10 LPs... - Part 2

5. Dark Side of the Moon. I know. This wasn't supposed to be about specific LPs. It was supposed to take a more eclectic approach and ferret out those must-haves that everyone shoves down your throat in an effort to replace them with LPs that you will want to show everybody. But Dark Side is the exception. The White Album isn't as personal as Revolver or Pepper, but collector value is more than just financial; it's nearly like owning a work of art. So, The White Album doesn't break these post rules, and while DSOMT does, it's still an LP that everyone should have and most people will want to have in their collection. Sorry, but in this case, if you don't want it, you're an idiot. Get yourself a classic copy or one on 180-gram vinyl, but get it.
4. Get something signed. My wife and I have followed Andrew McMahon since the 90s when he was in Something Corporate. We saw Jack's Mannequin 20 or 30 times over a five year period and if my daughter was to assemble this collection, her "childhood" LP would be Everything in Transit, as the, urg, CD that sat by the stereo. We have a signed CD, a signed copy of an Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness LP and a poster that he signed at a concert we saw in Delray Beach, Florida. If you follow a local band or have the gumption to wait at a tour bus, keep an LP in the car and get your fave local artist to sign it. You'll remember the moment every time you pick it up. Alternately, check out eBay and ETSY and get a signed copy of The Queen is Dead or Pablo Honey, whatever. That'll cost you, but it's worth it.
3. Zero in on a go-to LP. For more than 30 years, I've played Peter Gabriel's eponymous first LP as the inaugural vinyl for a new home. This list hopes to keep value in mind. That mint condition LP you love is an investment indeed, but no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, don't ever sell it. Its value is far greater in your collection than out of it. My Peter Gabriel is reasonably valueless – picked up for $3.99 most anywhere, but for me it means "home."
2. An LP with a gadget. You've already got yourself that mint condition favorite LP, now it's time to splurge once again; this time one something truly unique. The LPs that come most readily to mind are the Andy Warhol designed Sticky Fingers and The Velvet Underground and Nico. The first, of course, has a brass zipper on what many, incorrectly, believe is Mick's jeans. And the VU LP has the banana. An original issue of the latter is put into three categories (aside from condition – though condition plays a lessened role): Unpeeled ($$$$), partially peeled ($$$) and peeled ($$). While the monetary value is there, a partially peeled or unpeeled version is far more appealing (forgive me). The 7 inch XTC "No Thugs is Our House," while not an LP, is another great example. A more obscure suggestion is Explosions in the Sky's Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, which folds out into a house in the country that sits on a poster of a green lawn. Others: Zeppelin's Physical Grafitti or LZ3, The Stones' Some Girls, Alice Cooper's School's Out with the pink panties, New Order's Lowlife, Bob Marley's Catch a Fire, Lennon's Walls and Bridges or Kate Bush's three-sided Sensual World (I'll let you discover that oddity on your own).
1. That's it. Now you're on your own. It's easy to find a great mint condition whatever in your local vinyl shop. Just as simple to grade that LP, and pricing guides are available online. But No. 1 relies on your expertise. If we all knew how valuable low-numbered White Albums would be, we wouldn't have trashed them; we wouldn't have peeled the banana off; we'd still have those panties. Take a stab at posterity on your own. What album that today you get for $3.99 will have great value in the future? What's The White Album of 50 years from now? Could be something vintage that no one has grasped yet. Maybe something from the 80s that's cool as hell but its value hasn't caught up yet. Could be something new on 180-gram vinyl – you decide. You're a collector now, show your expertise.

When I posted Part 1 of this topic, comments poured in: "But what are your faves" was the consensus. That kind of screws up the gist, but oh, well, here you go (these are not necessarily my favorite LPs): 10. Sticky Fingers; 9. A Top Flap U.K. pressing, low numbered White Album (I don't have one); 8. Dark Side of the Moon; 7. Mint Led Zeppelin 3; 6. PIL in the silver film can; 5. Alice Cooper's Schools Out with pink panties; 4: Rolling Stones' Her Majesties Satanic Request with the cover lenticular; 3 Unpeeled banana cover; 2. Mono Sgt. Pepper; The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, also in mono. What's important to note is that tomorrow this list will change; nothing is said and done.