Hi there! I recently inherited a record player. I only had a few albums since I didn't have a place to play them and decided to start my Broadway collection with the new Hello Dolly one, but I come to you for inspiration.
What cast recordings do you own on vinyl? If you have a lot, what are some of your favourites?
I have La La Land, Pitch Perfect 2, and the OBC of Company. Not too impressive, but I don't actually own a record player. My boyfriend has one, though, and the sound quality on those things can be incredible! Plus, it's just fun looking at the artwork on the LP cases.
It's not musical theatre, but Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album is a great example of that.
Wow! Several dozen including Ain't Misbehavin, Barnum, Chess, Dreamgirls, and Evita.
Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Into the Woods, LaCage aux Folles, The Music Man, Once Upon A Mattress, Purlie, The Roar of the Greasepaint- The Smell of the Crowd, Starlight Express, and They're Playing Our Song.
Admittedly, the albums are in A to Z order, mixed in with many more movie soundtracks.
A proud hoarder without a record player. The olde dependable Panasonic turntable bit the dust more than 10 years ago.
I started collecting vinyl cast albums around 2 years ago and have amassed ~150. All of them have come from used book store type places. Most of the places around where I live don't put a lot of value on the cast albums, so I got most of them for 0.50-1.00 (a steal to me!) I don't own any vinyls of "newer" shows, however.
Depending on how they are mixed, some of the newer cast albums don't sound great on vinyl. I recently purchased the original cast album for WEST SIDE STORY, and it's absolutely beautiful.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
A misspent youth, over 600 the last time I updated my list.
I especially loved the few that came with the complete souvenir program (like Unsinkable Molly Brown) or with a double fold with tons of photos (usually less successful show like Anyone Can Whistle or Baker Street). The original Merrily We Roll Along was packaged with the cover within a 2nd cover with a cutout (as well a full album sized booklet with all the lyrics).
Also, before the easy access to information on the internet, it was fun to discover shows that you had never heard of. I was especially taken with several London musicals like Poppy, Swan Down Gloves, Mr. Cinders, The Card and Grab Me a Gondola.
I only have a handful, as I only got a turntable last year: A Chorus Line, Dear Evan Hansen, The Drowsy Chaperone, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell, Hair (2009 Revival), Hairspray, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014 Revival), If/Then, A Little Night Music, Merrily We Roll Along, Once, Wicked.
I was a ready convert to the compact disc from the start, and made some bucks over the years relocating my vinyl to Footlight Records (remember 12th Street?). No regrets, but I still have a few sentimental keepers, like-
This Is Broadway's Best- a two LP Columbia sampler packed with pics and info from the early '60s, a few different foreign releases of the PORGY AND BESS soundtrack (an obsession), my mint copy of RIVERWIND (I'm from Indiana), an early copy of the OBC FOLLIES with the insert listing "One More Kiss" (before they decided not to include the song), and, most proudly, the four editions of MOVIE MUSIC IN A SMALL TEXAS TOWN by Harvey Schmidt (one of life's absolute necessities).
Around Pittsburgh, the Half-Price Books chain is a great location for picking up cast recordings for a dollar. I've picked up nearly fifty or sixty in ten months, never paying more than a buck.
I just got all of my grandfathers vinyls. Most are jazz, but he had some musicals mixed in!
-Not really a musical but the score from Richard Rodgers' 'Victory at Sea'
-Leonard Bernsteain's Rhapsody in Blue: An American in Paris performed by the New York Philharmonic and the Columbia Symphony
-A Star is Born with Barbra Streisand and Kristofferson (found this one myself at an antique store)
-Milk and Honey by Jerry Herman
-My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews
-How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee
-The King and I with Yul Brynner and Constance Towers
-Ain't Misbehavin' with Nell Carter, Andre DeShields, Armelia McQueen, Ken Page, and Charlaine Woodard.
My partner and I are actually going to go record hunting today! We just moved to a new city and have not walked around much, so it's a good time to explore.