Does anyone else remember putting on a record album, sitting down in the stereo sweet spot and just listening to it?

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PlantMystic@reddit

Yes. I also had big huge earphones that made listening a great experience.

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xAlice_Liddell@reddit

Yeah that was me too. My mom didn’t want to hear it, so I plugged in my massive headphones, laid back on my waterbed and just let the waves take me away.

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xAlice_Liddell@reddit

I love that you took the time to reply to my dumb comment. I hope you have a beautiful week!

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PlantMystic@reddit

It wasn't dumb lol. It was a nice memory. Hope you have a good week too.

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One of my most cherished memories is my dad teaching me about the sweet spot. We laid on the living room floor with our heads in the center of the room. He had my mom drop the needle so we could both be in position when the song started. Stranglehold by Ted Nugent. We listened to it several times and between each replay, he'd tell me certain things to listen for. The only one I remember was listing to the music "move around the room" and how the effect was achieved by the placement of the speakers.

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Ghost-of-Sanity@reddit

That’s awesome! 😊 Was your dad a musician or audio engineer? (I’m both of those things and what you described is 100% what I’d do if I had a kid. lol)

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_procrastinatrix_@reddit

He was a produce buyer for a major grocery chain. He just loved music and passed that love on to me. He's nearly 70 now and we still go to shows /check out live music every chance we get.

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Ghost-of-Sanity@reddit

Thats great! Happy for you for what appears to be a good relationship with your dad. 🙂 The gift of music appreciation is priceless.

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FunnyGarden5600@reddit

Willie the Pimp by Zappa is a sweet spot song.

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Julieanne109@reddit (OP)

Yess! My granddad was a physicist. He worked on acoustics. He had the most incredible stereo system. I remember his turntable had little weights hanging from the back of the arm! Early 1970s Sony with solid wood speaker cabinets. I’d sit with him and listen to symphonies. Then I went home and set up my kid stereo the same way. It was better with the Beatles , I thought. It’s great to know that other people are still doing this!!

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Maleficent-Sport1970@reddit

Laying on the floor with the speakers on either side of my head.

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Eldritch-banana-3102@reddit

Yep. I had quadrophonic speakers in my dorm room. It was the best.

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happycj@reddit

The number of times my friend Tony and I would lay on the floor between the speakers, listening to Zeppelin IV, and examining every detail of the cover art...

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Nataliewould10@reddit

Yes!!!

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bvnguyen@reddit

Got a record player as a birthday gift for myself. One of my favorite presents. I do this sometimes, when I need a little quiet. Asked people for Christmas to get me an album of their favorite artists. Got some cool vinyl and music I haven't heard before.

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wild-hectare@reddit

you mean yesterday?

I know I'm old, but not that old! 😄

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Withnail2019@reddit

Yep, that was it

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paganinlife@reddit

Back in my teens I would smoke a joint lay back and just listen to albums. I seriously miss those carefree days.

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popejohnsmith@reddit

Are these questions deliberately dumb? Of course!

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JakkSplatt@reddit

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Happytobehere48@reddit

I freakin love it. If I had my own home with the space, I would have exactly this!!

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storm_the_castle@reddit

are those custom shelves?

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Gwynnavere@reddit

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kallax-shelf-unit-black-brown-10275862/#content

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TotallyNotABot_Shhhh@reddit

Didn’t realize these could house records! Omg you solved my problem. I don’t have nearly as many but I do have a nice collection I’d like better put up. Thanks!

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muphasta@reddit

depending on how many records you have, their Eket line is a smaller form factor than the Kallax. The only configuration of Eket that works for records is the 2x2 unit. doubles and individual cubes don't work for records.

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Gwynnavere@reddit

Happy to help! They come in different sizes also, so you can get however many cubes you need for your collection.

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JakkSplatt@reddit

The shelf on the right was purchased 10+ yrs ago and the shelf on the left, this year.

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JakkSplatt@reddit

What Gwyn said lol

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dishsultan7@reddit

Love that user flair, bud!

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JakkSplatt@reddit

🤘😎

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Julieanne109@reddit (OP)

Now that’s a thing of beauty. Just don’t ask me to help you move! 🤣

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JakkSplatt@reddit

My nephews helped last time 🫠

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box_elder74@reddit

So that's no then? 🤣

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JakkSplatt@reddit

😂

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muphasta@reddit

I do this now, after work at least weekly, but often many days a week.

While I don't have a turntable at work, I do have a nice little amp and speakers and when I play music, I sit in the "sweet spot" while I work.

When I got back into record collecting years ago, my kids were 12 and 8 and when I played an album they liked (Elton John, Journey, Quteen...) they'd sprint into my office, sit on my couch, and disect the album artwork and liner notes/lyrics.

It was awesome!!

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Lazy_Point_284@reddit

Literally two days ago. I have my Marantz & Boston Acoustics equipment that I bought in the mid 90s and I listened to:

Rock & Roll Animal by Lou Reed Born to Die by Lana Del Rey Undertow by Tool

Right end of sofa about eight feet from each speaker and the speakers are six feet apart. Just me and my dried flowers and the tunes. ♥️

Sony turntable due for an upgrade. Any recommendations appreciated.

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u2sarajevo@reddit

Every night. Listening to Dark Side of the Moon after the sun goes down. That album is still so great.

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SoCalTHC13@reddit

I still do this all the time.

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ThumbsUp2323@reddit

Yup. Did this today. Not a genX record, i'm learning to appreciate music that was pressed before my lifeline.

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detuneme@reddit

I listen to Les Baxter, James Last, Bert Kaemfert, and all the old bandleaders. I didn't know it was still a thing for anyone else.

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Hairy___Poppins@reddit

Tropical bird noise intensifies

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seabass4507@reddit

Yep. After the family goes to bed, I’ll sit in my chair with a record on and listen to the whole thing.

I used to be a “couple beers and tv” guy. Now it’s a small dose of psilocybin and a couple records.

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Liberace_Sockpuppet@reddit

Did this exact thing last night.

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jcstrat@reddit

Dude.

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Whitworth@reddit

We should hang out

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flyart@reddit

My 13 year old does this all the time.

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FunnyGarden5600@reddit

Shrooms?

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Aveeye@reddit

Exactly.

Do I REMEMBER last Friday? Yes I do.

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Noodnix@reddit

Yeah, like this evening.

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Dynamo_Ham@reddit

Was gonna say, sure, that happened last Saturday.

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Hctc666@reddit

I do this when I can.

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Ryno5150@reddit

Came to say the same. Every morning when I eat breakfast there is a record spinning. The album seems to set the tone for the day in way that no playlist can. It’s a phenomena that I can’t explain.

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bmanjayhawk@reddit

Same, though a lot of times I'll also throw a record on while I cook. But it's also great to just sit on the couch and take it all in.

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Secret-Asian-Man-76@reddit

I still do it!

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CthulhusEvilTwin@reddit

My mum and dad had an extensive vinyl collection dating from the mid-60s to mid-80s and I spent hours going through them and reading the messages left by the record pressers. They would etch messages into the inner ring of the disk just outside the label on the master. Towards the end of vinyl they stopped doing it (I guess as the process became more automated) but Bowie albums were great for it.

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SchrodingersTIKTOK@reddit

It’s a lost art

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Liberace_Sockpuppet@reddit

Did it last night actually.

Listened to ABCs masterpiece The Lexicon Of Love in full while the golden teacher getting going. Beautiful night

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Psychological-Pie37@reddit

Absolutely!

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frankmint@reddit

With the lights off and Peter Gabriel Plays Live on.

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TesseractToo@reddit

My parents kept both speakers side by side in the cabinet :D

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Generny2001@reddit

I believe vinyl is still the best way to listen to music.

It sounds like your favorite sweatshirt feels. 😀🤘🎸

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oddball_ocelot@reddit

I still do this. The sweet spot is better now that I have wireless headphones though.

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FunnyGarden5600@reddit

I have 70’s marantz reciever and klispch speakers a turntable and a WiiM for streaming music through my receiver. I prefer the vinyl but if I don’t want to get up just tap an app.

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FunnyGarden5600@reddit

Still do. Picked up Billy Strings and a Big Thief albums over the weekend.

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JeffAlbertson93@reddit

I think this is one of the big things that's missing today the way in which we digest music has changed so much. It was the whole ritual you would bring the record album home take it out of the packaging and before you would drop the needle on the album you would look at the liner notes and the album cover art. And I remember I don't do that any longer, I used to immerse myself in an album and just listen to it front and back and kind of make mental notes of which ones I really liked and it was definitely a different listening experience than today.

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alf8765@reddit

We still do this. We chill out to LP's all the time. Nothing better than listening to music with that bit of needle scratch to it.

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NorseGlas@reddit

My place to listen to music has been my car ever since I got one.

I never had a good stereo until I got a car. I had boom boxes, walkmans….. but at my parents house music always had to be on headphones.

But once I got a car at 13yrs old…. Long before I had a license…. The first thing I did was pull out the 8track player and put in a kenwood tape deck, 80w radio shack eq/amplifier and some 6x9’s….. I would sit in my car in the driveway and do exactly what you are saying.

And to this day, every car I buy gets an amp and subs at minimum. Because every time I get in the car by myself the volume goes to 39 and I fall into the music.

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Gottagettagoat@reddit

No.

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jedimerc@reddit

My oldest brother had this cool stereo with a turntable. It had these really psychedelic, colorful lights that would move to the music. As a little kid, I’d listen to all his records and just stare at it for literal hours. He had a lot of great music. I probably listened to the Star Wars soundtrack more than anything. I remember the sights, sounds, and the smell of the records so vividly. He had bead curtains over his doorway, too. The 70s and 80s was a wild, unique time.

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PracticalApartment99@reddit

I used to set up 3 or 4 LPs on the garage record player, and skate around the driveway…

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upstatestruggler@reddit

Yessss my dad married this super 80s lady, like she drove a Pulsar with T-tops and had feathered bangs, so much denim and so many killer records.

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legerdemain07@reddit

I did this very thing over the weekend. My wife was out of town, and it was just me and the cats at home. I had a whiskey ginger and listened to Albert King’s “I’ll Play the Blues For You” on vinyl. Sublime.

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Birantis1@reddit

Still do when I have the time / opportunity. Wonderful

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Alternative-Light514@reddit

Replace record with cd and hi res streamer and I spent a good 2hrs this afternoon doing just that

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redwoodtree@reddit

Sounds like Friday night at my place. Why quit a good thing.

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Jimathomas@reddit

I actually started doing this again recently. I mentioned it to my wife (Xennial) and daughter (GenZ) and asked for recs. Then I make Spotify tell me what's new and go and listen to the whole album instead of just the current hit.

It's interesting how much is overlooked by "hit" and "single" culture.

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Cartmel@reddit

I did it all the time. My first record was the Star Wars soundtrack. The film stills in the gatefold were awesome! Then I started to buy 45s and some LPs. It was in the mid 90s that I got rid of my record player. I did keep all the records though. I bought another record player in 2022 and started where I left off.

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soopirV@reddit

I was the only kid in my dorm with quadrophonic sound.

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Greenbeanhead@reddit

I did the album thing

And then I had a double cassette deck that would play both sides and then both be sides and then repeat

And then I had a seven disc CD changer deck

It’s been more than 15 years since I’ve bought an “album”

It might be 25 years

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zippyphoenix@reddit

I only have a handful of memories of our record player (the non fisher price one). My dad played the Chiomunk’s Christmas album while we decorated our tree. I think we had some Elvis records too.

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freakdageek@reddit

Middle of the room. Press play. Back in Black just shakes the moorings. Oh yes, I remember.

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jumpinoutofmyflesh@reddit

The Hells Bells toll…for Bon Scott. Back in Black was their first album without him. I still get chills when I put this on and track one starts. Pretty certain that many still use this album to test out their new setup.

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freakdageek@reddit

74 Jailbreak is still my fave, but Back in Black hits hard.

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ProgRock1956@reddit

I did, started it in the 70's, and still do it to this day.

I love music.

Live.for.it.

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JankroCommittee@reddit

Every day of my entire life.

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Select-Pomelo4355@reddit

Ok how do you do this now? Teen kids or spouse with other music tastes?

Are you alone? … when are you alone enough and don’t have chores or work to just sit and listen to an album?

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zombie_spiderman@reddit

For my 52nd birthday, my wife got me a turntable. My seven-year-old had made a couch fort in the living room. While they were upstairs reading a bedtime chapter of Harry Potter, I lay in the fort with the lights dimmed and listened to Dark Side of the Mood beginning to end. It was one of my more "present" moments.

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Alit_Quar@reddit

Never cared for records. By the time I was old enough to really be into music, cassettes were the most popular media, soon displaced by CDs. Now, I stream. I often listen to complete albums and even complete discographies. I miss the pull out lyrics though.

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MarionberryCreative@reddit

* How pre-internet you wanna get I was born in the 70s, I have all the formats, and equipment functional to play them.

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dudetellsthetruth@reddit

Remember?

I Still do so...

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oneupme@reddit

Every day.

I took the time to rebuild a classic 2 channel stereo last year. It's my favorite corner of the room.

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Ordinary_Advice_3220@reddit

Yet another reason why there's no comparing what it meant to be a lover of a band then, to being a lover of a band now. About skin in the game and ,fuck me I can't believe I'm actually going to use the word mindfulness in a sentence that isn't mockery....mindfulness

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tpittari@reddit

Headphones, beanbag chair, and Yes - Close the Edge == perfection

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Loose-Psychology-962@reddit

Still do. :)

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Chaotic_Zelda@reddit

I would lay on the floor between my speakers. It felt like I was the only one in the house, even when my Mom was screaming at someone downstairs. 80s therapy I guess, lol.

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coryhill66@reddit

I wired Christmas tree lights through the speaker output and hung them across my ceiling. That was such a sweet rig I had back in the 90s. Now my daughter has a record player and I see her just sit in the zone out like I used to it's great.

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Shoehorse13@reddit

It’s been a couple days, but yeah.

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justino@reddit

Yeah. It was last Thursday.

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thedrood@reddit

Still do it. So can you!

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Headfullofyarn@reddit

Yep! And when playing it for the first time discovering an even better song then the one being marketed.

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Cominghome74@reddit

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Ghost-of-Sanity@reddit

It was Destroyer for me, but hell yes! 🤘🏻

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Cominghome74@reddit

Love Destroyer too! 👍🏻

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MyriVerse2@reddit

Sweet spot is BS. I always had headphones.

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Which-Fact-4274@reddit

So is relying on mum and dad for their music, that's overrated too, shame you missed the fun

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Ghost-of-Sanity@reddit

Absolutely remember that. Cherished memories. Actually actively listening to music is a lost art and it makes me sad. Music is too important to just be background noise. Which is kinda how it’s treated a lot now. 😕

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TheEpicGenealogy@reddit

Hell yes, 2112, Moving Pictures, Paranoid, Machine Head, yeah I remember. Good times

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Great_Office_9553@reddit

Man, there was a whole thing about whose turn it was to be in the sweet spot, all of which was over-ridden by “You’ve NEVER heard ERUPTION?! Sit right HERE!”

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fosgobbit@reddit

I discovered Queen this way! Great times listening to March of the Black Queen.

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Whitworth@reddit

Like others I never stopped. These days it's usually sunday morning with my coffee

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Fogtown5@reddit

And with headphones in case the folks complain and start yelling.

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RCA2CE@reddit

I haven't had a record since I was a child, but I do tune my receiver for my chair - put on an artist and chill while reading the lyrics. I enjoy doing that, I love music.

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IHearYouLimaCharlie@reddit

I love that I can find any lyrics instantly now. The amount of my misheard lyrics ("mondegreens") astounds me!

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RCA2CE@reddit

for sure, I love great lyrics. I have read that writing a good song isn't about rhyming but moving a story along - so I sometimes listen for this, is this just a rhyme or a jingle or is it a story that is melodic. Sometimes I'll google lyrics of songs I like and get disappointed, like well that's actually lame.. then other times I'll be like I never would have thought of that, or saying that like that.

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IHearYouLimaCharlie@reddit

Yeah, there are a bunch of songs where I really like the melody but hate the lyrics, and it kinda ruins it for me. When you get great music plus great lyrics, that's when the magic happens. 😃

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RCA2CE@reddit

I like a lot of Stevie Nicks for her ability to be a little vivid, Dreams is a solid song lyrically and musically. Lindsay Buckingham did a lot of the arrangements and producing, but she was sort of the best writer in Fleetwood Mac (IMHO).

People don't think of her when they think "great song-writer" - but she's good. Billy Joel, Dylan, Paul Simon...not a lot of women make the list

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box_elder74@reddit

Just as good my friend! Just let the music flow through you.

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AtikGuide@reddit

Yes ! I still do this.

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QuietParsnip@reddit

Out stereo system was in the sunroom and we had two large wicker rocking chairs in there. I can still remember as a kid sitting with my dad's huge headphones on, kicking the air as I rocked back and forth and listened to music, with the album cover in my lap.

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Zaphod1620@reddit

I didn't find the sweet spot, I made it. I would bring my big ass Kenwood tower speakers in a close arc, lie in the middle, and use a combination of pillows and cushions to get the right height to pick up all three cones. I had Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder on laserdisc.

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Dobermansrule@reddit

Cheech and Chong's let's make a new dope deal album

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SomePeopleCallMeJJ@reddit

Still do. Not too many albums that will hold up to actually sitting down and listening to them. But some do, and they're awesome!

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IHearYouLimaCharlie@reddit

I no longer have a turntable or records. But I love just chilling and listening to good music with all my ambient lighting. I have multicolor line lamps, stands of Christmas-type bulb lights, random color light bulbs everywhere, and tons of little plug-in LEDs. My goal is to get some sort of programmable lighting like nanoleafs to really max out my LED psychedelic environment. I just enjoy the sounds and the pleasant lighting.

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rojo-perro@reddit

Pink Floyd The Wall. Wicked awesome.

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Adam7814@reddit

That’s the only album I still do this with

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jondes99@reddit

Not even Dark Side?

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mailahchimp@reddit

That, and Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm. If you were ripped, the channel shifts could really disturb you.

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jessek@reddit

I do this regularly? I never really stopped.

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aligatorsNmaligators@reddit

You mean last night?

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JadedMage@reddit

Oh yes and I also remember falling asleep with a stack of records on the stereo

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box_elder74@reddit

Still do this every morning before work and every evening when I'm home. I'll find myself completely lost in it all on weekends. Solid reason I'm single.

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porkopolis@reddit

Yep. I still do and wouldn’t have it any other way.

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sawyer_whoopass@reddit

I still do.

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Hctc666@reddit

I still do this when I can, usually when the kids are gone. I have hundreds more records now than we did when I was younger.

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analyticalchem@reddit

Isn’t that called Listening to Pink Floyd?

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evilpercy@reddit

Prince - sign of the times.

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Helenesdottir@reddit

In an avocado green beanbag chair.

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Thirty_Helens_Agree@reddit

Yup. And I remember doing that with friends, because we’re sure not ALL shelling out $16. I definitely remember doing this for Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness.

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Evening-Lion6435@reddit

Dropping the needle on a record felt like setting the mood for the whole day

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pinballrocker@reddit

I did this yesterday.

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PhotographsWithFilm@reddit

Sitting so close that you could hear the hiss off the needle

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BunkyBooBoo88@reddit

Yes. Such a great sound.

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PhotographsWithFilm@reddit

I know that its not how you are supposed to listen, but I always found that hearing the hiss added to the overall experience.

Its like the one and only time I ever leaned against the stage at a concert (back when you could actually do that). We were actually in front of the speakers that we got more sound from the stage monitors and I could hear the sound coming off the strings of the guitarist (Jeff Healey) that was playing right in front of me. Now that was a surreal experience

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phantomsquidrecords@reddit

Still do. Daily.

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BonsaiOracleSighting@reddit

My parents told me my favorite spot to nap as a toddler was in front of the stereo between the speakers. Said speakers are now mine and my kids get their groove on in our living room.

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Suspicious-Yogurt480@reddit

STILL do it

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Grand-Hand-9486@reddit

Still do

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RunningWineaux@reddit

When my daughter and I go to assorted vintage shops and I see those big ass cabinet stereos from the 70s, I always deeply inhale.

I’m looking for a smell. It’s the smell of listening to The Stranger while lying under the stereo.

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BigOldComedyFan@reddit

Started doing that recently! Buying vinyl (as the kids call it)

I didn’t have many records growing up, mostly CDs and tapes, but I definitely listened more intently back in the day. Then again I was more focused and less other things to do (please take my phone away!!)

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Moonsmom181@reddit

This.

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storm_the_castle@reddit

still do...