone who works at the record label and in the independent record shops that we treasure so fondly.

Or, as Ratcliffe puts it, "fake vinyl (and CDs) denies artists and the record labels that support them significant revenues that rightly should go to them, while, of course, it also undermines the retail community and wider music ecosystem and cheats fans out of an authentic experience".

But perhaps most seriously of all, the "ill-gotten proceeds tend to fund other forms of criminality that can impact us all. It is far from being a harmless activity that we should turn a blind eye to".

So even if you're not a fan of the fat cats at major labels, you should still avoid buying counterfeit records.

Thankfully, they're pretty easily avoided, as long as you shop at the right places and exercise a bit of caution. You shouldn’t find any knock-off vinyl at your local independent record shop, for example.

"In general, reputable record shops do not get approached by the counterfeiters," Mark Burgess, the owner of Flashback Records, told us.

"The records are poor quality and illegal, so there is no incentive for us to buy them. You'll find these counterfeits at markets and boot fairs."

And if in doubt? You can always consult our guide on how to spot fake vinyl.

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The first play is a big moment for any turntable. You've agonised over exactly which model to buy, possibly lugged it home from the shops, taken time to set it up properly and now, finally, is its time to shine.

But what do you play on it?

It's a big decision, as chances are, this performance will live long in the memory. Get it right, and your new deck will be off to a flying start. Choose a dud, and it could taint everything you play on it subsequently.

Do you go for a well known classic from a band like The Beatles? Something more obscure that only you know and love? A track that brings back memories of a certain time in your life? Or something modern that you've been loving of late, to see how the sound compares to how you've previously been enjoying it?

Whatever you go for, it's not a decision to take lightly.

If you can't make up your mind, we've got plenty of lists of test tracks for your system, from acoustic tracks and movie scores to those by artists like Radiohead and Nick Cave. But that's us. For this month's Ask The Reader, we want to know what you choose.

You can tell us about your favourite first-play tracks in the comments below, on our forum, or on our social media channels. We'll put them all together in a follow-up article so you can see your fellow readers' picks. So let us know!

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The Velvet Underground’s 1969 album, The Velvet Underground, is set to receive a sonic upgrade as the latest addition to UMe’s (the global catalogue division of Universal Music Group) Vinylphyle series.

The Vinylphyle edition features all analog mastering “by an elite group of today’s top vinyl cutting engineers” and comes on 180g black vinyl, pressed at RTI’s pressing plant in California. This release presents Lou Reed’s original “Closet Mix”, which featured on the very first pressings of the album in 1969.

The record is housed in a tip-on gatefold jacket with a four-panel insert, which includes scans of the album’s source-recording tape alongside newly commissioned liner notes by Grammy nominee and rock historian, Scott B. Bomar.

At the time of its original release, The Velvet Underground marked a shift from the fiercely experimental sound of the band’s early recordings to a more melodic, paired back approach – best summarised by songs such as Pale Blue Eyes and Candy Says – which brought Lou Reed’s songwriting talents to light.

UMe’s Vinylphyle series, which the company has dubbed “a premium vinyl experience for people who love vinyl”, launched in November 2025 with four legendary titles: The Velvet Underground & Nico, Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Band’s Northern Lights-Southern Cross, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song.

This release delves deeper into The Velvet Underground’s back-catalogue.

The Vinylphyle edition of The Velvet Underground is now available to order at a price of $40 from uDiscover Music. Additional shipping fees will be added for customers outside the US, with shipping expected on 24th September.

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R.E.M.’s sophomore album, Reckoning, is about to get a sonic upgrade.

The 1984 American rock classic is set to be released on 180-gram vinyl, with audio sourced from the album’s original master tapes, on 18th September. The reissue comes as the latest addition to Intercope-Capitol Records Definitive Sound Series.

The original co-producers of the album, Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, were personally involved with the release, which was mastered by Grammy-award winning engineer, Chris Bellman.

According to a post shared by R.E.M on Instagram, the involvement of the original engineers “helped ensure that every decision remained faithful to the warmth, dynamics, balance and distinctive character of the original 1984 recording.”

Upon hearing the upgraded masters, Dixon commented that he was “hearing details within the recording that had escaped him on previous vinyl editions”.

When it was released in April, 1984, Reckoning found widespread critical acclaim. One of the album’s songs, So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry), secured R.E.M. their first ever spot in the Billboard Hot 100.

As part of Interscope-Capitol Records’ Definitive Sound Series, the band’s debut EP, Chronic Town, and debut album, Murmur, have also been reissued as limited editions. Both releases have since sold out.

The Definitive Sound Series edition of Reckoning is available to pre-order now and will be limited to 5000 numbered copies – so move fast if you want to hear So. Central Rain like never before.

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When you buy a piece of vinyl, you can be certain of a couple of things. First, it's going to sound better than the version available on streaming. And second, it's yours forever, and won't be taken away from you due to a change in licensing agreements.

But if you assumed your 12-inch would contain all the same tracks – with all the same elements – as the streaming version, then we have bad news for you.

Because recently, vinyl albums have been dropping with glaring omissions, including elements of tracks missing, unfinished mixes, and even entire songs absent. Meaning that the lower-quality version you'll get via streaming services is actually superior in some respects.

Understandably, fans are pretty miffed. And the record labels could be doing a lot more to prevent these mistakes from happening, or at least to communicate to fans that the version they're buying is going to be different.

Should do better

The Guardian recently documented cases of this happening, and it's all mainstream artists from big labels who really should do better: Raye, Charli xcx, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd. It's not just a recent phenomenon: the first vinyl pressings of Beyonce's 2024 album Cowboy Carter were missing five tracks that appeared in its digital incarnation, while other albums (like Lil Wayne's Tha Carter VI) were released in much shorter vinyl versions than on digital.

Why is this happening? It's not just ineptitude on the part of the labels, though that does play a part. Vinyl pressing plants need information like artwork and audio masters from the labels weeks ahead of the album's release date in order to guarantee the place in the queue. The Guardian piece quotes six to eight weeks, but an industry source tells us lead times of eight to 10 weeks are more common at the moment.

That means any last-minute changes – or even entirely new mixes created during those weeks – will miss the cut-off.

Streaming services, by contrast, only need around five days to upload digital files for the audio, artwork and promotional materials.

Another reason is cost. Deluxe double- and even triple-albums cost a lot to release on vinyl, not only because they involve more 12-inch records, but also due to the premium packaging. Though you would think the higher asking price would cover that.

Be careful what you buy

Now obviously it's down to the artists and labels to hit their deadlines, and to make sure they're happy with the finished product before sending it off. Admittedly that can be trickier when it comes to collaborations, as it involves aligning the diaries of lots of very busy people (filmmaker David Cronenberg's contribution to Charlie xcx's album Music, Fashion, Film was one of the most egregious omissions from a vinyl version in recent memory). But that's no excuse.

And if there are omissions from the vinyl album, fans deserve to know about them before shelling out their hard-earned. Vinyl isn't cheap. A new LP costs around £30. To then find out that you're not even getting the finished article is pretty galling, to say the least.

So what's to be done?

Until record labels become more honest and open about any differences between the physical media and digital versions, not much. You can hold off buying an album on release day and wait to see what other fans report, but that's not ideal. Instead, we would petition your favourite artists and labels to make clear any discrepancies so us punters can make an informed purchasing decision. £30 is a lot to spend on an album only to find out that the 'full' version is free on Spotify at a crappy bitrate.

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I’m always on the hunt for ways to find new music, but I have found myself listening to the same few albums on repeat these last few weeks. Maybe it’s because the ease of streaming has made me complacent, or that the endless options at my fingertips are simply too overwhelming.

That’s why I ventured to a listening bar in central London last week in a bid to find my new favourite artist or "earworm". If you’ve never found yourself in one, here’s what to expect.

Listening bars, or hi-fi bars, are dedicated spaces designed for enjoying curated music (usually on vinyl) on a high-quality sound system while relaxing with a drink in your hand.

It's not about a specific genre or style – the music will depend on DJ on the night. It's also not about requests. Instead, the focus is on listening to the selections of a music lover through some great speakers. (That doesn’t mean you cannot go up to the DJ to ask what they are playing, of course.)

On my most recent visit, however, I started to wonder whether we'd drifted away from the original definition. Most obviously, few people there seemed to be paying attention to the music, and at certain points I couldn't even hear the track over the noise of the room.

There was no denying the bar looked the part, sporting the brown wood and leather-clad seating that has become synonymous with these venues. I just couldn't help but feel that it had become a little style over substance – excellent Instagram fodder but without the genuine desire to really enjoy the music.

Back to basics

Hi-fi bars were born from the Japanese jazz kissa cafes that popped up in the late 1920s. This was in the days before home audio systems, so they became somewhere to collectively listen to music with a quiet appreciation.

This idea was reborn when pioneering spaces, such as Spiritland in King's Cross, London, decided to once again make a great-sounding system, and the music being played, the real focus of the venue.

And the idea arrived at an ideal moment. People are again craving that shared experience around music, since streaming platforms and portable audio have made listening more of an individual affair. I just hope the idea doesn't become commoditised.

Thankfully, there are still plenty of hi-fi bars that put the music at the forefront of the experience, and I have been to my fair share. But it does mean you have to be a little more selective.

If a bar has a detailed description of the system, from the amplification to the turntables and speakers, for instance, that should be a good indication that they really do care about delivering an "audiophile" experience.

Some venues, such as the long-standing Shelter in Tokyo, offer a carefully acoustically treated space to listen and others, such as Jazu in Deptford, London, encourage you to get up and dance to their curated setlist, played through their bespoke sound system. And both approaches definitely work for me.

With an increasingly long list of listening bars across the UK, it’s encouraging to see the concept reach more and more people. We just hope that everyone remembers to keep the music, and the system, at the heart of the venue – and we don't end up with listening bars where nobody is actually listening.

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Vinyl lovers, you might want to look away now. Because AI slop is coming to a record player near you.

That's right, AI music creation platform Suno now lets you press your AI-prompted tracks onto 12-inch records to play on your turntable.

Suno lets you create songs with 'prompts' – record a sample of you singing, tell it what genre you'd like your song to fit, and it'll generate a track. You can also remix original songs in different ways, and edit manually using instruments and its own software.

Each Suno vinyl fits a maximum of 46 minutes of music. Once you've got your tracks, you can upload your own artwork or create it using Suno to design your own sleeve, cover and label.

Each record costs $45 (around £33 / AU$64) plus shipping.

Suno has proved controversial. In 2024, it was sued by the three major record labels who alleged it didn't pay the musicians on whose tracks the AI model was trained. Warner Music settled its case last year and struck a licensing deal with Suno, but Universal and Sony Music remain plaintiffs in the case.

Suno has also just lost a copyright infringement case to Germany's state-mandated licensing agency GEMA. The court in Munich ruled that Suno violated copyrights in its data scraping practices and must now disclose illicit revenue. Suno will be ordered to pay damages which haven't yet been set.

Suno also suffered a data breach in November 2025 that exposed the personal information of over 55 million users.

All of which is exactly the opposite of everything we love about vinyl.

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Assembling a vinyl collection on a budget can be hard work – especially when you’re on the hunt for some wax you’ll really cherish, not just second-hand records with grooves worn thin.

So, as Prime Day rolled around this year, I was eager to see what discounts might pop up on the records that have been missing from my collection.

With all the recent talk of Gen Z’s growing interest in physical formats, I was hopeful that this year’s Prime Day might see a broader spectrum of genres becoming available at a discount. Amazon, surely, are down with the kids… right?

Boy, was I wrong.

Unfortunately, this year’s range of discounted vinyl has been – to put it mildly – disappointing. Better deals were available outside Amazon, such as HMV’s three for £66 bundle, but even still, the bargains were scarce.

Still, never one to give up too early, at least not when browsing records, I trawled through the digital crates so you don’t have to, and came across three Prime Day picks that I think are worth your money.

All Prime Day deals end tonight, so if you’re feeling enticed, now is the time to grab these discounted picks.

We would have liked to provide a more extensive list of vinyl deals, but this year, Prime Day simply hasn’t had much on offer. Either way, we think these three albums will make fantastic additions to any record collection.

Of course, we always advocate for visiting your local record stores, where who knows what deals could be hiding in the crates.

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With all the madness of the Prime Day sale, you might have missed that today is Global Beatles Day. Started in 2009 as a thank you to the world-conquering band, it's a celebration of all things The Beatles. And we thought we'd get in on the act.

Why 25th June? That was the day in 1967 when the band performed on Our World, the first live multinational multi-satellite television production that saw them broadcast in 14 countries simultaneously, being seen by up to 700 million people. That's when you know you've made it.

If that's got you in the mood, or you just want to revisit some classic albums, here are the best Beatles LPs and the best turntables to play them on.

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The human conscience is a funny thing. Most of us, I suspect, can relate to how easy it is to know something is wrong and go on doing it on a regular basis, regardless.

But in this age of convenience, I am starting to feel my moral concessions piling up. Every day, there are a number of things I do that are inarguably within my power to change... and to change fairly easily, at that.

And so, starting with the small things, I'm trying to act.

To get started, I'm targeting music streaming. Specifically, I'm moving away from it.

Since streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music became available, as a music fan, I have fallen for the model hook, line and sinker. Millions of songs at my fingertips, for only a tenner or £12 per monthly subscription. No wonder it's the dominant way we listen to music now.

But as someone with many musician friends, I have seen first-hand the impact that certain platforms' revenue models have on the way musicians are – or more accurately, are not – reimbursed for their art.

I did indulge in a modest turntable set up at home, but with physical media often seeming too expensive these days, I've found myself reluctant to make the leap entirely.

That's why, this Prime Day, I've been on the hunt for a vinyl deal that will equip me with a library that doesn't consist solely of second hand Dire Straits and Simon and Garfunkel records. Nothing wrong with either artist, but I'm looking for some diversity.

Thankfully, for those in my situation, HMV is running a multi-buy deal in which you can buy three vinyl records for £66.

I know this discount might not sound like much, but with many vinyl records' full prices sitting at £40 and beyond, this deal has the potential to cut the cost of your record collection in half.

What's more, the selection on offer at HMV is vast. Much more so than what's available at Amazon, which barely has any deals on vinyl records or CDs this year.

While browsing, I spotted a number of the What Hi-Fi? review team's favourite classic albums, including Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, Radiohead's In Rainbows and Jeff Buckley's Grace, alongside more contemporary titles such as Geese's Getting Killed and Olivia Dean's The Art of Loving.

Among the most expensive records involved in the deal are The Cure's Show at £49.99, The Verve's red vinyl edition of A Northern Soul at £45.99, and Elliott Smith's Figure 8 at £43.99. On those three records alone, you could make a whopping saving of £73.97 with this HMV offer.

This is a fantastic deal for anyone looking to add some big name titles to their record collection, and also a great way to invest in the artists making the music you love.

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One of the drawbacks of physical media is that it degrades over time. Cassette tape stretches, CDs get scratched, and vinyl… well that’s possibly the most delicate format of all.

But now you can bring your old records back to life for a very small fee, thanks to this offer from Keith Monks. The renowned record-cleaning company is offering a free 100ml sample of its discOvery 33/45 cleaning fluid, complete with an application roller and instructions for use.

All you have to pay is the £5 postage.

This fluid usually costs £50 for a litre bottle.

Keith Monks, is a very well regarded name in the vinyl cleaning world. It created the world’s first professional record cleaning machine, and its products are used by The British Library and the US Library Of Congress.

Sadly it isn’t giving away one of its machines (which cost upwards of £2000), but a 100ml bottle of cleaning fluid from its discOvery range. The recipe dates from 1976, and contains only pure botanicals and renewable natural ingredients, along with laboratory-grade, triple-filtered demineralised water. There’s no alcohol, or artificial chemicals or additives.

It claims to remove “static, surface noise, grit, grease, fume residue, and residues left by other fluids”. It coats the vinyl in a thin, protective layer to prolong the life of both the record and the stylus. The discOvery 33/45 being given away is for use on standard vinyl, with one litre cleaning up to 200 12-inch LPs.

As well as getting the 100ml bottle for a fiver, you’ll get 15 per cent off your next accessories order. You pay via PayPal to kmonksrcm@gmail.com. Keith Monks will post a bottle anywhere in the world for the same price.

So will it work? Now’s your chance to find out.

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Forget vinyl, reel-to-reel tapes are the last word in sound quality – and they’re making a comeback

The resurgence of physical media is starting to sound like old news. We’ve been reporting on the artists and trends behind rising vinyl sales for almost a decade, while 2024 was, according to Music Week, the first year in more than two decades to see overall physical sales register year-on-year growth.

In the same year, a survey by Key Production showed that a greater proportion of Gen Z was listening to music in physical formats than any other age group.

Since then, physical revivals have blossomed in the strangest of places. In 2025, for instance, cassette sales rose by 200 per cent and companies such as We Are Rewind and Gadhouse released brand-new cassette players, infusing old tech with modern twists such as Bluetooth and USB-C charging.

US vinyl sales also hit $1 billion in 2025, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with a significant proportion of sales coming from Gen Z customers.

An Audio Tech Lifestyles report from Futuresource Consulting even reported that nearly 60 per cent of Gen Z were buying vinyl – even though almost 30 per cent of respondents didn’t own a turntable.

Connor Winyard, a 28-year-old sales assistant at Sister Ray Records, London, says the store’s customer base is “a half-and-half split between Gen Z and people of older generations”.

Speculating on what motivates Gen Z to buy physical formats, Winyard says, “I’d like to think it’s because people are increasingly disassociating from subscription models and are tired of not being able to physically own anything. That’s definitely how I feel about it. But I think younger buyers mainly either want to put CDs in their cars or just think that they are cool items to own.”

Ashli Todd, owner of Spillers Records in Cardiff, believes Gen Z’s motivations for buying vinyl have more to do with impact on artists.

“I think the message about physical music being a far more beneficial way to support an artist is really getting through,” she says. “The rough deal that artists get from streaming services has been much discussed in the press, and rightly so. It’s very much a heart-on-the-sleeve sort of situation. You come across people who are collecting records before they’ve had a chance to buy a record player.”

As a Zoomer myself, I can attest to my generation’s growing appetite for physical media. In the flats of countless friends, modest record collections have been cobbled together from parental hand-me-downs and record-store trips. In my own house-share, a communal collection has steadily grown to fairly respectable numbers.

So if Gen Z is leading the rise of physical sales, what impact is that having on the charts?

Take a look at this week’s vinyl albums chart: at number one sits 26-year-old Maisie Peters, shortly followed by Yungblud, at the ripe old age of 28. This week’s top ten also includes The Roystone Club (who are all in their mid-20s and, notably, made their 2025 debut album available on cassette), Bleachers, Olivia Dean, Hayley Williams and Marmozets.

The closest we come to a legacy offering is Ed O’Brien’s new album Blue Morpho at number four, and Paddington – The Musical’s cast recording, which, frankly, I’m unsure how to categorise.

Compare this with the same period’s chart from 2024, and the differences are stark. The top ten at that time saw Paul Weller, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and Lenny Kravitz all holding dominant positions.

Looking to the best-selling vinyl albums list for 2026, the trend is only reinforced. So far this year, Harry Styles and Olivia Dean have occupied the top two, while Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Geese have all made it into the top ten.

Admittedly, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Arctic Monkeys’ AM have survived the changing tides in sales, but those are the only two top-ten albums more than a year old. They are also nostalgic favourites among Gen Z.

In contrast, 2024’s best-selling vinyl albums chart saw the likes of Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, the Cure and Coldplay in its top ten – a far higher proportion of older acts.

These shifts have a real effect on the ground. At Spillers Records, for instance, Gen Z’s tastes have started to inform stock choices. “Record Store Day has helped to give us confidence in stocking artists like Olivia Dean, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish,” says Todd. She explains that Dean’s Live at the BBC 7-inch Record Store Day release was “huge” for the store.

“We’ve seen repeat custom from people who might not otherwise have thought about going to their local independent record shop,” says Todd. “Those artists being involved with Record Store Day gives us confidence in what we stock and also gives certain customers confidence in coming into their local indie, which probably isn’t what they’re used to.”

We can’t be sure if the records Gen Z buy are making it onto turntables, but it seems that the generation’s taste for physical media is nonetheless having a palpable impact on the way music sells.

Whether these vinyl discs end up bluetacked to bedroom walls, or played until their grooves wear down, increased physical sales means greater payouts to artists and retailers alike – byproducts that are pretty hard to sniff at.

Could it be that after an adolescence invaded by screens and ever more pervasive social media, Gen Z is returning to record stores in order to sate a craving for a real-world, tactile connection? In doing so, they might be keeping music alive.

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If you’re a regular reader of What Hi-Fi?, it’s likely you know more than a few things about records.

Vinyl is a format that continues to captivate, despite being well over 100 years old and experiencing some rather steep highs and lows.

So we have dug up some facts that even the most ardent record fan might not know.

Want to learn more about one of the longest-running consumer-audio formats of all time? Step right up…

Heavier records don’t always sound better

You will probably have noticed the 180g sticker (and higher price tag) on several records these days. Records mostly came in at the 120-140g mark in the 20th century, with the marketing trend for 180g records only coming in during the late ’90s.

Heavier records do come with some practical advantages, such as better resistance to warping. However, despite a consensus emerging that heavier vinyl is “audiophile-grade”, there is no inherent sonic benefit to 180g vinyl.

If a record was too light and unable to remain stable, then that would certainly impact sound quality – though you’re highly unlikely to find a record this light in the wild. Once a record is heavy enough to remain stable, adding extra weight will not actually make a difference to the process of the turntable reading a record.

In the opposite scenario, where the record is too light to remain stable, the stylus would fail to stay firmly in the groove, which would certainly impact sound quality. As long as the record is flat and the groove remains concentric with the centre, adding extra weight should not affect the sound.

We asked several hi-fi manufacturers if a record’s weight can impact sound quality. Interestingly, there was no consensus on the ideal vinyl weight and its impact on sound quality. Some argued that heavier records do make a difference, citing reasons such as reduced vibration transfer to the stylus, greater stability and less resonance during tracking. Others dispelled it as a myth, suggesting that a heavier disc simply gives customers a perception of higher quality. What was unanimous, however, was that the quality of the recording and the care taken during the mastering/pressing are far more important – a really well-recorded and produced 140g record is always going to sound better than a badly recorded and produced 180g record.

45rpm records sound better

This time, we do actually have a record type that sounds better and a clear reason behind it.

The 45rpm record was introduced in 1949, only a year after the 33⅓rpm record. The 33⅓rpmLP prevailed for albums, while the 45rpm record was the go to for the ‘singles’ format.

However, the 45rpm records actually sound better. Because the record spins faster (45 rotations per minute vs 33⅓), the needle travels over more vinyl surface area per second. Therefore, the wiggles in the record grooves are more spread out, making them easier for the stylus tip to track.

Think of it like a flipbook with 20 pages rather than 10. You’d have to flip the book faster for the characters to move at the same speed, but the animations would be far smoother as there is more detail to work with.

A phono stage doesn't simply amplify

Yes, a phono stage is necessary to amplify the extremely quiet signal from a turntable cartridge to a level that allows you to connect it to your sound system. But did you know that it also balances the sound frequency?

To counteract the physical limitations of the vinyl format, records are pressed with weakened bass and boosted treble according to the RIAA equalisation curve. The phono stage then applies the reverse of this curve during playback, restoring the original tonal balance and ensuring the sound is accurate and full-bodied.

UK record sales have increased by more than 3000% since 2007

It’s no understatement to say that records have had a bumpy ride in terms of popularity.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl sales in the US peaked in 1978 with sales of over 500 million units sold, eventually dropping to less than 1 million units in 2006 when the format was widely believed to be dying. It’s rather impressive, then, that the number of units sold in the US has since climbed back to 43.6 million in 2024.

Historic vinyl sales data is a bit harder to come across in the UK, though we reached a similar low in 2007 with 205,000 records sold according to the BPI. Luckily, we have also experienced a similar increase, with 6.7 million vinyl records sold in the UK in 2024 according to the ERA.

Record grooves are roughly the same width as a human hair

Despite reaching lengths of over 500 metres on a 12-inch LP, the grooves on a record are usually only 0.04-0.08mm wide, or 40 to 80 microns. It's remarkable that we can retrieve that data at all.

What’s even more fascinating is that this data retrieval is achieved with a tonearm, which is usually nine to 12 inches long – making the tonearm 3000 to 7500 times longer than the grooves it is navigating.

Monty Python broke a key record rule

How many grooves does a record have? Two, of course – one on each side. It’s the same continuous groove across the entire width of the record.

There are exceptions, though. Monty Python’s Matching Tie And Handkerchief has two separate spirals on one side. Depending on where you drop the needle, you will hear one of two different sets of tracks.

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If you've heard a lot of The Beach Boys on the radio recently, this is why: Pet Sounds is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary. And how better to celebrate such a landmark record than with its most audiophile edition ever.

Pet Sounds is the latest in the Vinylphyle range of reissues. This brings back classic albums in 180g black vinyl pressings, which are billed as "a premium vinyl experience for people who love vinyl".

Other albums in the series include The Velvet Underground & Nico (by The Velvet Underground), Exodus (Bob Marley & The Wailers), I Want You (Marvin Gaye) and Peter Frampton Comes Alive! (Peter Frampton).

Pet Sounds was a landmark album in pop music. It contains the songs Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows and Sloop John B.

Like other Vinylphyle releases, the Pet Sounds reissue features all analogue mastering from the original sources by some of the best engineers in the business today. The albums are pressed at Record Technology, a world-class audiophile vinyl pressing plant in Southern California.

These pressings are similar to jazz label Blue Note's Tone Poet series, with packaging that's as premium as the vinyl – think tip-on wrapped gatefold jackets in a satin matte finish, printed on clay-coated board, with archival poly sleeves and four-panel inserts. There are new liner notes too, with contributions from notable music journalists, personalities and fans.

The series is from UMe, the the global catalogue division of Universal Music Group.

Pet Sounds is out on Vinylphile on 15th May.

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Prog rock is a staple in hi-fi circles, and for good reason. Explore it, and you’ll find everything from experimental, album-length tracks chronicling epic space wars to short and sweet, gentle ballads celebrating young love on a UK council estate. The only connecting factor between them is a progressive virtuosity focused on pushing sonic boundaries.

And, when done right, this means it's a genre that can really stretch any hi-fi system, which is why it makes sense you all talk about it so much on our forums and social media pages. It’s also why more than a few of the What Hi-Fi? team have a soft spot for the genre and frequently listen to it for fun as well as work (testing).

But, its eclectic nature can make it tricky to navigate for newbies. Here to help offer our two cents on the top prog rock albums for hi-fi fans, we’ve created this list detailing our personal favourites.

On the off chance you think we’ve missed one, or just want to flag one for us to check out, get involved with the conversation using the comments section below, or let us know on our social media and forums. We’re always on the hunt for new music to check out!

The Moody Blues – Days Of Future Passed (1967)

The Moody Blues may technically not qualify as “prog” in many circles. But the band’s 1967 masterpiece Days Of Future Passed is often viewed as a proto-prog album that helped create the genre – kind of how MC5’s Kick Out The Jams helped make punk what it is, despite not being punk.

Though it’s the band’s second album, we’d argue it’s the point they really found their sound. It’s the first one where they recorded using a Mellotron keyboard, a unique sonic signature that has since become synonymous with The Moody Blues. Add to this a stellar mix of songs that set a consistent tone and flow from one to another, and it’s a delight to listen to from start to finish.

From the opening Dawn Is A Feeling right up to the closing note of the final track, Nights In White Satin, once you get Days Of Future Passed spinning, it’s hard not to fall in love with it.

Buy The Moody Blues, Days of Future Passed (1967) on Amazon

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)

If you asked any pundit to name a prog rock band, there’s a strong chance King Crimson would be the first name you hear, and there’s a very good reason for that.

The band is often viewed as one of the starting points for the genre, with its 1969 masterpiece, In The Court Of The Crimson King, continuing to be touted as a high point for prog to this day. Forgoing the heavy blues and rock influences of the other big bands of the time, it’s an eclectic album that mixes elements of psychedelia, jazz and classical music.

21st Century Schizoid Man remains a particular favourite among the What Hi-Fi? team. The seven-minute epic has stood the test of time remarkably well, with its complex, textured composition really pushing the limits of any hi-fi set-up.

Listen to it on a poor set-up and you’ll lose half the track, especially during the more cacophonous sections. But spin it on a decent one, and you’ll be treated to a tour de force, showcasing prog at its experimental best.

Buy King Crimson, In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) on Amazon

Yes – Close To The Edge (1972)

Most people will likely think of the radio-friendly single Owner Of A Lonely Heart when asked about Yes. But if prog is your jam, the band’s fifth studio album, Close To The Edge, is where you want to start. Despite some of the band describing making it as a “torturous” experience, akin to “climbing Mount Everest”, there’s no denying the work paid off in spades.

With tracks inspired by classical music and JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings books, the iconic album is a masterpiece, both in composition and recording. Side one’s titular track is the most interesting, and one that our team frequently favours.

The 18-minute epic starts slow, featuring a textured intro with nature sounds and a gentle keyboard part, before exploding to life as the band launches an improvised “jam” section. The rapidly changing dynamics and frequent shifts from 10, 12 and 16 bar sections make it an exciting listen that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Buy Yes, Close To The Edge (1972) on Amazon

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery (1973)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer are a band we know our readers love. Mainly because whenever we write about what test tracks we’re using in our regular Now Playing column, at least one of you will suggest the band’s much-loved, From The Beginning, from the trio’s Trilogy album.

But, it’s actually the band’s fourth studio album, Brain Salad Surgery, that remains a favourite among the What Hi-Fi? Team. On the one hand, this is because of its eye-catching artwork, by H.R. Giger. But it’s mainly thanks to its stellar three-part track, Karn Evil 9, which saw the band expertly utilise synthesizers to create an, at the time, mind-blowing dystopian sci-fi epic that continues to influence prog bands to this day.

The groundbreaking use of synths, intermingled with the trio’s inherent musical virtuosity, makes for a sonic experience that any music fan should listen to, from start to finish, at least once. Trust us, there are far worse ways to spend half an hour.

Buy Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery (1973) on Amazon

Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (1973)

Genesis was the starting point for both Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel, two powerhouse performers who went on to global acclaim with decades-spanning solo careers. But, if prog is what you’re after, it’s their work on Genesis’s fifth album, Selling England By The Pound, that really shines.

Though the album received mixed reviews at the time, it remains a favourite amongst What Hi-Fi?’s staff. Shamelessly British, crammed with cheeky inside jokes, it can be a lot to take in all at once, and it definitely jumps around a lot.

But it remains a quintessential piece of prog history that’s full of stellar, thoughtfully composed, experimental tracks, ranging from the whimsical The Cinema Show to the mind-blowingly complex Firth Of Fifth. Even if you don’t like all of it, newbies to prog are sure to find at least one song they like.

Buy Genesis, Selling England By The Pound (1973) on Amazon

Carmen – Fandangos In Space (1973)

What happens when you combine flamenco and prog? Fandangos In Space, that’s what. It’s the debut album for flamenco-rock sensation Carmen.

Produced by Tony Visconti, who worked with numerous big names, including David Bowie, over his career, there’s nothing else quite like it. Mainly composed by singer/guitarist David Clark Allen, the album merges classical flamenco guitar and percussion, with rock guitar and Mellotron keyboard parts.

Add to this bombastic lyrics about everything from bullfights to gypsy curses, and it becomes quite the spectacle and an enthralling, albeit atypical listen, even for prog fans, who are used to some degree of experimentation.

We’re particularly big fans of the album’s main ballad, Lonely House, which has powerful vocals and a pure, emotional depth that sounds sublime when played through a decent system. If you’re a fan of either genre, we’d strongly recommend giving it a listen, as a result.

Buy Carmen, Fandangos In Space (1973) on Amazon

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

Yes, fine. The Dark Side Of The Moon is probably the cliché to end all clichés at this point, so much so that it’s nigh-on impossible to attend a single hi-fi show this side of the western hemisphere and not hear a cheeky slice of Gilmour and co. floating out from one of the exhibition rooms.

The thing is, some things become clichés because they deserve to be, and few records have earned the right to be overplayed quite like Floyd’s timeless opus. Both a brilliant test album and a stellar musical work in its own right, TDSOTM is the quintessential prog classic, tackling those big, meaty themes such as greed (Money), mental instability (Brain Damage) and existential dread (Time) with exhilarating confidence infused with a hazy, dreamlike quality that enraptures and unsettles in equal measure.

Just about the moodiest, most melodic and masterful release of that golden ‘70s era of classic rock, Dark Side Of The Moon truly deserves its flowers. There’s a reason everyone from your nan to your teenage nephew has it in their collection – if it isn’t there already, it’s time to make it a part of yours.

Buy Pink Floyd, The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) on Amazon

Rush – Moving Pictures (1981)

There are very few bands around with as big and diverse a music library as Rush. And because of that, we know full well that picking 1981’s Moving Pictures as the best the band’s ever done will cause some debate. But here we are, it’s our favourite, and we’re not ashamed to admit it.

For starters, it has one of the most iconic songs in history on it. We speak, of course, of Tom Sawyer. Frontman, bassist and general prog rock legend Geddy Lee describes the track as "the quintessential Rush song", and we get why.

Featuring an iconic groove percussion section that intermingles with spacey guitars and the track’s now-iconic fuzzy synth parts to its rapid shifts in dynamics and rhythm make it a delight that’ll keep your feet tapping from start to finish. And that’s just one track from this holistically amazing album.

Buy Rush, Moving Pictures (1981) on Amazon

Marillion – Clutching At Straws (1987)

A lot of prog rock has fairly lofty themes; intergalactic space wars, the meaning of life, those sorts of things. Which is why English neo-prog rock band Marillion’s masterpiece Clutching At Straws feels like such a breath of fresh air for the genre, despite releasing all the way back in 1987.

Telling the story of Torch, a normal man who’s failed in nearly every aspect of his life, it chronicles his musings, usually in a pub or bar, as he numbs himself with alcohol.

Though the band’s previous album, Misplaced Childhood, and its iconic single Lavender, often gets more attention, for the What Hi-Fi? team, Clutching At Straws is a more concise, mature, holistically solid body of work that showcases why the band is still talked about and active.

Whether it’s the bittersweet Sugar Mice, which features lofty yet vulnerable vocals, expertly showcasing singer Fish’s range, or the explosive, seemingly jubilant Incommunicado, the entire album is a complex rollercoaster ride for your hi-fi system and emotions.

Buy Marillion, Clutching At Straws (1987) on Amazon

Dream Theater – Images And Words (1992)

30 years after forming in college, Dream Theater remain at the forefront of prog rock, having released a steady stream of increasingly complex, sometimes mixed, albums that showcase the raw virtuosity of the Berkeley-trained band. But, for the What Hi-Fi? team, while it may not be the most “proggy” of the band’s work, it’s Dream Theater’s breakout album, Images And Words, that gets the most playtime.

Whether it’s the iconic, atmospheric, and radio-friendly Pull Me Under, or our personal favourite, Metropolis - Part 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper, the album is a stellar listen. One that’s full of tracks with difficult arrangements delivered with laser precision by the band, which is as tight as Scrooge McDuck from start to finish.

Buy Dream Theater, Images And Words (1992) on Amazon

Tool – Lateralus (2001)

If you like your prog with a slice of metal, rather than rock, Tool’s Lateralus is a fantastic option. It’s the album where the band cemented its iconic sound, fully stepping away from its grunge (especially Alice In Chains) inspired origins, into its conceptual, progressive metal style.

Though you’d never describe it as an easy listen, due in part to the complex, thought-provoking nature of the songs, it’s a carefully curated album that merits repeated listening.

From the opening track, The Grudge, you’ll be treated to a challenging album full of songs showcasing Tool’s iconic propensity for complex rhythm changes, booming breakdowns and haunting vocals. This, plus the album's clever arrangement, which sees each song sweep over you, taking you on a reflective journey with the band, makes it one of the most iconic releases of its time – and a pretty good stress test for any hi-fi system's dynamics and rhythmic precision to boot.

Buy Tool, Lateralus (2001) on Amazon

The Mars Volta – De-Loused In The Comatorium (2003)

Featuring two founding members of post-hardcore legends At The Drive In, The Mars Volta’s 2003 debut album, De-Loused In The Comatorium, was a big deal at the time. And while it was a marked departure from guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala's past work, it remains one of the best prog rock albums of all time.

The concept album is based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Ward, about a man who falls into a coma after overdosing. The album features an eclectic mix of inspirations, ranging from Latin jazz to psychedelia and heavy metal, throughout its playtime. And while the rapid genre changing jumps between each track did create a Marmite divide between At The Drive In fans, for prog fanatics it’s a great showcase of what makes the genre great.

It’s also a particularly sad album, whose magic, for us, hasn’t been replicated – since Ward, who contributed heavily to the sound, tragically died of a heroin overdose a month after the album was released.

Buy Mars Volta, De-Loused In The Comatorium (2003) on Amazon

Coheed And Cambria – Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness (2005)

If you like your prog with a heavy dose of over-the-top sci-fi plotlines, then Coheed And Cambria are well worth a listen.

The band is famous for basing its albums on epic stories, many of which have been detailed in comic books and novels, full of twisty turns and occasional stomach-churning moments. And as the numbers in the title suggest, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness is part of one such epic; The Amory Wars.

As a cohesive piece, it’s a fantastic listen that showcases why Coheed are often viewed as the shining stars for prog that helped reignite mainstream interest in the genre during the early 2000s.

Whether it’s Claudio Sanchez’s wailing, Geddy Lee-inspired vocals, or the tight, interlinked rhythm and lead guitar parts, which expertly navigate between chugging rock riffs and noodling prog excess (adding the occasional emo-esque breakdown in between), you’re sure to find something to love.

And as a bonus, it’s also the first Coheed album with decent production value, losing the fizzy compressed sound of the previous two albums, which held the band back in more serious hi-fi circles.

Buy Coheed And Cambria, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005) on Amazon

Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)

There are few names as synonymous with prog as Porcupine Tree, and its frontman and founder, Steven Wilson. Go into any hi-fi show and there's a strong chance you'll not only hear at least one of the band’s tracks playing, but also see him speaking about sound quality. He’s a smart man who likes his hi-fi, after all.

But of the band’s long catalogue of work, which dates all the way back to 1987, it’s their 2005 album, Fear Of A Blank Planet, that gets the most love from the What Hi-Fi? team. In part, this is because its concept, which explores the impact modern tech, and the general state of the world, is having on young people, remains more important than ever.

However, it’s mainly due to the fact that it was intentionally composed not to have a “radio single” and is instead designed to be listened to from start to finish. This gives it a more polished, flowing structure than past Porcupine Tree albums. Featuring rapid mood and genre swings, that mix classic 1970s elements with post-grunge and general rock, we’d strongly recommend it to any music fan, prog or not, as a result.

Buy Porcupine Tree, Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007) on Amazon

Anathema – Weather Systems (2012)

Having started life as a doom metal band in the 1990s – one that toured with Cannibal Corpse – Anathema has slowly developed into a staple favourite within the prog community. And while the band's eighth album, We’re Here Because We’re Here, may be generally considered the pivotal moment that cemented the change (with the aforementioned legend, Steven Wilson, having mixed it), its follow-up ninth album, Weather Systems, is the team's favourite.

Despite not having any of the immediate, jump-out singles of its more famous predecessor, the album feels deeper and more joined together, with the band claiming it’s intentionally been written to “deeply move the listener” and take them on an explorative journey – one covering all the big questions we have around life, regret and, eventually, death.

Starting from the slow-burning acoustic intro, Untouchable Part 1, the album ebbs and flows, creating a dream-like, ethereal state. The constant shifts in dynamics, ranging from anguished, shouted pleas to sombre reflections that will truly move even the most stoic of listeners, continue all the way up to its masterfully recorded conclusion, Internal Landscapes.

Buy Anathema, Weather Systems (2012) on Amazon

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For many of us, vinyl never went away, but there's no denying that the format has seen renewed interest of late. Figures from the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) show a phenomenal 19.9 per cent rise in sales over the last year, which is staggering for a format many had long written off.

To make sense of this, we sat down with Drew Hill, the managing director of Proper Music Distribution (PMD), the UK's main physical music distributor of independent labels, to talk all things vinyl.

WHF: How big a part is vinyl in what you do as a distributor?

Hill: "PMD acts as an intermediary between about a thousand independent music labels and the vast array of record shops in the UK – everyone from the 499 independent record shops to Amazon and HMV. In terms of value for physical formats, it's split about 50:50 between vinyl and CD – CDs outnumber vinyl about 2:1, but obviously vinyl sells at a much higher price."

Has the resurgence of vinyl surprised you?

"I still have to pinch myself. After the first 10 years of it making a comeback I remember thinking, 'This must be the last year.' I mean can we even call it a resurgence after all this time? Doesn't it devalue it slightly? Typically the music business wants to talk it down and pretend it's a temporary thing, because a lot of the big labels placed all their chips on streaming. But I think by now we can safely say that vinyl is here to stay."

How has the demand for vinyl changed?

"It used to be that it was only middle-aged men buying copies of Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, but if you look at the sales over the last couple of years, the bestsellers are things like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, which I'm pretty sure aren't being bought by men of a certain age. Or maybe some of them are. Just the other day I was in my local record shop in Cheshire and I overheard a 14-year-old girl begging her mum to let her buy Billie Eilish on vinyl. And her mum said, 'But we haven't got a record player.'

"I think it's going back to those days where it was part of your identity, when walking out of a record shop with a bag under your arm really told people something about you and your place in the ecosystem. Vinyl now, it's across the board: it's young and old, it's all sorts of genres… there isn't really a typical vinyl tribe anymore, just people that are into music.

"For a while we wanted to think that people were either digital consumers or physical consumers. I think now we've accepted that while digital is a great way for people to discover music, if you're really into a particular artists or genre, physical media like vinyl is a better way of expressing your loyalty. It's a tangible thing – you can put it on the wall if you haven't got a record player. It's very hard to gift a stream to someone. A lot of people buy two copies of a record – one to play, one to keep in the shrink wrap. It's a real phenomenon."

Did a lot of people write vinyl off?

"Definitely. A lot of people thought that the renewed interest was a one-off. For maybe the first half of the resurgence there were plenty of naysayers not wanting to believe it was here to stay. The major labels had all sold off their distribution divisions, they were all betting on the future being digital. They didn't have a vested interest in physical formats making a comeback. It meant they had to overhaul the production department, do all the supply check stuff. We've seen a complete one-eighty – physical is a part of all of their strategies. They admit they got it wrong. And Record Store Day has been a huge driver of this rekindling of people's love of records."

I guess originally CDs were supposed to be the death of vinyl. And then digital downloads, and then streaming. It's the format that can't be killed.

"We've seen a bit of a resurgence in CD as well. It's typical music business – the vinyl resurgence has driven the price up and up and up, with record companies seeing how far they can push it. But younger fans who are a bit more cash-strapped, they see £35 for a new vinyl, but think, ‘I can get three CDs for £35.’ But it's still getting people back into record shops."

Has the renewed interest changed the nature of record shops?

"I think so. No one else has really commented on this, but I think the record shops have morphed. It's no longer like High Fidelity, where they look down their nose at you. They've realised that's not a great way to treat your customer. They've become a lot more inclusive – they're putting on events, or there might be a coffee shop attached to it. That's been a big part in the whole resurgence."

Are online retailers suffering as a result?

"Bricks-and-mortar definitely has an advantage in the level of service they're able to provide. If I buy a turntable on Amazon, chances are I'm not gonna want another one the next week. So stop sending me emails about turntables. It's the same with music – if I buy a Rod Stewart album for my mum as a present, but the rest of my buying pattern is all hard rock, don't tell me about the new Neil Diamond record. But if you walk into a record shop, they can probably tell straight away what you're looking for. And if they see what you're buying, 99 times out of a hundred they'll go, 'If you like that, you'll love this.' An algorithm can't quite do that. It's still a personal thing, a human thing, rather than a computer."

Going back to the core appeal of vinyl, why do you think people are still buying it?

"I think it's multifaceted. It's now more of a lifestyle format. It's where culture and music and design all meet, and I think that the people who are buying records are the people who want to read the sleeve notes. They enjoy finding out more about the artist that they want to invest their money in. It isn't just that casual consumer listening to whatever Spotify serves up next. It's got a lot of people back into really listening to music.

"The people who are buying it purely for the sound quality obviously know what they're doing. But I do wonder if everyone is as clued up. Turntable sales might be rising, but is the same true of the component parts? Do all those punters that have bought their new cheap Crossley record player realise that you're supposed to change the stylus?"

Do you think vinyl sales will continue to grow?

"In the UK, we saw nearly 20 per cent growth last year. I don't think we'll see that again this year. But then if we'd have been talking a year ago, I probably would have said the same thing. As someone who's been in this industry for 22 years, I feel that surely it can't keep growing at the rate it's growing. But it keeps on surprising me and doing just that."

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Wax Poetics started life 25 years ago as a US magazine dedicated to vinyl 'crate diggers' – those on the hunt for rare records.

Since being taken over in 2024 by two Brits – Alex Bruh and David Holt – it has evolved into a platform for music collectibles, encompassing rare vinyl, demos, prints and other paraphernalia, often sourced direct from the artists themselves.

They were the people behind the original Mariah Carey demo tape that recently sold for $50,000 at auction.

As part of our Vinyl Week 2026, we sat down with Bruh and Holt to talk about what makes vinyl so collectible.

WHF: What is vinyl's appeal as a collectible item?

Bruh: "There's always a natural instinct to own physical items, right? It gives you a connection to the music, it means you're more likely to spend more time with it. My record collection is the story of my life: on this holiday I was into this genre, then you have the grunge years, the disco years… That's what it means for me, but a lot of collectors have their own motivations. It's really different for everyone."

Holt: "I think with the internet, people are too quick to write off old mediums. Everybody thinks that ease and accessibility are people's main drivers, but I would say it's more about experience and quality. And from that perspective, vinyl is still the best medium for the job. It's about more than just the music. We see behind the scenes of a lot of artists' processes, things like creating the artwork, the contracts, and vinyl is the best distillation of that. CDs and tapes do it as well, but streaming definitely doesn't."

Bruh: "The physical formats are the ones that stand the test of time. Demand for vinyl might vary, but it's never going away. What you see now is a counter movement to everything that's going on in the digital space. The more people talk about streaming and AI, the more it drives this subset of people towards the physical formats."

Do you think the rise of streaming has made vinyl more collectible?

Holt: "Yeah, I do. For artists, streaming is quite negative. But for consumers, it's quite attractive, because you can access music very, very easily. Streaming has actually made me buy more records, because it's cut out the wastage. I think streaming is definitely driving vinyl sales.

"But when you just let your streaming roll, and you're not curating it, and it starts chucking AI at you, you lose faith in it. But vinyl is now becoming so popular that maybe it doesn’t need to rely on streaming anymore."

It's almost like a backlash, I suppose. Everything's so ephemeral and digital, people want to actually hold a piece of vinyl in their hands.

Bruh: "I think backlash is an interesting way of putting it. Collecting does have a little whiff of punk rebellion about it. Music is such a strong passion for people, and the experience you get from streaming just isn't the same."

What makes a piece of vinyl particularly collectable?

Holt: "It depends on what makes it collectible to you. If you want an asset that you can sell in 20 years to make some money, then you're looking at scarcity, provenance, hype, all those things. Whereas for me personally, I'm looking for records that soundtrack a moment that I was involved in, whether it's a club night or a gig, or an artist that I'm interested in finding. There are those hard factors of what's valuable in a monetary sense, and then there are the softer, human factors, just the desire to own something that you feel something about.

"I buy loads of records by artists that I like, but I don't necessarily like the records themselves. I'm a completist – I might really respect the artist, but I might think their 80s stuff wasn't much cop. Roy Ayers springs to mind – he's got an awesome catalogue, but doesn't kill it on every record. But I still need to have it!"

Have you auctioned any particularly valuable pieces of vinyl?

Bruh: "We had a test pressing of Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock that we got from Arthur Baker, who produced that record. And some of the Masters At Work acetates that came direct from Louie Vega are really limited, they sell for around $700 upwards."

What does the future hold for vinyl?

Holt: "Vinyl still has some problems to iron out, one of which is cost. A new record [can be] £40/50, which is expensive. The major labels need to be less greedy. But I think the demand for vinyl will continue, from the young and old alike. My local record store in north London is always busy, and it's full of people from all different generations. So I think vinyl has got a bright future. The world is moving more towards it again, which I find really heartwarming."

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“Don’t you already have that?” This is a question my wife frequently asks when I’m crate digging and start examining a record.

It's a fair one. She’s usually right and I do indeed already own a copy. And, for anyone not in the world of vinyl, understanding why I may want two of the same album can be confusing.

After all, there are entire swathes of the human race who don’t get physical media in general any more. Why bother with it when you can get it via a streaming service, usually with considerably less faff?

Over the years, we at What Hi-Fi? have discussed multiple possible reasons why vinyl fans, such as myself, have a neurotic need to hoard an ever-growing collection of spinning discs.

Our production editor, Chris Burke, for example, penned a magnificent piece explaining why “old is gold” for him when collecting vinyl last year.

Many of you, our discerning readers, have long espoused various audio benefits, arguing there’s a warmth and fidelity “you just can’t replicate” when listening to vinyl.

There are merits to each school of thought. But as I pondered why I get so fussy about which specific pressing I own, and will usually end up buying more than one copy of an album if I really like it, I realised that my focus is slightly different to both.

Yes, I do value the history of a record. Like the absurdly affluent Dark fan who paid £19,000 for a copy of the first pressing of the band’s Dark Round The Edges album, owning a piece of music history is appealing. It’s the same logic as first edition books, which I also love.

And yes, I also care about audio quality, and understand why some buyers are obsessed with getting newer premium 180g/200g "audiophile" pressings.

But neither is my main focus. Instead, I’d argue, the perfect vinyl is the one that gets me as close to the artist's intended vision as possible – and that doesn’t mean automatically going for an original pressing or a modern “remastered” one in every instance. It’s more nuanced.

For example, let’s talk about The Beatles. One of the biggest bands in the world, so there are a lot of pressings out there, ranging from stereo remasters of early ones to fancy new “hi-res” Dolby Atmos versions claiming to be “the ultimate choice for audiophiles”.

I don’t care about any of them. My focus, especially for their body of work from 1963 to 1968, is on pressings containing the original mono mastering that the band themselves slaved over and released with their personal blessing at the time.

I don’t want a new version that none of them was involved with, even if it is technically better. That’s why I always search for the original mono pressings when visiting second-hand stores or boot sales.

Then there’s the jazz classic, Kind Of Blue, by Miles Davis. Here I’d actually avoid buying the original. This is because, believe it or not, one of the three tape decks used to record it was faulty, so there are very noticeable speed issues on original and older copies. The problem was only retroactively fixed with a remaster in 1997.

Because of that, while I would like an OG pressing for my collection, for actual listening, I own a newer remaster that fixes the original version’s speed issues, so I can hear what each maestro actually played, as they intended.

Or, if you want an even more modern example. This Record Store Day, the album I’ve earmarked as a treat to myself is The Cure's Acoustic Hits (25th Anniversary Edition).

First, because I love The Cure. Second, because front man and main composer, Robert Smith, was involved in the remastering of the original acoustic sessions, which were recorded as a partner for the band’s 2001 Greatest Hits collection. So, in many ways, the modern, cleaned-up version is closer to his intended vision, hence why I want it.

It’s all down to context, and, as is often the case, the devil is in the details when it comes to my preference for which specific pressing of an album I want. The only connecting factor is that I want it to be as close to the artist's vision as possible. Outside of that, there are no sacred cows.

Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below, or on our social media pages and forums!

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We asked, you answered. For our annual Vinyl Week celebration, we went looking for the UK's best independent record shops, and we thought we would consult those in the know: you, the readers.

You did not disappoint us.

You gave us recommendations from all over the UK, including Worcestershire, Malborough, Guildford, Cardiff, Manchester and beyond.

So whether you're looking for a new 12-inch or to pick up a bargain secondhand LP, these shops should be on your list.

The best record shops 'indie' UK

Some record stores inspire a devout following, but rarely do they contribute to a major life decision. Unless they're Kingbee Records in Chorlton, Manchester, that is.

Reader Mal Rowley describes it thus: "Fantastic shop. The holy trilogy of excellent taste, fair pricing and frequency of new stock. Been going for 30 years and not a week goes by without a find. Never stale."

They go on to add: "One of the reasons I bought a house here." We assume this is said with tongue firmly in cheek, but if it's half as good as Mal says, maybe it should start appearing as a feature on Rightmove listings.

Reader 'jamesrfisher' says his favourite is Resident in Brighton, originally because it had the first Public Service Broadcasting album as an in-store. "Since then it has expended its vinyl selection and taken over the store next-door," he writes. "It's a Brighton institution" thanks to its "great staff" who are "all very helpful." Sounds right up our alley.

Sticking with the south coast, Clocktower Records in Bridport also gets a big thumbs up. Reader 'Tobes' writes: "Great range, friendly staff. Just ask for Roy!" And tell him we sent you.

See the gallery of record stores below:

Cardiff's Spillers Records – which claims to be the oldest record shop in the world – also gets a mention. Reader 'mikerees52' describes it as "a great place to shop for lots of different genres." Seeing as Robert Plant recently dropped in to receive his plaque as a Record Store Legend, we've no doubt it's a quality record shop.

Not all the shops on our list have such A-list pulling power, or such historical significance, but that doesn't make them any less worthy of inclusion. A record store is all about its stock, the community it attracts and the service it provides. And according to one reader, Ben's Collectors Records in Guildford excels in these areas.

The store is "brilliant for anything second hand, some sealed originals and hard to find vinyl and CDs," writes reader 'DaveC'. It also offers "exceptionally affordable prices" while owner Ben is "very helpful and has an amazing musical knowledge."

If customer loyalty is the true test of a record store, then Sound Knowledge in Marlborough passes with flying colours. Reader Thomas Hartwell writes that it "has been my go-to for about 30 years! Wonderful staff and they host gigs too." What more could you want?

So there you have it, some of the UK's best independent records stores, as chosen by you, the readers. If you're ever in the vicinity, make sure to pay them a visit.

Did we miss your favourite? Write in and let us know.

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It’s Vinyl Week here at What Hi-Fi?, and while we’ve covered records from a wide range of artists and genres, there’s one special subset that I think deserves a bit more credit.

As someone who spends much more time in our dedicated home cinema testing room than our hi-fi stereo listening space, I find myself listening to a lot of film soundtracks.

I often use soundtracks from the likes of Dune, Interstellar and Blade Runner: 2049 to test the best soundbars, smartphones and home cinema amplifiers, and this has begun influencing my day-to-day listening habits, too.

The likes of Hans Zimmer, Ludwig Göransson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are amongst my most frequently played artists on Apple Music, but a few recent trips to record stores prove that their influence extends way beyond streaming.

Now, I’m a huge proponent of physical media, as I’ve often rambled about here. 4K Blu-rays, especially special edition box sets and steel books, are my weakness, so the idea of adding a physical soundtrack to supplement my physical movie library is as incredibly tempting as it is financially concerning.

I think that there’s also something to be said for the preservation of movie soundtracks that vinyl is supporting in the same way that Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray are doing for movies and TV.

Rifling through the options at shops – including HMV, Rough Trade, and even Tower Records in Tokyo – unearthed everything from home cinema test room favourites. Yes, I’m talking about Blade Runner 2049, alongside likes of Barbie, Inception and Top Gun Maverick, and recent releases including Stranger Things, F1: The Movie, and Wicked.

However, there are also scores from cult classics and indie movies that are nestled in between them. I spotted the soundtracks for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Taxi Driver, Lost in Translation, Blade II and, perhaps unsurprisingly, every Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson movie imaginable.

As is the case with 4K Blu-ray preserving titles that can often be swallowed up and spat out into obscurity thanks to the streaming algorithms, it looks like vinyl records are ensuring that film soundtracks are given an equal opportunity to stand the test of time.

If you’re a cinephile looking to scratch the physical media itch, and 4K Blu-ray isn’t cutting it, then I’d recommend heading to your nearest record store to see what gems they have in stock.

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While the team at What Hi-Fi? HQ have been working hard on everything turntable-related for Vinyl Week 2026, I’ve been preoccupied in Japan with Denon and Marantz to see their latest innovations in hi-fi and home cinema.

While most of that is top secret, I did get a chance to explore some of Tokyo, including a stop in Shibuya. Home of the famous crossing that crops up in countless films, including (but not limited to) Lost In Translation and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the trendy, bustling high street is also home to one of my favourite shops of all time.

Tower Records Shibuya, for those unfamiliar, is a goliath of a retailer, offering up eight whole floors of vinyl, CDs, cassettes, merch, accessories and hi-fi equipment.

It’s a fantasy land for those obsessed with music, with every genre from J-Pop to hip hop, folk to metal, and indie to film soundtracks represented. Each floor has a theme or gimmick in this regard, which makes browsing this overwhelming shop surprisingly easy and fun.

My go-to floors are the sixth and seventh, with floor six being dedicated almost entirely to vinyl records across every imaginable genre. During my recent visit, I found everything from Charli XCX’s Brat to Jeff Buckley’s Grace, and even the soundtrack to Blade II.

There are entire sections dedicated to specific artists – yes, the Taylor Swift section is the first thing you see when you enter this floor, and it is spectacular – though you'll find a huge mix of artists and genres organised alphabetically in rows along this floor.

Funnily enough, there was a whole wall dedicated to film and TV soundtracks right by the entrance, which supports my argument that more home cinema fans should get into vinyl to preserve their favourite soundtracks.

It’s a feast, and it’s easy to get lost in there both physically and figuratively. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the latest releases are also playing over a pretty bold sound system on this floor, which had me Shazam-ing away gleefully in between flicking through old and new vinyl.

For a change of pace, you can head to the seventh floor, which is dedicated to CDs. There is every imaginable genre and artist here, and if you’re unsure, then you can find a pair of headphones and a “listening box” attached to most of the shelves.

These are loaded up with snippets of the nearby albums, and there are usually a few to cycle through. This try-before-you-buy idea is also a great way to find an artist or album you’d otherwise never have considered.

Sure, I could scour my streaming service of choice to discover these albums, but physically sifting through CDs from artists that I'd never heard of before felt way more authentic and tangible.

And I think Tower Records Shibuya's authenticity is what keeps me coming back. There is a genuine love of music on display here, from the oversized posters promoting upcoming tours and festivals that adorn the exterior of the building to the practically infinite selection of music found within.

If you're obsessed with all things physical media and have some room in your suitcase for a few records, then I couldn't recommend adding Tower Records to your Tokyo itinerary enough.

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This album was the 1980s poster-boy for CD – but I massively prefer it on vinyl

As you would probably guess, as a member of the What Hi-Fi? Team, I love listening to music, ideally with the best setup possible. I’m lucky enough to be able to regularly listen to a range of excellent hi-fi and home cinema kit in our dedicated test rooms.

But at home, I don’t have the budget or the space for a turntable to play my limited collection of vinyl records. Lucky for me, though, there are other ways to enjoy vinyl with a great sound system.

Hi-fi bars, also known as listening bars, originate from Japanese kissa culture, which can be traced back as far as the 1920s. These are intimate, living room-like spaces where audiophiles can listen to music on vinyl as the core focus rather than treating it as background music.

This idea then spread slowly from Japan across the globe. In the UK, there are now countless listening bars to be found with a variety of musical styles and sound system setups. That includes well-known entries such as Spiritland, Kaiho, and Space Talk.

To see if this could be the antidote to my lack of vinyl experience at home, I ventured to Behind This Wall – a listening bar tucked away in an unassuming basement in Hackney, London. It calls itself “a lo-fi bar with hi-fi intentions”.

It claims on its website that the system was put together like a home stereo system and now is “an ever-evolving, loosely amalgamated and slightly rebellious organism.”

The system certainly consists of an eclectic collection of hi-fi kit, including a custom Technics SL120 turntable, a vintage Yamaha P2050 amplifier, and a pair of Elipson Planet L speakers (which we gave four stars to in a review way back in 2012).

Upon entering, I am greeted by relaxing, vintage decor that feels like being in a swanky living room. The low-lit setting consists of a bar and cushioned seating areas to chill with a drink in hand.

I turn up quite early in the evening and am the first one through the door, so it’s the perfect setting to sit and enjoy the tunes. I can imagine that on busier days, the tracks might be a little harder to hear, so that is worth considering when choosing what time to come.

The vinyl album being spun is a unique find – Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares by The Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir. In fact, it’s a challenge to find the exact version online on vinyl, although I have spotted it for sale on eBay.

The disc, released in 1986, consists of beautifully haunting Bulgarian folk music, which makes for atmospheric listening. While I find myself speaking to my partner from time to time, it is easy to become engrossed in the music like I would if I were listening on my own system at home.

Behind the bar, the staff clearly have a passion for the music as they tell me about how they have been listening to the album outside of work just for the fun of it. The records played are hand-picked by the staff and DJ, with fresh music coming in each month.

Also on display are Eberhard Schoener's 1977 genre-blending Trance-Formation album, as well as Bobby Caldwell's What You Won't Do For Love, which offers a more light-hearted jazz vibe.

Hi-fi bars are certainly something I can see myself returning to in the future, especially if I were seeking out genuinely interesting music to add to my roster rather than relying on a streaming algorithm.

Some bars specialise in certain musical genres, such as Jumbi in Peckham, which offers “the sounds and flavours of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora”. That musical expertise, paired with a top-notch bespoke sound system, makes these listening bars a worthy recommendation for budding audiophiles to experience proper hi-fi listening before investing in their own setup.

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Record Store Day is coming, and if you've never dabbled in vinyl, now is the perfect time to start. But for many people, the world of turntables and vinyl records can be a daunting place: for the uninitiated, there's a lot of jargon to get your head around.

That's why we've put together this handy list of terms relating to record players and the vinyl they spin, along with explanations of what they mean. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should serve as a starter to get you acquainted with all the main bits of a turntable.

A friendly record shop should be able to explain what terms mean and what you need to know about them, but it doesn't hurt to go in with a little knowledge in advance. Happy shopping!

33 1/3 RPM
A rotational speed for vinyl records. It rotates the vinyl 33 and a third times every minute, which is the standard speed for 12-inch LPs.

45 RPM
A faster rotation speed (45 revolutions per minute, or RPM) used for singles, which are commonly referred to as 45s.

78 RPM
The even faster speed of 78 RPM, used for the vintage shellac records that were popular until around the 1950s.

Amplifier
See phono preamp/phono stage.

Anti-skate weight
See bias weight.

Automatic operation
An automatic record player will move the tonearm into position and place the needle on the record's groove at the press of a button. It will also move the tonearm back to its resting position once you press stop or the record reaches its end. Whereas a manual record player requires you to manoeuvre the tonearm into position yourself. Semi-automatic turntables require you to move the tonearm to start and stop playback, but will do it themselves once a record reaches its end (a feature that's known as automatic return).

Azimuth
The vertical angle of the stylus relative to the record's groove.

Belt drive
Belt drive turntables have the motor offset from the platter, and use a belt (or belts) in a pulley system to rotate the platter. This isolates the platter from unwanted vibrations, but can make for an inconsistent rotation speed. Contrast with Direct drive.

Bias weight
A sideways force applied to the tonearm to counteract the inward pull caused by the record groove. Also known as anti-skate weight.

Bluetooth
Wireless technology found in some turntables that lets you stream records through compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones.

Cantilever
The part that carries the vibrations from the stylus at one end to the magnets or coils at the other (depending on which kind of cartridge is used).

Cartridge
The component that holds the stylus, and transforms the information it picks up from the record's grooves into electrical signals. Also known as a phono cartridge, it comes in two main types: moving magnet or moving coil.

Counterweight
The adjustable weight at the back of a tonearm that dictates the force with which the stylus sits in the record groove.

Deck
Another term for turntable.

Direct drive
Direct drive turntables have the motor directly under the platter. This allows for faster start-up speeds and better rotational stability, though it can mean more unwanted vibrations. Contrast with belt drive.

Dust cover
The plastic lid that protects your record player's components – and the vinyl itself – from dust, dirt and airborne debris.

Electronic speed change
This lets you change the playback speed between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM by pressing a button or flicking a switch, rather than manually moving the drive belt.

EP
Stands for extended play. A record that is longer than a single but shorter than a full album.

Gatefold
A more premium form of vinyl packaging that folds out to encompass more artwork and sometimes a double LP.

Groove
The spiral track that runs from the edge of the record inwards towards the centre.

Headshell
The section at the end of the tonearm that holds the cartridge.

LP
A long-playing record i.e. a full album. Contrast with EP.

Mat
Usually made of cork, felt or rubber, the mat is a circular disc that sits on the platter but beneath the vinyl record. It protects the record from vibrations and minimises static. Also known as a slip mat.

Moving magnet
A type of cartridge in which the magnet is fixed to the cantilever and moves while the coil of wire is fixed in place. Contrast with moving coil.

Moving coil
A type of cartridge in which the wire coil is fixed to the cantilever and moves while the magnet is fixed in place. Usually found in more expensive cartridges, but tends to deliver lower output levels than moving magnet designs. Contrast with moving magnet.

Phono cartridge
See cartridge.

Phono preamp/phono stage
The component that amplifies and equalises the signal received from the cartridge in order to create the sound that can be heard through the speakers. A phono stage can be built into a turntable, an amplifier or set of speakers, or it can be a standalone unit.

Platter
The circular rotating disc upon which the record sits (on a slip mat, naturally) during playback.

Plinth
The body of the turntable itself, which houses and supports all the components.

Plug and play
A more accessible style of turntable that works straight out of the box with no need to add an external phono preamp, balance the tonearm or calibrate the cartridge. Some even have built-in speakers, though the sound quality will suffer.

RPM
Revolutions per minute. The speed at which the record spins – either 33 1/3, 45 or 78 RPM.

Sleeve
The packaging of a vinyl record.

Slip mat
See mat.

Spindle
The metal rod in the centre of the platter, it centralises the vinyl record in place during playback.

Stylus
The hard point, or needle, attached to the cartridge that tracks a record's groove to read the information stored within and transmit it to be converted into sound.

Sub-platter
Provides support for the main platter and connects to the motor via a drive belt.

Tonearm
The movable support that the cartridge is attached to.

Tracking force gauge
A tool that measures the downward weight that a cartridge exerts on a vinyl record. Setting this weight correctly will avoid skipping and possibly damaging the record.

Tracking weight
The downward weight that a cartridge exerts on a record, as measured by a tracking force gauge.

Turntable
Another term for record player or deck.

Vertical tracking angle (VTA)
The angle of the stylus in relation to the surface of the record, which dictates how the it sits in the groove.

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When Dire Straits released Brothers In Arms in 1985, it was kind of a big deal. Not because it was the first album to be certified ten times platinum in the UK and spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at Number One in the album charts (and nine weeks at Number One on the Billboard 200 in the US). Not because it remains the eighth best selling album in UK chart history. And not because it's a great record.

It is all of those things, but its real significance for hi-fi fans is that it will be forever associated with the compact disc, being the first CD to surpass a million copies in the nascent digital format and ushering in the future of music listening. In fact, you could say the album was made for CD – being one of the first albums to be recorded and released fully digitally. While most music was still being made to analogue tape, Brothers In Arms was recorded to a Sony 24-track digital tape machine, a decision born of main-man Mark Knopfler's constant striving for better sound quality.

Dire Straits' perfectionism and skill in producing – Knopfler (who had already produced no less than Dylan) and Neil Dorfsman helmed the process – together with the new, crystal clear audio promised by the new digital format made this the perfect marriage. And it pushed the compact disc from niche interest (CD players were expensive in the early ’80s) to mainstream dominance almost overnight, as audiophiles embraced its hi-fidelity sound, convenience and hardiness.

Living in the Eighties

But, as a teenager in 1985, I didn't have a CD player. Not very many people did, certainly not that I knew. Indeed, I remember a school friend bringing one of the famously 'indestructible' new discs into class, covering it in Tippex and saying, "Bet it won't play now."

CD players themselves were luxury items, and sometimes those early machines were thought of as less reliable than tried and tested record players. Even Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher recalls their label Phonogram (part of Philips) sending the band a load of CD players which "all broke within a week… Philips' technology was cutting edge, but it wasn't very robust".

So, naturally, I listened to the album on vinyl. I loved it, of course, and had no idea what I was missing out on by not hearing the recording in its apparently intended format.

In case you've never heard it (and I'd urge you to go and listen to it, on any format, right now) Brothers In Arms is a beautifully produced, musically brilliant, wonderfully crafted album that spawned a number of bona fide ’80s bangers. In general its sound is characterised by Mark Knopfler's unique guitar playing, but there's also rich orchestration with various synthesizers replicating the likes of pan pipes, accordions and more. There's also both slap and fretless bass going on – musically it's proper 1980s value for money – something for everyone.

And, talking of which, as it's just celebrated its 40th anniversary, there are a few special vinyl and super-affordable remastered CD options out there. Whichever format floats your boat.

Brothers in… tonearms?

Which brings me back to my point. While vinyl was not-dead-but-resting, I also bought Brothers In Arms on CD – which, since I became a die-hard vinyl revivalist, has sat in the attic gathering dust.

My Gen-Z daughter, like many of her peers, loves CDs (they're cheaper, for starters), and was going through my attic-bound CD collection when she unearthed several Dire Straits albums. I was inspired to listen again to the digital version of Brothers In Arms, with a handful of tracks A/B tested against my beloved vinyl copy.

Note that this is far from an exact experiment. I wasn't listening through What Hi-Fi?'s reference system in our treated, optimised listening rooms. My own gear is 'entry level', comprising an Audio-Technica AT-LP5x, an ageing Cambridge Audio Azur CD player, played though an Arcam A5 amplifier feeding Acoustic Energy AE1 Mk2 speakers.

What would I find? Would the rose-tinted specs be crushed underfoot and the veil fall from my ears as I embraced the pristine clarity and cleanliness of the higher digital resolution? Or would my obstinacy over vinyl's warmth keep my listening rooted in the ’80s?

Well, grab hold of yourselves, because we're about to answer the question once and for all – is vinyl better than CD? (Of course we're not, it's just for fun, folks…)

Money For Nothing

As Sting's "I want my MTV" vocal starts up along with atmospheric fretless bass slides, thunderous drum fills and otherworldly synths that rise to a crescendo before breaking into that timeless guitar riff, there's almost immediately no contest.

The CD version presents a much sharper, cleaner, noiseless background on which the instruments find more accurate placement and clarity, and drum beats land with greater precision.

But, dropping the needle on my 1980s vinyl pressing, I'm struck by the relative warmth of the guitar sound; in musician's terms, it's like comparing the warmth and overdrive of a valve guitar amp with a transistor equivalent. That warmth is immediately familiar, and I'm almost, though not quite, moved to air guitar. Still, I have to concede that CD wins this one.

Your Latest Trick

Again, with the CD version there are levels of detail present that seem, if not lost, muted on vinyl. Maybe I'm imagining it, but there are licks in the intro's guitar work I'd not picked out before, and even some lyrics present themselves with greater clarity and nuance.

Instrumental strands feel more precisely separated – but maybe in this instance, that isn't necessarily the best thing for listening. Your Latest Trick's sax-led smokey jazz bar feel is undoubtedly better served by vinyl's textural qualities: the drums sound warmer, the saxophone feels moodier, and in particular the cross-stick on the drums sounds slightly more behind-the-beat jazzy. Knopfler's laid-back drawl feels richer, too. Vinyl wins!

Brothers In Arms

Of course, one of the potential downsides of vinyl is the inevitable crackles and pops, which when heard in contrast with CD's cleaner canvas now distract a little too much from that atmospheric intro. In comparison, CD's low-noise backdrop allows the thunder that rolls across the ominous start to the track to sound richer and more detailed.

But in some ways the cold precision of the digital version rather detracts from the achingly sad melancholy. Drummer Omar Hakim (well known for his beat precision) lays down some cross stick here that, actually, sounds too metronomic. Listening to the LP, the track's synth accordion sounds more lush too, as does the Hammond. I'm going to call it a win for vinyl on this one.

Why Worry

Hate to sound like a stuck record (arf), but again on vinyl, the warmth in that guitar sound, and the synths, gives the track a textural richness that is just a little preferable to the coldness of the digital version. And now the most fun part, as it's the last track on side one, I get to turn the record over! Vinyl wins! Wait, I have to get up out of my chair? Daaamn.

On CD, though, the instrumental placement is astonishing, as if the guitar is in the room with you. That crystal clarity of the digital recording provides a contrast that's intentionally stark. In that way it's like the stark lines of a cubist painting rather than the warmer, more textured work of an impressionist.

Way more detail is unearthed on CD, especially from the piano and gentle, sparing guitar licks – while the drums sound particularly detailed, in that you can more clearly hear the sympathetic ring of the kit. I've never heard the fretless bass so clearly, either. Then again, I hate fretless bass, so I'm going to call this one a draw.

Walk Of Life

On CD, the hit song's famous organ refrain, and the way the second synth line comes in at the start, are almost startlingly evident; in fact, those multiple synth lines that comprise the track's intro are all really cleanly and clearly defined, while there's more resonance in the vocal "woo-hoo"s, too.

Comparatively, the vinyl version sounds a little muddier – the same synth lines are all there, but it feels more muted, more homogenised. And across all the tracks via CD, it's just easier to pick up more of Knopfler's intonations, the tone and character in his vocals. Got to admit, this one's better on CD.

Either way, aren't physical formats brilliant?

So, when you add it all up, it's a dead heat. There's no denying that CD resolution, detail retrieval and clarity is way better than vinyl; but there is still a warmth and tactility in the vinyl version that personally I can never quit.

Obviously there are subjective factors at play – for me, that record means a lot to me in the format I grew up with, and I've never felt the same connection to CDs as with my vinyl collection. I will always prefer the physicality of records, and collecting them appeals more to my heart, despite my brain discerning the clear difference in ultimate sonic quality.

Either way, whether you're a bigger fan of vinyl or CDs, both are good excuse to get down to your local record store and support sales of physical formats.

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The price of groceries, the threat of World War III, my wife’s insistence that Emerald Fennell's “interpretation” of Wuthering Heights isn’t “that bad”: there’s a lot to get angry about right now.

Which is why, middle-aged, reformed mosher that I am, I’ve found myself revisiting several of the bands I used to use for a cathartic vent as a teenager recently.

From the swooning, bellows of AFI's Davey Havok, to the politically charged screams of Zack de la Rocha, a steady stream of late ’90s and early noughties albums have been spinning on my turntable over the past few months.

But one in particular has been on repeat recently, Rage Against the Machine's second album, Evil Empire.

Why this album, over Rage’s wider body of work? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, it’s about to celebrate a pretty big milestone, turning 30 years old on the 16th of April. Second, I can’t help but feel it's a bit of an unappreciated, forgotten gem, even among Rage Against The Machine fans.

Even among fans I know, while everyone remembers the singles, especially Bulls On Parade (which I celebrated in our last Now Playing column), these days, most of the attention goes to the band’s self-titled debut album. And in some ways, I get why that's the case.

1992’s Rage Against The Machine is 100 per cent one for the history books, with the band's funky bass and drums intermingling with Tom Morello’s unique guitar style and Zach de la Rocha’s furious hip-hop vocals to create something truly unique.

Honestly, at the time, there was next to nothing like it, outside of maybe Faith No More’s Epic. As a sprog, it blew my mind.

And as a cohesive piece of work, it is better. Every track stands in its own right, but the album flows seamlessly from banger to banger, making it easier to listen to from start to finish.

• Buy Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine at Amazon

This is likely why, until recently, I only owned the first album on vinyl and relied on streaming and my old CD copies for Evil Empire and The Battle For Los Angeles.

I say until recently, as after a quick trip to the record shop last month, I finally treated myself to a copy (sadly, it isn’t the first pressing; instead, it's a copy of the 2012 European 180g re-release I unearthed while crate digging).

And after revisiting it on the format, I feel I've finally given the proper time of day, listening to it from start to finish, in my comfy chair – not rock’n’roll, I know, but my knees aren’t up to thrashing or pogoing anymore…

For starters, the pressing made me realise quite how compressed most of the streams are, especially when listened to on Bluetooth headphones, which is how I've generally listened to Evil Empire as an adult. Rage Against The Machine may be famous for being loud, aggressive and rowdy, but there’s actually a lot of virtuosity to the band’s playing.

Much of which is lost in poor streams which push the sound loud, but cut out subtle details – the specific phrasing of Morello’s siren-esque lead guitar, minor vibrato in de la Rocha’s voice, swells in volume in Tim Commerford’s thundering bass, the attacking rhythmic precision of drummer Brad Wilk's grooving percussion.

You hear so much more, especially with the dynamics, listening to the album properly, rather than on a cheap stream.

This is especially true of Evil Empire, which has some stellar hidden gems. Roll Right, whose intro evokes a sense of UFOs flying overhead, with Morello’s guitar rapidly jumping in volume and from left to right, is one highlight.

Or my personal favourite, Revolver, whose experimental intro sounds like a complete mess when listened to via a low-quality stream, but on vinyl is truly immersive, laying the groundwork for the thundering groove-metal riff that erupts from it.

Then there’s the overall added depth you get, with the extra dynamics making the frequent breakdowns and exploding riffs just hit harder and have the impact the band wanted.

There’s so much to appreciate on the album. Which is why, not only do I recommend any Rage Against The Machine fan take the time to revisit Evil Empire, 30 years on, I’d also call on them to do it with a decent source and hi-fi set-up. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

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What's better than getting your hands on some brand-new vinyl? Getting your hands on some brand-new special edition vinyl, that's what!

Every year, Record Store Day looks to raise support and awareness for independent record stores and the medium of vinyl itself by serving up an extensive selection of exclusive releases and limited edition records.

This year, the official Record Store Day 2026 takes place on Saturday 18th April – so mark out time that day to get down to a participating vinyl store and get your hands on some rare goodies.

To mark the occasion in conjunction with our own Vinyl Week 2026 celebrations, we've highlighted some of the most enticing releases that will be going on sale this RSD 2026. You can peruse the full, lengthy list of exclusive RSD releases at your leisure – below are the ones the What Hi-Fi? team is hoping to nab and add to our vinyl collections.

• Check out the full list here at Record Store Day 2026

Live at Metropolis by Kokoroko

One thing that struck me about this year’s Record Store Day list is the sheer number of releases. The rise in popularity of RSD and vinyl in general has unsurprisingly seen an increase in artists looking to offer something to fans during the event – but it also means there are plenty of releases that perhaps aren’t that special.

Happily, Kokoroko have risen to the occasion and offered something unique. Live At Metropolis, coming out on Brownswood, the label founded by the DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson, is four songs recorded in one take and cut live to vinyl at Metropolis Studios in London.

This four-track EP features Higher from the Get The Message EP, Idea 5 from the band’s 2025 album Tuff Times Never Last, plus a never-before-released cover of The Sweet and Innocent’s Express Your Love. And a mysterious fourth track, which is always good.

One-take recordings have been released by everyone from Miles Davis to The Beatles, delivering an authentic version of a piece of music that seems like the perfect fit for a special vinyl release.

Words by Joe Cox

Discover the Record Store Day release here

Laura Marling Live at Albert Hall, Manchester

Folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling has one of those voices that I could listen to forever. Full of rich depth, maturity, stark emotion and delicacy all at once, her songs throughout the years have never failed to charm me with her bewitching, confessional and melodic power.

This double LP edition captures her acclaimed performance at Albert Hall in Manchester in 2025, with one half focused on just her solo with a guitar, while the second part features a four-piece string quartet and a choir as she performs the 2024 album Patterns in Repeat in its entirety. Beautiful.

Words by Kashfia Kabir

Discover the Record Store Day release here

Lo-Files by Bring Me The Horizon

A hi-fi magazine recommending a compilation of lo-fi covers? Sacrilege! Heresy! Fetch the pitchforks and burning torches!

It's a bit of an oxymoron, fair enough, but the idea of a 23-track album of lo-fi renditions of one of this generation's most popular heavy metal groups just seemed too quirky and incongruous to ignore.

This new collection features tracks from pretty much every era of BMTH's catalogue, from 2013’s Sempiternal through to 2024’s POST HUMAN: NeX Gen, reimagined into more laid-back reinterpretations by some of the most popular lo-fi producers around.

Has your headbanging been getting in the way of your study time? Consider this the perfect middle way for all you Type A rockers out there.

Words by Harry McKerrell

Discover the Record Store Day release here

Acoustic Hits by The Cure

The Cure are cool. Anyone who says differently can get in the sea. Acoustic sets are also cool. So what happens when you combine the two? The Cure’s Acoustic Hits record, that’s what.

It’s top of my wish list right now, as while I’ve got nearly all of the band’s long, diverse portfolio either on vinyl or CD (even the post-Bloodflowers stuff), I never got around to investing in the 2001 Greatest Hits collection, which the Acoustic Hits album was originally a companion for.

Why bother getting a greatest hits record when I already have the songs on the actual albums, right?

But with a newly remastered pressing out, one done by legendary frontman and primary composer Robert Smith, from the original 2001 cuts the band recorded at Olympic Studios in London, the timing feels right to complete my collection.

The album features alternative takes on most of The Cure’s classics. These include a rather splendid reimagining of Friday I’m in Love – the song my wife and I got married to – as well as a beautiful new version of Just Like Heaven.

Trust me, if you’re a fan of the band, you’re sure to find something you like among the 14 tracks in this Acoustic Hits vinyl.

Words by Alastair Stevenson

Discover the Record Store Day release here

Perfect Sound Forever by Pavement

Hi-fi fans will know that "Perfect Sound Forever" was the advertising slogan used by Sony and Philips when launching the first-ever CD player in 1982.

Pavement fans will know that the band's third EP of the same name has never undergone a re-pressing since it its original release in 1991, and this special 10-inch white vinyl edition includes seven early tracks from one of the best US bands to come out of that early '90s underground indie/alt rock scene.

These tracks capture Pavement's early sound that helped them achieve cult status, with heavy distorted guitars, somewhat sardonic half-sung/half-spoken vocals, and a raw, lo-fi sound that became entangled with 90s slacker culture. Home is my personal favourite.

Words by Kashfia Kabir

Discover the Record Store Day release here

God's Son by Nas

We regularly give Nas' seminal classic Illmatic a spin when putting a new turntable's talents to the test in our listening rooms, and across the hip-hop icon's reasonably extensive back catalogue, it's hard to find many duds.

Inspired by Nas' struggles following the death of his mother, God's Son is one of his most personal and emotive records, shrinking the lens down from the struggles of black urban life and class consciousness to something smaller and more intimate, but no less effective.

2026's special edition is the first colour pressing outside of the US, described by Record Store Day as "a record that has scarcely been available in Europe since 2002". Owning a Nas vinyl album is cool, but owning a Nas vinyl album that's historically been super tough to get hold of is super cool.

Words by Harry McKerrell

Discover the Record Store Day release here

KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, HUNTR/X Edition

Look, I want the goodies.

Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters is a global phenomenon and now an Oscar winner for its hit single Golden, and I have been utterly charmed by the music and the animation of the film: a fun, fast-paced story of warring K-Pop bands blended with Korean folklore and supernatural elements, and the triumph of friendship.

I've had my eye on the standard vinyl for ages, but its price felt quite steep. With the RSD 2026 release, you get plenty of extra goodies to make it worthwhile: a fold-out poster, sticker sheet, snapshot cards (3 of 12 versions), and a 'special effect' vinyl featuring original art by one of the film's artists, Marion Bordeyne. Her neon-splashed artwork is gorgeous, and I can't wait to get my hands on this exclusive release.

Words by Kashfia Kabir

Discover the Record Store Day release here

From Bebop to Blue by Miles Davis

We know there are jazz and blues fiends who will sniff out collectibles like pigs hunting for truffles, and no special editions are more worth seeking out than those produced by the mind and mouth of the legendary Miles Davis.

From Bebop To Blue offers a silver and black triple vinyl package of three LPs which track the younger Davis' journey to becoming the titan he would eventually come, featuring the likes of Boplicity, So What and All Blues.

The whole set features exclusive text and specially integrated photos, as well as key dates, places and personnel behind each track. A proper collector's gem aimed quite unashamedly at enthusiasts and collectors alike.

Words by Harry McKerrell

Discover the Record Store Day release here

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Dirt. I have it on vinyl. I'm not talking about the classic Alice In Chains album, although I do have that record. No, I'm talking about literal filth in my grooves, some of which may well have accrued for 40 years.

Now obviously over the years I've 'cleaned' my records – meticulously (but admittedly only occasionally) wiping with cloths and sprays to get rid of dust, hairs and fingermarks from the surface of records. I've held them up to the light to check their cleanliness relative to before, then put them back on the turntable and assumed it was the best that could be done.

But, it's only now that I truly appreciate just how deep down and dirty records can get. Recently, I was given a Spincare 'Record Cleaning Machine' (around £60 on Amazon) as a birthday present.

This involves mixing cleaning fluid with filtered water in a kind of tiny bath with plastic rollers (adjustable for record size) at either end, and soft cleaning pads in the middle.

You immerse your record to just below the label, turn three times clockwise and three times anti-clockwise, wipe the water from them with a lint-free cleaning cloth and put them on a drying rack for 10 or 20 minutes.

These types of record cleaning devices have been around for years, of course, but it's the first time I'd tried one myself.

A restorative effect?

I expected this ritual to have more or less the same results as wiping records over with spray and a cloth, but cleaning the records this way not only removed a lot of the pop and crackle that dust and dirt invariably causes, it actually had a restorative effect.

I've written before on What Hi-Fi? about looking after your old records, and bemoaned my copy of Nirvana's Nevermind, bought from Jumbo records in Leeds the day it came out. Within a week, back in my student flat with its wonky floors, I'd scratched it. And for nearly 35 years I'd resigned myself to the fact that Smells Like Teen Spirit would never not jump in the middle.

But, since putting the 1991 classic through the Spincare, miracle upon miracle, it no longer jumps at all. It turns out that it was not actually damaged per se, but rather it was dirt/dust/smudges or whatnot making it jump.

My similar-vintage copy of The Breeders’ Last Splash, jumpy on the first track for as long as I can remember, has been similarly cured. And, after putting a huge swathe of my vinyl collection through the Spincare, I was finding yet more albums that benefitted substantially from a good bath-time.

The obvious point here is that not only can your eye not really see the state of what's in a record's grooves, but sticky fingers (not the Rolling Stones record, although that came up nice too), dust ingrained in the grooves, cat hairs, even fibres from paper record sleeves, can so easily affect your vinyl replay. And it clearly doesn't take years to gather there. Nevermind was just two weeks old when it somehow amassed enough grot in its grooves to have me think it must have been damaged by tonearm-jump.

I've since cleaned most of my records, some with genuinely noticeable results – and let's just say my wife really did not look after her part of our collection. I've had my work cut out with several Dylan records and 'classics' from Poison and the Quireboys. But you know what? They've all had a new lease of life.

Other methods are available

To test an alternative approach to vinyl cleaning, I also tried Secret Chord Analogue Record Restore (around £150). More than just cleaning the vinyl, the claim of this Australian product is that by brushing a special proprietary gloop onto each side of a record, leaving it to dry and set, and then peeling it off, any dirt and dust would be taken away with it, leaving your vinyl all shiny and new.

Does it work? To a point, although the process is somewhat fiddly, especially taking the layer of resin off, which is not as easy as it looks and comes off in little bits unless you really paint it on thick in the first place. Sadly, the first record to receive this was a recently acquired but frankly awful-condition copy of The The's Soul Mining – which Record Restore could not, with the best will in the world, restore.

Several dirty but essentially undamaged records have, however, come up nice after the Record Restore treatment, but really it's horses for courses. The main thing is, whichever method you choose, don't underestimate the effect of dirt, visible or otherwise, on your records.

I also now give my records a going-over with an anti-static brush. One or two of my albums, particularly picture discs, use nasty plastic covers that, while you can see through to the record itself, can cause static on the surface of your vinyl – which is another common cause of crackling and popping.

You don't need to spend a fortune on a record cleaning machine, either; although you can – on the likes of the Keith Monks Prodigy (around £1295), or Pro-Ject's VC-S3 Premium Vinyl Record Cleaning Machine (£399). But, as I found, the simple, budget Spincare did the job at a mere fraction of the money.

Whichever method you chose, I'd urge you to give your collection a properly good clean. You might just resurrect an old favourite or two to good-as-new.

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Never heard of the Rega Planet turntable? We wouldn’t blame you. It was the company’s first product and was introduced in April 1973. Rega made it for only four years before phasing it out for the more conventional-looking and hugely talented – and now iconic – Planar 3 model.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The inaugural Planet was originally supplied without a tonearm, which wasn’t unusual back then. Most buyers went for something such as the highly regarded SME 3009 arm with good results. However, Roy Gandy, Rega’s co-founder, wanted to sell complete units, and the search for a suitable tonearm for his new deck led to a company called Cosmocord.

Cosmocord had plenty of stock of the Acos Lustre tonearm, and a deal was struck whereby it would supply the tonearm to Rega and take care of the distribution of the complete deck. The record player became the Acos Rega Planet while the agreement lasted (around a year), and then the Acos branding was dropped once Rega took charge of its own distribution.

Take a close look at the sample provided to us by Rega, and it is remarkable just how much of the Planet’s design is still reflected in the company’s current turntables.

To our eyes, the Planet ooks for all the world like an early Planar 3 with a fancy trio of pods to support the record. And, to a large extent, that’s exactly what it is.

That distinctive platter-less design was inspired by the premium Transcriptors decks of the day, with Gandy deciding that his first product needed something distinctive to stand out in what was already a crowded turntable market.

Early versions of the outriggers used chrome-plated brass, which was later changed to silver anodised aluminium with an inlaid rubber ‘o’ ring, as on our sample. The outrigger arrangement still looks stunning, and it is hard to keep our eyes off the deck when the pods are spinning with no record on top.

There is, however, a reason that just about every turntable on the market uses a flat platter to support the record. Those pods leave large parts of the record unsupported, and those sections pick up airborne vibrations, which adversely affect sound quality.

This is why the company moved to a more conventional platter design (though ultimately in glass rather than aluminium) for the Planer 3 that followed.

The Planet’s plinth will look entirely familiar to those who know Rega’s turntables. In this earliest incarnation, it is a chipboard piece that is black laminated on all its surfaces. This makes the structure relatively light and rigid – parameters that the company’s turntable designs have continued to prioritise over the years.

Gandy’s early experiments with plinths led him to conclude that excess mass was a bad thing, due to high noise-transmission and energy storage.

There was a long search for an appropriate motor. Rega eventually settled on one made by Philips and imported into England by a company called Impex. The motor was principally used in pinball machines, but it had qualities that Gandy wanted.

It ran at a lower speed than the others he had tried, which meant he could use a larger pulley and smaller centre drive hub. The result was a quieter operation with less vibration.

It took months of development to engineer a suitable way to mount the motor onto the solid plinth. In the end, a combination of a rubber ‘o’ ring and a suitably positioned metal plate did the trick. This arrangement allowed accurate motor alignment and good decoupling, while providing enough motor-body movement to compensate for any irregularities in the drive belt.

Those belts were bought as 3mm continuous cylindrical lengths of rubber, cut to size and then hand-glued end-to-end by Gandy. Enabling the drive system to cope with belt irregularities was certainly sensible.

As for the Planet’s feet, these were from a company that made rubber door stops. Originally, Gandy bought off-the-shelf designs, but after a number of weeks (and regular orders, we suspect), the company made bespoke feet for Rega. These were deeper and softer for added clearance and better isolation from support vibrations.

How does the Rega Planet sound today? Our test sample is straight from Rega’s vaults and is an early Acos Rega Planet fitted with the Acos Lustre arm. The cartridge fitted is Rega’s current entry-level moving magnet, the Carbon, which is a solid, balanced performer for its modest £35 / $75 price.

We connect the Planet to our reference system of Cyrus Phono Signature/PSX-R2 phono stage, Burmester 088/911 MkIII amplifier and ATC SCM50 speakers, as well as a more price-compatible combination of Rega Brio Mk7 and KEF LS50 Meta speakers. Regardless of the partnering system, the Planet turns in a charming though not flawless performance.

Speed stability could be better, and the Planet isn’t the most dynamic performer. It’s fair to say that any current Planar turntable, including the entry-level Planar 1, gets more out of the record groove. Yet, we can’t help but enjoy ourselves.

We spend a few days working through our record collection, taking in large-scale classical symphonies such as Beethoven’s Fifth, old jazz classics such as Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis and modern pop productions such as Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever set. The Planet succeeds in putting a smile on our faces.

This is no sonic microscope. It doesn't dig out the last grain of information from the record groove – and the fitted Carbon MM isn’t going to do that, either. However, the Planet is a fun and interesting listen.

The information it does dig up is presented in a cohesive and balanced way. Music flows when played on this record player and, even by current standards, communicates the emotional content well. The latter point may seem like a throwaway line, but it is still surprising just how many hi-fi products, almost regardless of price, fail in this important respect.

While rhythmic precision isn’t impeccable, we get a good sense of musical momentum and involuntarily tap our feet with tunes that encourage such behaviour. Large-scale dynamic swings, such as in the Beethoven symphony, are soft pedalled, but lower-level intensity shifts still come through satisfyingly.

The tonality of a record player is largely dictated by the cartridge, and the Carbon is a nicely balanced performer. It doesn’t go overboard at either frequency extreme, avoiding any annoying peaks or troughs in frequency. The Carbon may be modestly priced, but it steps out of the way of the music better than most moving magnets at its price.

That sentiment applies to the Rega Planet as a whole. It isn’t massively revealing or insightful by modern standards, but put on your favourite record, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy it. When that record ends, we think the temptation to put another one on will be strong.

Ultimately, when a piece of hi-fi encourages you to listen to another piece of music, it's doing its job well. Judged in this context, the Rega Planet still does the job.

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How much are you willing to spend on a vinyl? Twenty bucks? One hundred?

This is a question every collector faces whenever they make a trip to the record store, or rummage for LP gold at a pop-up fair, as I regularly do whenever Dig a Little visits my local pub.

And, for many of us, it’s an important one, especially when haggling with a trader and it's all too easy to get caught up in the moment.

If you're not smart, you’ll end up like me, overpaying for an album you’ve already got multiple copies of, just because it’s a pressing you don’t have – and not necessarily a better sounding one.

It's this inability to find a ceiling for my own spending habits that led me to pitch and write this feature, chronicling efforts to track down the most expensive vinyl in the world for our Vinyl Week event.

And while it may not be the most expensive ever, after a quick Google search, research on Discogs and a chinwag with various specialist auction houses, the idea led me to discover Dark’s Dark Round The Edges album, which sold for £19,000 at Omega Auctions in 2022.

Not heard of it? You’re not alone. Even speaking to fellow collectors and the editors at our sister publication, Louder, I was met with a series of blank faces. Adding insult to injury (for Dark fans), editor of Prog magazine, Jerry Erwing, tells me:

“It's more atypical of fuzzy psych of the era rather than prog. Listening to it, what does strike me is that, as with so many of these kinds of albums that somehow amass cult following, followed by great fiscal power, how unerringly ordinary and, to be brutal, boring it sounds!”

So, how does an album that most people haven’t heard of and is, as Jerry says, “unerringly ordinary” come to sell for nearly twenty grand?

What makes Dark special?

Speaking to Omega Auctions' Director of Operations and Consignments, Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, the obvious starting point is the album’s rarity.

Only 12 copies of the original pressing were made, and the one sold at auction was originally gifted to the owner by one of the British psychedelic rock band's members when it was first released in 1972.

“It was released in very limited quantities. This example, specifically the black and white gatefold sleeve, was produced in a run of only 12 copies. It acquired cult status amongst collectors through the years since release,” Muscatelli-Hampson tells me.

Muscatelli-Hampson adds that, even with that in mind, the auction house originally valued it significantly lower, and that album sales this high are still incredibly rare, even with "Holy Grail" finds like Dark Round The Edges.

“Pre-sale, we placed an estimate of £6,000-£10,000 on the record," he explains, "this was based on our experience through the years of working with rare and valuable records. We always expected that we would likely beat that auction estimate on the day.

“A sale price of £19k and quantities limited to 12 is in no way common. The vast majority of records are produced in large quantities, and the average values are far lower than that. Collectors will pay premiums for records that were produced in smaller quantities or that did not sell well at the time, and so therefore there are less available on the market. Where these factors are combined with the quality of music being high (such as on the Dark LP) – that’s where you can get into the ‘top tier’ of price bracket.”

Editor’s Note: I still have an LP of my university band, Sad Potato’s debut, self-titled album. As far as I know, it’s the only one in existence, and I am very happy to part with it for a cool £19,000. I'll even sign it for you.

But why this one in particular?

But aren’t there other albums this rare, from bigger-name acts? That was the question I was left with, the answer to which still eluded me.

Doing a call round with independent record store owners, I discovered that there’s a key factor, other than its rarity, that adds to the allure of rare vinyl. One that, as Flashback Records CEO Mark Burgess notes, only really makes sense if you’re in the fandom.

“In terms of your basic question, there is a basic answer, which is market forces. A record is worth what someone will pay for it, essentially,” he says.

“Copies come up for sale very rarely, so when they do, there is a bit of a frenzy around the sale and buyers get super-competitive, which will push the prices up at auction. There are many other records of equal rarity which do not command the same sort of price tag as the Dark.”

Burges goes on to point out that, in this sense, albums like Dark’s aren’t being bought like traditional vinyl, and that as a trader it’s better to think of them as antiques, ones which will likely continue to go up in value.

“These artefacts are now more than 50 years old and are starting to become valuable as ‘antiques’. The sort of person who spends £19,000 on an LP will probably never actually play it – they probably just wanted it as a trophy in their collection, for personal satisfaction and to impress their friends. They can also be pretty sure that the value won’t go down any time soon,” he says.

“The supply of these rare records is getting tighter and tighter as time goes on, and the rarity value of these items in good condition is only going to go up. So the rare market is booming across many genres, not just ’70s Rock. Reggae seven-inches', Delta blues 78s, ’90s rock and indie vinyl, Northern Soul and early stereo classical LPs are just some areas where there are very sought-after rarities.”

Steve Sexton, Senior Buyer at Sister Ray, mirrors the sentiment, arguing it’s largely about fandom and “owning” the history as much as the music.

“We’re all collectors, so the Dark album going for such crazy amounts is maybe the logical pinnacle of that. There’s a strata of customers who will want the first press 1A/1B matrix of records, in the ’60s market especially,” he says.

Is it worth it?

And this brings me to my final question: is an album ever really worth £19,000? Here, the answer is difficult. There are plenty of people willing to pay vast sums for the records they love. That’s clear if you look at Omega Auctions vinyl section, where numerous albums have been sold over the years for multiple thousands.

But, is it worth it? Here, as a collector, I think there is no universal answer. As noted by Relevant Records owner, Andy Powell, it all depends on the individual and specific record you’re looking at:

“There are plenty of Holy Grails kicking around, depending on what your bag is – it’s in the eye of the beholder.”

Do you agree? If so, which album would you be willing to part with vast sums of cash for? Let us know in the comments below, or on our social media and forums.

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If you are serious about collecting vinyl, odds are you have heard of Discogs. It's one of the most popular sites to sell and buy second-hand vinyl, as well as keep track of your own collection.

A lot of these vinyl records, however, are on the expensive and rare side of the market. Whether it's a limited edition release or a hard-to-find first pressing, there are all sorts of reasons why an album can cost more than a turntable.

In honour of Vinyl Week 2026, let's take a look at the top ten best sellers from March on Discogs. Can you guess which album takes the number one spot?

10. Kissteria: The Ultimate Vinyl Road Case by Kiss

Sold for $3400 (approx £2530)

Fans of Kiss will certainly be tempted by this jam-packed vinyl collection, which launched back in 2014. It includes 34 albums from the face-painted rockers, such as Hot in the Shade, Hotter Than Hell and Alive!.

As you would expect at such a price tag, there are also exclusive offerings to please the top echelon of fans. Take the two LPs of You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best, which are exclusive to the box set. There's also a fair bit of merchandise thrown in, including oodles of promo posters, as well as a Kiss-themed vinyl cleaning cloth and turntable mat.

It all comes packaged in a rather chunky road case so you can live out your rock-star-touring dreams.

9. High Spirits by Joe Harriott Quintet

Sold for $3619 (approx £2695)

Released in 1965, this post-bop album is no longer currently available on the marketplace, as the most recent listing was snapped up for quite a sum of money.

The vinyl was originally released in mono, where all instruments and vocals are centralised in the mix, making it quite the find for audiophiles.

8. Girls Are Against Me by The Utopias

Sold for $3947 (approx £3000)

This seven-inch vinyl from The Utopias certainly does not get you much song for your money. There are only two tracks on the list, those being Girls Are Against Me and I Want To Go Back To My Dream World.

That adds up to just over five minutes of listening time. Both of these tracks are difficult to track down, either on streaming or on physical media, which explains the hefty price tag.

7. Sex Drive by Necros

Sold for $4299 (approx £3200)

Craving some hard-core punk? This 1981 release from Necros will certainly satisfy those urges. There are only four tracks on the vinyl, but it is one of only 100 copies that was originally printed and still includes the insert.

Missed this one? Fear not, there's another one on sale at the time of writing from £2590...

6. Sonates Pour Clavier Et Violon by Johann Sebastian Bach

Sold for $4481 (approx £3335)

That's enough hard rock, let's move even further back in time to some old-school classical works. We listen to plenty of Bach's repertoire in our test rooms due to his complex yet moving compositions that challenge every sound system.

This 1957 mono release was printed in France and features a cloth-bound gatefold sleeve to keep it pristine in your collection.

5. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin

Sold for $4597 (approx £3420)

Leaping into the top five is Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album, which first flew the band to stardom.

This coveted turquoise edition is a first pressing from the celebrated rock group, and is sought after as only a limited number were produced before the label switched the colour of the text from turquoise to orange.

4. Barbie by Kenny & The Cadets

Sold for $6000 (£4465)

If you're a Beach Boys trivia expert, you may well already know that a few members crafted a one-off recording in the early 60s before the band really took off and adopted the name Kenny & The Cadets.

That release was Barbie, which is reminiscent of future Beach Boys tracks such as Surfer Girl. You can also listen to the bonus track What Is A Young Girl Made Of, making this track an excellent (yet expensive) addition for a Beach Boys fanatic's collection.

3. Super-Sonic Jazz by The Sun Ra Arkestra

Sold for $6666 (approx £4960)

It's easy to see why this disc sold for such a hefty price. The sold copy was a first pressing with the original cover, placing it among the earliest LPs issued by El Saturn Records – a label founded in the mid-1950s by Sun Ra, Alton Abraham and Artis Abraham.

The disc was also the first full-length album released by the label, cementing its importance in music-making history.

2. True Blue by Tina Brooks

Sold for $7241 (approx £5390)

I can practically hear all the jazz collectors sitting up in their seats. This is Tina Brooks' only record produced with the jazz legend at the helm in his lifetime, despite recording several others for the label. Others that he recorded did get posthumous releases, luckily.

That's only part of the reason the 1960 record might have sold for such a high price: fans on jazz forums have also speculated that the label pressed fewer than 1000 copies.

1. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

Sold for $11,842 (approx £8815)

We have written a few of these lists now, and a name that pops up time and time again is Pink Floyd.

And this edition of Dark Side of the Moon is a real draw for hard-core collectors because, according to the seller, it is one of the first 300 copies produced. They even claim it belonged to a former EMI employee.

It is by far the priciest record sold on this list – any by quite a margin. Most of us will have to look on longingly at the lucky so-and-so who had the disposable income to be able to own and now listen to this best-selling album in practically its original form.

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It’s been about three years since the vinyl bug hit me. Since then, I’ve undergone two turntable system evolutions (many of you will be pleased to know I have a proper separates vinyl system now), and bought a lot of vinyl records.

The varying quality of vinyl pressing has been the most surprising element to me. I’ve been buying records from pretty much everywhere you can find them: HMV, Amazon, second-hand fairs, online at Rough Trade and other indie record stores, and even specialist pressings imported from the US. And while most have sounded perfectly fine (and some rather exceptional), I have been disappointed by a fair few of my vinyl purchases.

I don’t regret any of my purchases, but I can’t help but feel a drop in excitement when I put on a record – new or old – and it simply doesn’t have the depth of detail and dynamic range that I know I can usually hear from the vinyl format.

Some of the newer album releases I’ve listened to on repeat on streaming, for instance, haven’t really translated well over to the official vinyl pressing – such as a rather poor pressing of Wet Leg’s Wet Leg, and even Waxahatchee’s Tiger’s Blood, while second-hand crate-digging has left me with wildly different qualities too.

With prices still fairly high, it feels a bit of a gamble to buy a record that may or may not sound tip-top through my rather nice hi-fi setup at home.

The one type of genre that hasn’t failed me at all is video game soundtracks, as well as film and TV soundtracks.

Video game soundtracks have been an unexpected genre with high reward when released as a vinyl pressing. This is an immersive genre where the animation and artwork are the priority, but music can be just as integral to the gameplay. It lends itself brilliantly to the vinyl format and its packaging.

The result is that plenty of these video game soundtrack vinyl releases have absolutely stunning artwork, which brings back much of the joy of owning vinyl records with beautifully designed gatefold sleeves that you can pore over – or display as artwork – while the album is spinning on your record player.

Admittedly, most video game music perhaps isn’t as complex to reproduce compared with real instruments, but the ones I’ve bought so far have never failed to entertain. Games where the music is part and parcel of the game, like Florence and Sayonara Wildhearts, sound fantastic through the sonic lens of a great turntable system. My copy of Florence, with its beautiful cello and piano compositions, sounds lush, clean and open – full of insight and subtle dynamics.

There are plenty of games – such as Stardew Valley, Undertale, Hollow Knight, The Last of Us – where the soundtrack immediately is entangled with hours of gameplay. Played on vinyl, video game soundtracks can be mesmerising – you can be immediately transported back into the environs of the game, truly appreciate the music on its own (sometimes even for the first time), and they often prove to be lovely music to relax to.

Moreover, you also end up with some clever artwork. A Little To The Left (pictured above) is a beautifully designed indie cosy game about patterns and organisation, and the vinyl cover has two modes: a disorganised version and an organised one, and you simply put the cut-out cover on the one you wish to display. Clever.

It definitely helps when there is an organisation or record label who puts a lot of effort into the vinyl pressing to ensure it’s of a high quality. Merchandising company and artist collective iam8bit is the gold standard for these premium, collectible vinyl soundtracks – meaning you’ll get a high standard of vinyl pressing and gorgeous artwork that makes it worth the price. Many of these special issues drop for a limited run, too, so they aren't always easy to get ahold of.

Mondo is another company where they take very good care with their record pressings, and they have some great film, game and animation soundtracks available on gorgeous vinyl.

My most prized vinyl album is the limited edition (and long sold out) Mondo release of Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Once More With Feeling musical episode soundtrack – you’ll probably have seen the red vinyl splashed across most of our turntable reviews, as it’s such a good quality pressing that we regularly use it for testing.

My Buffy vinyl came with exclusive gatefold artwork and a ‘Slaybill’ of liner notes; most of the Mondo releases similarly have exclusive artwork that creatively captures the mood and essence of the film. The excellent Home Alone soundtrack vinyl by Mondo, for instance, has the McCallister house and some of Kevin’s booby traps drawn on the gatefold.

The RSD 2026 vinyl release of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack includes new original artwork, a poster, stickers and collectable cards – which is why it’s my RSD wish list. I love the soundtrack too, of course, but the additional artwork and goodies are a great incentive, and why I’m more likely to try to get the RSD version rather than the standard vinyl.

For me, it’s what makes collecting vinyl a lot more fun, and it makes justifying the higher prices more amenable as I get some lovely pieces of art alongside the music I love. As I already own my favourite 90s/00s albums on CD, I end up having more fun finding albums that either originally came out during vinyl’s pre-CD peak, or searching for a fun, collectable soundtrack with great artwork and goodies. It’s why I find myself checking iam8bit and Mondo more regularly than I ever do Rough Trade or Discogs.

There are exceptions, of course. My copy of Clint Mansell's Moon soundtrack doesn't come with any goodies, but it sounds lovely on vinyl. Some of my best music vinyl purchases have come from the brilliantly named “interesting but just a little bit tatty” section in my local second-hand music shop (The Sound Machine in Reading), and these ones – Tom Waits’ Small Change and Son House’s Death Letter Blues – are some of the best-sounding records I own, with astonishing detail, dynamism and soul. It’s the kind of quality I keep chasing with every purchase.

Buying and collecting vinyl can feel a little like a lottery these days, especially if you care about the pressing and sound quality; most of the time, I do try to get past it and simply enjoy the album on my system. But it’s hard to ignore when you’re confronted with a disappointing, low-quality pressing with squashed dynamics.

So when I do find myself setting time and money aside for some new vinyl purchases, it’s the beautifully put-together video game and film/TV soundtracks I’ll search through first and put high on my wish list. So far, they’ve never let me down.

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Here's reason to celebrate: UK vinyl sales have reached an 18-year high. But not only is the format thriving, the shops selling it are, too – bricks and mortar stores have increased their share of vinyl sales by nearly a third since 2021, now accounting for 41.2 per cent of all purchases.

So when the UK high street is struggling, just how are record shops bucking the trend? As part of our Vinyl Week 2026 event, we went in search of answers.

A house made of dreams

One of the UK's most forward-thinking record shops is Dreamhouse Records in Leyton, east London. As well as selling sit-in coffee and having an alcohol licence, it runs regular film nights, a monthly dance hall night, hosts DJs, live bands and album launches, puts on live music for the weekly Saturday market outside the shop… the list goes on.

It all helps get people through the door and hearing music they might not have heard of before. But crucially, it also establishes the store at the heart of the community – which is where owner Jon Clifford firmly believes record shops belong.

"It's essential," he says. "People come in here as much for the sense of community as they do for the records. A lot of people come in just to chat about music. And I'm more than happy to do that. If you're just clicking online and waiting for a piece of vinyl to come through the post, you get none of that."

In fact, he says it's the reason he opened a record shop, after years of weekends spent dragging various family members around his favourite ones.

"It’s not just a transaction," he says. "I've got loyal regulars who have really bought into what I'm trying to do here. A very high percentage of my sales aren't just somebody bringing a record up to the counter then paying and leaving. It's a conversation."

And it's these conversations – and the good times they entail – that spread the word about the shop. "We're not in Oxford Street, we're in a side street in east London, the footfall isn't massive," Clifford says. "But if you create a good sense of community, people come back, and they tell other people about it. So it's really crucial to a record shop's survival."

Of Grave concern

For Richard Churchyard, the owner of Raves From The Grave in Frome, the community action extends to sponsoring the Frome Town FC football team, the Frome FM radio station, and the Frome Festival, as well as promoting local musicians. This publicity has helped offset some of the confusion caused by the shop's name.

"The name Raves From The Grave came from my surname," he says. "It's been a downside in some ways, because people think we only sell old music, or dance music. But after nearly 30 years in business, they've worked out that’s not the case."

As well as playing an active part in the community, it also hosts plenty of events, including listening parties for big album launches from the likes of Pulp and Gorillaz, a coffee cart for Record Store Day, DJs playing in store, and more.

"Things like that really help the shop stand out," Churchyard explains. "We're very established now, we get people coming from miles around because they don't have a shop like us near them."

But of course, since opening in 1997, it has notched up its fair share of regular customers too. "You know that certain people are going to come in every Saturday and pick up the new releases, and they always have a chat," Churchyard says. "Some of them stay for two or three hours, because there's always plenty of music for them to explore."

Staying Relevant

Like a lot of other record shops, Relevant Records in Cambridge has an onsite cafe that was part of the store's inception (though it's no longer run by the store). But it also goes big on local talent, featuring Cambridge-based musicians on its website and stocking their vinyl. "We're into the grassroots thing," as owner Andy Powell puts it.

"A lot of local bands want to put out vinyl in small quantities," he says. "And we'll always stock them."

The shop has been a fixture on Cambridge's Mill Road for 12 years, and is as much a place to drop in and talk music as it is to buy the latest releases. "It's always been a bit of a social hub, especially at the weekends," Powell says.

Like other independent record stores, it provides a much more fulfilling experience than buying vinyl online. "If you're into the physical media side of things, which a lot of people are, then there's no comparison – shopping in-store is much more of an experience." And not just because of the social aspect. "You might see something you didn't know you wanted and end up buying it. That's always a risk."

Thankfully it's a risk that lots of people are willing to take.

Sound reasoning

Of course Cambridge is a relatively metropolitan place, with lots of diverse influences making for a healthy local music community. Other record shops face a different challenge. As the only independent record store on the Isle of Man, Sound Records has a much smaller pool to choose from for the Sound Sessions it records for its website. Though it is casting the net wider.

"The island is pretty obscure for touring artists because we're pretty small, but we do get quite a few people come through, mostly legacy acts, but some local bands bring people over when they're co-headlining," says the store's owner, Gareth Simon.

Not that being small is any impediment to success. By placing itself at the heart of the local community, Sound Records has developed a strong reputation in the six years it's been in operation, especially with local musicians. That's helped in no small part by the shop stocking music accessories like guitar strings alongside vinyl.

"We help out local musicians any way we can," Simon says. "We're doing a shop-exclusive pressing of a local band called Silo, who are getting decent attention from Radio 1 and 6Music. But it's more about helping the aspiring musicians who haven't got that coverage, and that's really satisfying."

The nature of the island actually helps the store stand out, Simon says, as "there aren't that many interesting shops, particularly for younger people. So people do appreciate having a record shop like ours".

Buying vinyl online not only lacks the curated aspect, it lacks human interaction, too, which can throw up some interesting insights on people's listening habits.

"The teenagers that come in love vinyl just as much as the customers in their forties and fifties," Simon says. "The older lot were obviously there for vinyl the first time round, and the kids have figured it all out – they see vinyl as a way to express their interests in a physical form. But a lot of those in the middle, say late-twenties to late-thirties, a lot of them have no frame of reference. They've really missed out on physical media as a whole, they're like a lost generation. It's a real shame."

Our advice to them? Get down to your local independent record shop and see what you're missing.

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"The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl" – so says American humorist Dave Barry, and we have to agree. What Hi-Fi? is celebrating our 50th birthday this year, and vinyl and turntables have been the building blocks of our publication ever since we started in 1976.

The annual Record Store Day falls on Saturday 18th April this year, and we've been running our Vinyl Week 2026 event in the lead up to the big day, to celebrate this enduring analogue format.

So far, we've brought you reviews of Audio-Technica's most premium turntable yet, both of Sony's new affordable and capable turntables, and taken a look at the original Rega Planet from 1973. We've also spoken to independent record shops to find out how they are evolving beyond simply selling vinyl to become thriving community hubs, and we've reminisced about some beloved but forgotten turntables (it seems many of you had the Dual CS505-2!)

We've also been waxing lyrical about some of our favourite albums on vinyl – from Dire Straits to Rage Against The Machine to video game soundtracks – and share our picks from this year's exclusive RSD 2026 releases.

And there's still more to come: our TV/AV editor auditions a turntable in his home cinema system for the first time, we test a turntable with a CD player integrated, head to a trendy vinyl bar to find out what they're like, and get insight from hi-fi engineers about turntable design.

Check out our social media channels for exclusive videos from our test rooms, and you can stay up to date that with all the latest Vinyl Week 2026 features by bookmarking this page, or going to our dedicated Vinyl Week channel on the website, or signing up to our newsletter.

Whether you're queueing up for one of those special RSD 2026 releases or simply enjoying your vinyl collection at home, do get involved and drop us a comment to share your favourite vinyl album or record shop, what turntable you're listening on, or which new releases we should all be checking out.

Reviews

• Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 review: classy-looking turntable with a wonderfully clear, insightful sound
• Sony PS-LX3BT review: an affordable and excellent entry point into vinyl
• Sony PS-LX5BT review: a do-it-all turntable that offers a step-up performance from its cheaper sibling
• Mixx Analog+ review: Mixx extends an olive branch in the vinyl vs CD format war by integrating them both in one affordable, never-before-seen design. Does it work?
• Audio-Technica AT-VM740xML review: a polished and balanced moving magnet cartridge that does a lot right

Features

• Forgotten gems: 8 unsung turntables that deserve to be celebrated
• A hi-fi classic: meet Rega's first-ever record player, the Planet
• "It's not just a transaction, it's a conversation" – how vinyl record shops are thriving in the digital age
• This album was the 1980s poster-boy for CD – but I massively prefer it on vinyl
• I’ve started collecting vinyl records of this unusual music genre – and it’s been a lot more rewarding
• We pick 8 of the best Record Store Day 2026 releases – The Cure, Nas, Miles Davis, Pavement and more
• The 10 most valuable records sold on Discogs last month (March 2026)
• I visited one of the world's largest record shops, and it's like Disneyland for audiophiles
• Here’s why this “unerringly ordinary and, to be brutal, boring” vinyl record is worth £19,000
• This underrated Rage Against The Machine album holds a special place in my vinyl collection
• I don't have the budget for a turntable – is this solution a worthy alternative?
• “The next leap isn’t about making turntables heavier or more complex; it’s about making them more intelligently controlled systems” – Hi-fi engineers discuss where there is room for improvement in record player design
• If you’re a fan of 4K Blu-ray, then there’s an underappreciated sector of vinyl that you should explore
• Vinyl at its worst is still something special – just ask my seven-year-old
• Ask The Reader: these are the UK's best independent record shops, as chosen by you
• Pro-Ject's special edition, lightning bolt-shaped AC/DC Turntable shoots to thrill – and leaves us thunderstruck
• Is sound quality really the most important thing in hi-fi? Our recent testing has me wondering
• Controversial opinion: there’s more to collecting vinyl records than audio quality
• "It's still the best medium for the job" – the collectibles experts from Wax Poetics on why people will always buy vinyl
• Don’t call it a comeback – vinyl is here to stay, according to one of the UK's biggest music distributors
• The 16 best prog rock albums our hi-fi experts recommend for testing

Advice

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• The A-Z of vinyl: a glossary of turntable terminology
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• The best vinyl and turntable accessories you need this Record Store Day
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Some seriously exclusive Queen memorabilia is set to go under the hammer as part of Propstore's next live music auction.

As one of the world’s biggest entertainment memorabilia auction houses, Propstore will be selling a host of big-money collectibles, including Queen memorabilia from the band’s head roadie and photographer, Peter Hince.

More than 60 items from Hince’s collection will be up for sale as part of the April auction, including Freddie Mercury's gold Shure 565 S microphone and the iconic frontman's backstage dressing gown, worn during the band's The Game tour during the early 1980s.

Perhaps the most exciting offering up for grabs, especially if you're a vinyl vulture, is a rare limited edition blue vinyl pressing of Bohemian Rhapsody.

One of just 200 specially commissioned pressings produced by EMI in 1978, the record was presented at a celebratory event at Selfridge’s, with an estimated worth currently hovering between £20,000-£40,00. If you're just a poor boy from a poor family, you can pretty much forget getting hold of it, then.

Other highlights from the auction include Mercury’s A Night At The Opera tour tambourine, John Deacon’s stage-used guitar pick, and even a 1987 Christmas card from Freddie Mercury, estimated to go for anywhere between £3000-£6000. Merry Christmas, indeed.

The auction will take place on April 30th, with bidding available online, by telephone, and via absentee bids.

Auction registration is open, and you can check out the full catalogue via Propstore's official website. Happy shopping!

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Record Store Day (RSD) is on the horizon, and to celebrate, we're hosting our usual Vinyl Week in the run-up. This covers all things vinyl, from the best record players to buy, to tips for buying second-hand vinyl and the best RSD special edition releases.

But we have a question. What's the UK's best independent record shop? And we want you, the readers, to help us answer it.

Maybe you have a long-term favourite that's served you well for years. Or there's one particular shop that specialises in a niche genre. Perhaps it's the staff that make it, and you pop there for a chinwag when you're not even buying anything. Or maybe you just stumbled upon a great little shop while on a weekend away somewhere.

Whatever the reason, we want to know about it. And if you don't have a favourite? Now's the time to find one! The Record Store Day website has a handy shop finder tool that lists all the stores taking part in the big day. If it's on the list, it's independent, with a high chance of stocking some great quality vinyl.

Just enter your postcode to find your nearest store, and head there to check it out.

What's the UK's best independent record shop?

Record shops are increasingly branching out to offer more than just a traditional shopping experience, with on-site coffee shops, album launches and live gigs now commonplace. If there's anything unique about your favourite record shop, make sure to let us know.

They're increasingly community-focussed too, providing an opportunity for like-minded souls to swap tips and talk music. So if your shop of choice does anything special to bring people together, we want to know about it.

You can tell us about your favourite record shop in the comments below, on our forum, or on our social media channels. We'll put them all together in an article for Vinyl Week, bringing you the finest independent record shops at which to go vinyl hunting this Record Store Day. And brought to you by those in the know: the What Hi-Fi? readers themselves.

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With Christmas on the horizon, chances are you’ve been thinking about what you’d like to get the special people in your life. You might have even thought about what you’d like them to get you, too. Maybe a new pair of wireless headphones, a music streamer, or even an OLED TV? Or, maybe you’re not sure yet.

As lovers of hi-fi and AV equipment, the What Hi-Fi? team’s Christmas wishlist is littered with equipment falling into the aforementioned categories along with physical media to help us better enjoy our existing gear.

So, if you’re finding yourself stuck for ideas on what to get people, or even what you’d like for yourself, hopefully our Christmas wishlist can provide some inspiration. Check it out below.

Arcane: Series 2 SteelBook

Words by Robyn Quick

SteelBooks, a premium collectable case for a Blu-ray or 4K disc, can be a divisive subject for many AV fans. For some, the idea of forking out extra for the same movie or TV show you can get from a standard 4K Blu-ray is pointless. But, others see it as a worthwhile purchase to celebrate your favourite content and keep it for decades to come.

As you may have guessed, I sit in the second camp. So, I could barely contain my excitement when I saw that the second season of Arcane has finally got a 4K SteelBook release, complete with custom artwork on the cover. It costs a whopping £50, but that hasn’t stopped me from putting it at the top of my Christmas wishlist. A person can dream, right?

The series was released on Netflix last year and, if you haven’t watched the show, I can only urge you to do so. It’s packed with jaw-droppingly beautiful animation from start to finish, all while set in a dystopian, steampunk-inspired world that will suck you in from the first frame.

Buy Arcane Season 2 SteelBook at HMV

LG C5 (OLED55C5)

Words by Joe Svetlik

I’ve needed a new TV for a while now, but the situation is getting ever more pressing. My current model is pushing 12 years old, which is about 96 in TV years. To make matters worse, I recently had a new TV cabinet made. Which is great, but it just throws the crapness of my current TV into even sharper relief.

That’s why I’ve added the 55-inch LG C5 to my Christmas wishlist.

Now I think it would fit in my alcove, but I have to be careful. A friend on our road recently bought a 55-inch TV, and despite careful measuring, it is just that bit too big, meaning it has to sit at a slight diagonal at all times. He would have replaced it with a more sensibly sized model, as his wife suggested, but in his words, he was being “a bit of a child about it.”

Why the C5? It won a What Hi-Fi? Award for its rich, punchy, crisp image and peerless feature set. And for me, 55 inches is the perfect size – cinematic without dominating the room. Providing it fits.

Joe Hisaishi – Princess Mononoke (Symphonic Suite) on vinyl

Words by Alastair Stevenson

Regular readers have likely figured out I am a bit of an anime fan. One that’s especially fond of Studio Ghibli titles. This year alone, I went to see the London stage production of Spirited Away and to the BFI to check out the 4K remastered version of Princess Mononoke on the big screen.

The latter was a particular highlight, with the work done to its audio reminding me quite how beautiful the music, as well as iconic artwork, is for Ghibli movies. So much so that there’s one specific record at the top of my wishlist for Santa this year – Joe Hisaishi’s Princess Mononoke (Symphonic Suite).

Though the original soundtrack vinyl is great, I’ve always been a big fan of the Symphonic Suite version, which saw composer Joe Hisaishi re-arrange it for a full orchestra. The result is a captivating listen that captures the film’s evocative, thought-provoking, but ultimately hopeful and sympathetic tone.

This makes it a fantastic listen from start to finish and one I’ve been wanting to own on vinyl all year. Here’s hoping Santa’s listening and didn’t spot the “incident” on Denmark Street that I was 100 per cent not responsible for in March…

Buy Joe Hisaishi – Princess Mononoke (Symphonic Suite) on vinyl at Amazon

Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas on vinyl

Words by Kashfia Kabir

Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to the 1965 special A Charlie Brown Christmas is up there with The Muppets Christmas Carol as encapsulating a kind of magic that transcends all time, ages and trends.

The whimsical yet sometimes muted jazz compositions match the Peanuts TV special beautifully, capturing the melancholy mood of Charlie Brown as he grapples with finding the true meaning of Christmas, while his friends mock and ridicule him, until, eventually, you get that lovely combination of friendship, kindness and warmth.

There are compositions in this album that are now synonymous with both Christmas and Peanuts (such as the bouncy, upbeat Linus and Lucy), while Skating is a personal favourite that fills you up with childhood joy and the feeling that everything will be okay. I’ve been eyeing up the Craft Recordings vinyl reissue (ideally gold foil package) for ages.

Buy Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas on vinyl at Drift Records

LEGO Retro Radio

Words by Harry McKerrell

If, like me, you’re at the stage of life where you’ve got various nieces and nephews running all over the place during the festive period, you’re probably going to be gifting quite a lot of LEGO this year, especially once your pint-sized relatives reach the stage where they’re not in danger of just trying to eat the blocks.

That’s all well and good, but who’s buying the LEGO for me? Millennium Falcons and pirate ships are a bit off-brand (still cool, though), so how about a retro radio instead? Inspired by the transistor designs of the 1970s, complete with that classic horizontal tuner, the radio is capable of making a few actual noises – though I’d predict that it probably looks a lot better than it sounds.

Buy LEGO Retro Radio at Lego.com

WiiM Pro Plus

Words by James Cook

In my experience, when listening to music socially, most people nowadays want the convenience of a wireless connection to a speaker and a music streaming application so everyone can queue up songs. And whilst I think it’s a shame that many have never listened to a vinyl record in full on a proper hi-fi system, there are merits to this, provided it doesn’t sacrifice too much sound quality.

For too long, I’ve been using a Lightning-to-RCA lead to connect my iPhone directly to my integrated amplifier for catering to social gatherings, so sound quality has, inevitably, suffered. That’s where the WiiM Pro Plus comes in.

This five-star, affordable music streamer is detailed, expressive and organised, and will slot nicely into my existing hi-fi setup without breaking the bank. It’s got a plethora of streaming options to choose from too, so I can enjoy convenient and collaborative listening without sacrificing so much sound quality – perfect for when I’m entertaining friends or family, or even those rare occasions when I can’t be bothered to stick a record on the turntable!

If you’re planning to do anything similar over the Christmas period, I’d recommend giving it a look yourself.

Technics EAH-AZ100

Words by Lewis Empson

I started 2025 with a flying visit to CES, the annual consumer tech trade show, with Panasonic, where the Japanese tech giant announced a new pair of wireless earbuds alongside its latest batch of five-star OLED TVs.

The Technics EAH-AZ100 immediately caught my attention; at the time I had a pair of EAH-AZ60M2 buds constantly lodged in my ears, so I was already a fan of the company’s work.

After a quick demo at Panasonic's launch event, and a follow up listening session back in the UK using our very own review pair, I was completely sold on these incredible sounding earbuds, and I’ve been pining after a pair ever since.

Their clean and spacious sound is befitting of a What Hi-Fi? Award, and I especially appreciated how expressive and punchy these buds sounded, meaning they perfectly suited my preferred music genres of alternative and pop.

I can’t forget to mention the “excellent noise cancelling", which would also make the AZ100 a perfect companion for my noisy morning commute.

These premium buds are at the top of my wish list, especially in that dashing new Midnight Blue finish.

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Words by Daniel Furn

As one of the newer members of the What Hi-Fi? editorial team, I was lucky enough to sit in on our reviewers’ extensive testing process during one of my first weeks here. The test I witnessed was none other than the five-star Sony Bravia Projector 7, which proved to be both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because the Bravia Projector 7 boasts incredible depth, superb contrast control and is quite simply a joy to watch. And a curse? Going back to my home TV, itself a very capable OLED, feels a lot less cinematic in comparison.

I realise that with a starting price of £6999, this very much falls under the “wish” part of a wishlist. But if Santa Claus decides he’s feeling particularly generous, then to have the rich, balanced, and detailed image of the Sony Bravia Projector 7 would very much be a Christmas miracle. Maybe if I’m particularly good next year?

PlayStation 5 Pro

Words by Tom Parsons

Look, I don’t need a PS5 Pro. Of all of the ‘Pro’ PlayStation consoles in history, it feels like the least essential, even to someone as graphics-obsessed as I am, but just knowing there’s a better version of the PS5 out there with slightly smoother, slightly shinier visuals is enough to nag at me.

There’s another thing at play here, too. My good lady wife has, at the age of [redacted], suddenly taken up gaming. She’s recently smashed through Ghost of Tsushima and The Last Of Us Part 1, and is about halfway through The Last Of Us Part 2. She’s got her eyes on The Witcher 3 next, and I know first-hand what a long, obsession-inducing game that is.

In other words, my current PS5 is in high demand these days, and it looks set to get worse, so it might be time to treat myself to a second one. And if I’m going to get a second PS5, it might as well be the best one that’s available, right? It is Christmas after all.

Buy PlayStation 5 Pro at Amazon

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X

Words by Andy Madden

As someone who spends a lot of their working time tethered to a laptop, I’m always on the lookout for a quality pair of headphones to make the time pass by. Of course, the best wireless headphones deliver convenience and quality, but when I’m at my desk, I don’t mind a wire or two getting in the way.

This is why I’ve been using the Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X on and off for the past few years. I’ve been plugging these cans directly into my MacBook Pro, and given I’m only using them with Amazon Music, I don’t really need to plug them into an external DAC, which helps to keep the wire count to a minimum.

So you can imagine the look on my face when I first read our Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X review. These headphones succeed the pair I’m using and manage to take performance forward in a number of areas, all the while remaining as comfy as your favourite pair of slippers.

I also don’t mind the fact that the Beyerdynamics are an open-back design. While I’m working solo, nobody is being annoyed by the headphones leaking my favourite tunes. It’s just something you might want to bear in mind if you add them to your wishlist.

It’s going to be a simple case of swapping out the old with the new, and I’d urge anyone looking for a simple and hugely effective way of boosting their own desktop audio to take a closer look at these classy over-ears.

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It's clear there's still plenty of interest in vinyl during the Black Friday sales period and in the run-up to Christmas.

The 'vinyl revival' is frankly old news and the popularity of records with young and old music lovers is clearly not a passing fad.

Amazon's vinyl records section is joining in the Black Friday fun, offering 3 for £66 on selected records. And that's what stopped me in my tracks.

• Browse all the Black Friday vinyl deals on Amazon

Was it a typo? Should it actually be 6 for £33? How about 30 records? I'm exaggerating but as someone who has been buying vinyl for three decades, could it really be that 3 records for £66 represents a great deal?

To paraphrase Principal Skinner from The Simpsons, 'Is it me who is out of touch? No, the price of vinyl really does seem to have gone through the roof.'

Of course, the rise in prices hadn't completely passed me by, but now that that the regularity of my vinyl purchases has slowed from a steady stream to a drip, I really was shocked to see that the cost of a new album can be the wrong side of £30. This does make '3 for £66' seem more tempting.

• Our pick of the best vinyl deals this Black Friday

And it's not just Amazon. The monster that is Record Store Day has now spread its tentacles into Black Friday and, while your local record shop experience may differ (and I'd urge you to go in and find out), a quick look on the Rough Trade website sees full-price releases at £40. If you have your eye on a double LP (let alone triple or more), then naturally the price rises further.

Rising production costs play a huge factor but it's hard not to think that record labels and artists are also making hay while the sun shines.

It's no surprise, then, that many people prefer buying second-hand vinyl – like my colleague, Chris Burke, who declared old is gold when it comes to record shopping.

Sites such as Discogs (which reported that vinyl was around 24 per cent more expensive than five years ago) are a mecca for fans of first pressings and checking matrix numbers, while auction sites such as eBay are also worth a look, though you need to take care when checking the quality of what you're buying.

Regardless of these inflating prices, I will always sing the praises of spinning vinyl. If you want the latest releases, it seems you're really going to have to pay for it, but for real bargain hunters, there's always the secondhand market – online and of course in stores.

And if you're completely on board with the cost of vinyl in 2025, then you might just want to take advantage of that 3 for £66 Black Friday sale after all. Meanwhile, I will probably dust-off something from my existing collection...

Black Friday quick links

• Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
• B&W speakers: save £200
• Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
• Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
• Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
• Denon AV receiver: save £500
• Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
• ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
• Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
• LG C5 55-inch: lowest-ever price at Richer Sounds
• JBL soundbar: now better than half price
• John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
• Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
• Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
• Sony headphones: now just £29
• Stereo amplifier: Cambridge Audio now £299
• TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
• Vinyl: 3 for £66 at Amazon
• Wireless earbuds: Award winners now £75