The Barrie Literacy Council had an unusual way of raising funds today – they partnered up with music lovers who are all about a certain sound you can't get from a CD.
People took the time to look through thousands of records in bins, because for these music lovers the vinyl record album was and will always be the best.
“It just sounds better. It has more atmosphere,” says record collector Darren Lambertus.
He has thousands of vinyl records in his collection; 30 years ago he bought his first one (the Guess Who’s greatest hits) and the sound on vinyl is unlike any other, he says.
“I even listen to the old blues albums with the ticks and pops,” he says. “For me that's the atmosphere.”
Last year, CD sales in North America fell 14 per cent, while vinyl record sales jumped 32 per cent to more than 6 million copies sold.
“You get the art work and the whole album experience,” says collector Charlotte Parliament.
She says she loves everything to do with the old albums, and says although she's a huge John Denver fan, she’s enjoying newer artist Jack White releasing his music on vinyl too.
“He is the one of the guys who is helping the record industry get back to vinyl,” she says. “He's releasing everything from coloured vinyl to a liquid record – yes a liquid record.”
And 11-year-old Gavin gets a kick out of the coloured albums, and his father Jeff is all about introducing his son to vinyl because he says it forces you to slow down and relax.
“With technology today everybody seems to be rushed. With vinyl you have to take the time to drop the needle and listen to the music,” he says.
Kip Barry has spent a lifetime listening to vinyl, and he just got back from Cardiff, Wales where he bought some new vinyl at a shop called Spillers, which started selling music in 1894.
“Spillers is the oldest record store in the world,” he says. “So I took a visit and bought some records there.”
The fundraiser at the Army, Navy and Air Force Club went to benefit the Barrie Literacy Council.
