Vinyl Records & Music Collecting Starter Checklist

1. Gather your supplies

• A good turntable (an automatic model is easiest)
• A pair of powered speakers or a receiver and speakers
• A carbon-fiber brush and inner and outer sleeves
• A little shelf space to store records upright

2. Your first project

3. Your first month, step by step

• Week 1: Set up your gear. Place your turntable on a level, sturdy surface away from the speakers, connect it to your speakers or receiver, and learn how to raise and lower the tonearm gently. If it is automatic, let it cue and return the arm for you. Play one record you already own.
• Week 2: Learn to handle and clean. Always hold records by the edges and the label, never the grooves. Give each record a light brush with a carbon-fiber brush before you play it, and pick up a set of inner and outer sleeves to protect the ones you love.
• Week 3: Go shopping. Visit a local record shop or dig through a thrift store or yard sale. Bring your phone so you can check prices on Discogs. Buy three or four albums you genuinely want to hear, and inspect each record under good light for scratches before you pay.
• Week 4: Get organized. Stand your records upright on a shelf like books, never stacked flat. Start a simple list or a free Discogs collection so you know what you own, and pick one topic from the videos above, like grading, to explore next.

4. Mistakes to avoid

• Buying a cheap all-in-one suitcase player. Their heavy tonearms and low-quality needles press too hard and slowly wear down the grooves on your records.
• Touching the playing surface with your fingers. The oils leave prints that attract dust and cause crackle, so always hold a record by its edges and label.
• Never cleaning your records. Dust in the grooves sounds like pops and hiss, so brush each record before you play it and deep-clean the dirty ones.
• Storing records flat and stacked. The weight warps the ones underneath, so always stand them upright on a shelf like books.
• Leaving records in the sun or a hot car. Heat and sunlight warp vinyl quickly, so keep your collection somewhere cool, dry, and out of direct light.
• Skipping inner and outer sleeves. Bare records pick up scratches and dust and the jackets get scuffed, so a few cents of sleeve protects a record for decades.