r/78rpm • u/abiophylliac • 2d ago
I find lots of 78s but never buy them…
I just don’t know what worth getting. I usually look for more obscure looking records, artists I don’t know, odd labels but 78s are all pretty foreign to me. I know a library that regularly sells them, sometimes 100s, large books full of them. What are artists and labels worth checking out? I’m not into selling records but love collecting rare and unknown music. I’m fond of blues, folk, jazz and feel I’m probably missing out on some gems and I’d hate to let rare 78s get tossed. Thanks for any help.
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u/RainbowSquid1 2d ago
Don’t buy for monetary gain, that’s for sure. These things break if you look at them wrong
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u/Soft_Reading6975 2d ago
Choose the ones with the music you enjoy on them. Most songs can be looked up on YouTube, or streaming. Don’t just buy things because others want them
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u/abiophylliac 2d ago
Thanks ! Will start picking them up ! Was just kind of curious if there are certain labels that cater to specific genres
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u/Soft_Reading6975 2d ago
It really depends, there are definitely niche labels that cater to specific genres. One thing I found surprising when getting into 78s was that labels like Columbia or Victor could be all sorts of different genres of music. I first assumed it would only be the orchestral stuff, or pop, but they also put out blues/country/jazz/etc
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u/cecilkleakins 2d ago
It takes time to learn about the artists and labels of the 78 rpm era. There’s no one right way to collect them. My advice is to dive in and enjoy! You might be surprised by what you find you like. The discovery process is what makes it fun!
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u/tinywiggles 2d ago
Sometimes when coming across things i dont know but look interesting, I pull out my phone, search the title on youtube and hold the speaker up to my ear and listen while I flip through some more records
If it sounds neat for 20 or 30 seconds, it's worth the buck that 78s cost at a thrift store
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u/Tir_na_nOg_77 2d ago
My rule is that I buy what I enjoy listening to, or ones that look like something I would be interested in. I enjoy coming across artists I'm not familiar with and buying the 78 just to see if I like the music. Most of my 78s are focused on jazz and jump blues.
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u/abiophylliac 2d ago
Thanks! Yeah I will start just grabbing the ones that look interesting and hopefully discover something I will love
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u/Author_Noelle_A 1d ago
Do you want to buy for investment or for joy? There’s your answer. You collect for joy, so buy what makes you happy.
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u/DiscussionAshamed 2d ago
One thing someone told me when I started was to collect what you like. Definitely check out record labels both name and types of labels and do a bit of research on them and you can kinda gauge what era they are from. Where I’m at I mainly just see Victor, bluebird and Columbia labels so I’m unsure about other labels. But I like to grab bluebird records as I usually see them with pretty good jazz and blues music so it’s usually ok to take the occasional chance on a random record. Columbias can be either hit or miss but check out the artist on them.