The Joys of Vinyl

Why some audiophiles prefer analog to digital formats

Photo by Victrola Record Players on Unsplash

Thursday night, I stayed at the Otis Hotel in downtown Austin. When we chose that hotel, we did so because of its location. However, we got unexpected pleasure thanks to their record collection.

Every room at the hotel has a record player. In the lobby, they have two sections of shelves behind a service desk. The shelves are filled with record albums that are changed throughout the day.

Some of the Record Albums at the Otis Hotel

You are allowed to check out up to three albums at a time.

We borrowed a Thelonious Monk album and one with Carole King and James Taylor. The first was a no brainer. If there was ever a genre made for analog sound, it is jazz. The second was simply because I love both artists and this was the first one I saw featuring both.

If we had stayed longer, there were several other albums I would have tried, including Led Zeppelin IV and the Abby Road album. I would have loved some classical music if I’d seen any.