How long it has been since you are a record collector?
I've been collecting 12" records since November 2016. I'm what people refer to as a 'vinyl junkie'. My collection is mostly rock or rock-oriented, with a few classical, jazz, pop and Bollywood gems sprinkled in here and there, and for good measure too. A man's got to keep his sanity at times, and not be looked at as a hobo by his pop-puritan flatmate. The first 9 records I'd bought were
1. Abbey Road, The Beatles.
2. Jazz, Queen;
3. Pretty Hate Machine, Nine Inch Nails;
4. Dire Straits, Dire Straits;
5. Almost Blue, Elvis Costello;
6. Ella & Louis, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong;
7. Solid Air, John Martyn;
8. Drones, Muse;
9. Powerslave, Iron Maiden;



How large is your vinyl collection
I own 486 distinct records currently (I'm not counting the extra copy of Tres Hombres and Hendrix's 10" posthumous in the collection). I plan to end my collection at 504 records for this year, being something of an OCD-freak when it comes to my collection, which I lovingly call 'Harmony Corpus'. Why 504, you might ask... Well, I've got 12 shelves in my custom rack, and being the OCD-freak that I am, I want to have 42 (the most convenient number of records that a rack can fit, on average) records of distinct duo-genres, namely 1. New Wave/Punk; 2. Blues/Psychedelic Rock; 3. Folk/Country; 4, Bollywood/Ghazals; 5. Progressive Rock/Experimental Rock; 6. Soundtracks/Score; 7. Jazz/Swing; 8. Hard Rock/Metal; 9. Classical/Contemporary Classical; 10. Rock/Reggae; 11. Alternative Rock/Grunge; 12. Pop/Soul.
I'm temporarily (for 1.5 years) ending my buying spree because I'm moving to Paris for my MBA from HEC next year, and the more records I get, the more I'll miss my collection. Plus, there's the issue of transporting my collection from Noida to Silvassa, my folks' place (Any leads on how you guys transport bulk orders would be greatly appreciated.)



Which is the most valuable record in your collection?
I think that for the cash I've paid for a record, either Adele's '21', Ludovico Einaudi's 'Elements' or Steven Wilson's 'Transience', or maybe Porcupine Tree's 'Lightbulb Sun'. Discogs says that my most valuable record is a compilation called 'The Finest Moments' by Kishore Kumar (go figure) (addendum: Being the lazy bum that I am, I've only ever added 150 of the aforementioned records to my Discogs collection). My most treasured record has got to be Radiohead's 'The Bends', (I paid a pretty penny for it, as a matter of fact), which I rate at the very top of my pile. There simply isn't an album more complete than 'The Bends', in my opinion.



Tell us about your turntable setup.
Starting out, I had a starter Jensen JTA-222 (an all-in-one cheap TT that thankfully didn't scratch my records). I've upgraded to a Numark USB TT, worth its weight in every aspect. I have a pre-amp that has no name, and a very basic speakers' system, which I will upgrade post my MBA studies (if I get a job abroad, that is; student loans are a bummer of sorts).



Any advice to people that are about to start their collection?
Go at it like a freak. But value each record you purchase. Never be afraid to take risks. War Child, by Jethro Tull, a band I had sparingly heard, was an absolute revelation. So was Grace Under Pressure, by Rush. And Almost Blue, by Elvis Costello. And Lady Sings The Blues, by Billie Holiday. Also, give the indie folks a chance, 7 times out of 10, they'd surprise you. Frank Turner, Natalie Prass, Gruff Rhys, Andrew Bird, all great musicians.
And obviously, if you love rock and roll, you've got to start with the legends... Queen, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, The Doors, Cream, CCR, Dire Straits, The Who, Pink Floyd. (You get the gist; the list is non-exhaustive and highly personal).