Jessica Monroe

I learned the hard way about vinyl record warping the summer I left a box of LPs in my garage. Two weeks of 95F heat turned a stack of jazz classics into wavy coasters. That mistake pushed me to research every detail of proper vinyl storage. If you want to know how to store records … Read more

I have spent years organizing record collections for friends, family, and our local shop here at SK Records. The question I get asked more than any other is some variation of, “Are these stored too tight?” It is a great question, because the answer sits at the heart of how to store vinyl records properly. … Read more

That familiar musty smell coming from your old vinyl collection is not just unpleasant; it is a warning sign. When records develop mold and mildew smells, it usually means active fungal growth is happening on the surface or deep within the grooves. I have worked with collectors who rescued entire crates from flooded basements, and … Read more

I remember the day my collection tipped past 200 records. I pulled out a Coltrane album I had not played in months, spent 20 minutes digging through stacks, and finally gave up and bought a duplicate at my local shop. That wasted $25 and taught me a hard lesson about organizing vinyl records before your … Read more

If you have ever bought a used vinyl record online, you already know the anxiety of waiting for it to arrive. Will it sound as good as the seller claimed? Will that “VG+” rating actually mean something, or will you pull out a record covered in scratches and fingerprints? I have been collecting records for … Read more

Buying a used vinyl record is a gamble if you cannot spot the damage. I learned this the hard way after dropping a small fortune on what turned out to be three unplayable skips. That is when I developed a strict inspection routine using light, angle, and a careful fingernail test. This guide breaks down … Read more

That familiar crackle when you drop the needle in mid-winter is not the music. It is static cling on vinyl acting up because your room is dry, your furnace is running, and the air has almost no moisture left. I have spent the past three winters chasing that problem across two listening rooms, a basement … Read more

Most vinyl collectors focus on turntables, cartridges, and cleaning routines. But the humble inner sleeve, the layer sitting right against your record, can quietly destroy your collection from the inside out. Inner sleeves that damage records are more common than you might think, and the worst part is the damage often goes unnoticed until it … Read more

That moment when you flip a record over and hold it under the light — angling it just right so the etchings in the dead wax catch a glint — is one of the most quietly thrilling parts of vinyl collecting. Those faint scratches and stamps tell you whether you’re holding a genuine first pressing … Read more

There is nothing quite like dropping the needle on a brand new record and hearing crackle, pops, or hiss instead of clean audio. Our team has been there, staring at the turntable wondering whether we just got a bad pressing or something is off with our setup. The frustration is real, especially when you just … Read more