Whether motivated by purer sound or looking cool, buying vinyl records has become a growing trend nationwide. Closer to home, Troy’s sole vinyl seller reported a sharp increase in vinyl sales over the holidays, and said that folks of all ages continue to come in search of new records for their growing collections.

Mike Wilkinson, co-owner of Troy’s Around About Books, said he has been selling vinyl records in his store for just over a year now, and marveled at the amount he sold during the Christmas season. Wilkinson said for all the books sold at Christmastime, they sold twice the number of records, marveling at some of the requests he’s had for certain bands and albums.

“You can’t keep a Dokken record in here,” said Wilkinson, adding that hair bands from the 80s have been in especially high demand.

Wilkinson himself is an avid vinyl enthusiast, with a collection of well over 2,000 records. He said he has accumulated quite the eclectic mix of genres over the years, building upon his parents’ collection to include everything from country and western to Led Zeppelin, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles.

Although the debate over vinyl sound quality is quite divided, Wilkinson is one who insists that music just sounds better on vinyl records than compact discs or internet downloads. Having worked at a radio station before opening the store, Wilkinson said he tested vinyl’s sound quality against other recordings at the radio station, and found that vinyl records produce a “lower and warmer” sound that cannot be duplicated by compact discs. He said that the bass notes on vinyl are much more pure than other recordings, saying that CDs only emulate that sound through reverb, while vinyl supports the true sound.

Aside from books, comics, and posters, Around About Books offers a variety of vinyl records, though Wilkinson said he strives to keep albums from the 1950s through the 1990s in stock, as they sell the most—especially classic rock.

Wilkinson said he is amazed by the younger generation that comes into his store in search of classic rock albums that were produced well before their time. To cater to this growing trend among millennials, Wilkinson said that most new artists are releasing their music on vinyl records, while classic albums are being re-released on finer-grain vinyl which produces a higher quality sound.

As the trend of buying music on vinyl increases, so do the number of collectors. Their popularity has even led the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center to feature a dedicated record collector during their Antique Series in April.

Tim Kozul will present a seminar on the basics of record collecting on April 21 at 7:30 p.m., providing new collectors with a proper foundation for their growing hobby. Kozul, a Troy resident, said he has been collecting records for 48 years now, and has developed a keen understanding of the science behind the process of recording and listening to music on vinyl.

Kozul stressed the importance of quality in both the records themselves and the equipment used to play them on. He said that serious collectors should be willing to spend between $300 and $400 on a quality turntable on which to play the records, as cheaper portable players will only grind down the records and cause their sound quality to diminish with each use.

Kozul’s stance on the vinyl sound quality debate is subject to what album he’s listening to, he said, noting that some records were just better-produced than others.

“The worst-sounding records came from the late 60s to the mid-70s,” Kozul said, noting that producers at that time were “in competition” with one another to see how many effects and different tracks they could lay down at once. “The records just sounded flat because of their over-engineering,” he said.

Kozul’s hour-long seminar in April will focus on defining record-collecting jargon and terminology so that novice collectors can become acquainted with certain terms. He will also spend time explaining how to properly assess the condition of records so that buyers can be certain they’re getting their money’s worth. He’ll also describe how to maintain records and tell the difference between first-pressings and re-issues.

Kozul was adamant that the increase in demand for vinyl records is “not a fad,” noting that he believes the trend to be “here to stay,” as many pressing plants have sprung up throughout the country. He said while a pressing factory in Salinas, Kansas produces the highest-quality sound in records currently, many others around the nation are working around the clock to meet the growing demand.

For more information on Troy-Hayner Cultural Center events, call 339-0457 or visit www.trohayner.org.