Austin, Texas · Est. on a turntable

VINYL IS
MY ZEN

Record finds, honest reviews, and the Austin scene — from a collector who does the digging so you don't have to. When your records need saving, the Vinyl Surgeon is in.

Browse the finds See the collection

Now spinning: Saint Etienne — Too Young To Die - Singles 1990 - 1995 (1995) ● Now spinning: Smith — A Group Called Smith (1969) ● Now spinning: Smith — A Group Called Smith (1969) ● Now spinning: The Boomtown Rats — In The Long Grass (1984) ● Now spinning: Christopher Cross — Another Page (1983) ● Now spinning: The Boomtown Rats — Mondo Bongo (1980)Now spinning: Saint Etienne — Too Young To Die - Singles 1990 - 1995 (1995) ● Now spinning: Smith — A Group Called Smith (1969) ● Now spinning: Smith — A Group Called Smith (1969) ● Now spinning: The Boomtown Rats — In The Long Grass (1984) ● Now spinning: Christopher Cross — Another Page (1983) ● Now spinning: The Boomtown Rats — Mondo Bongo (1980)

ALatest finds

Fresh out of the crate

Hands flipping through a crate of records

VIMZ-010 · Find

Grail watch: the Australian 'Hounds of Love' nobody talks about

Everyone chases the UK first press of Kate Bush's 1985 masterpiece. Meanwhile, the Australian EMI pressing sounds gorgeous and sells for a third of the price — if you know where to look.

Rows of records in a Japanese record shop

VIMZ-009 · Guide

Why Japanese pressings sound better (and how to buy them from Texas)

A shelf of records next to studio monitors

VIMZ-008 · Curated

Watch this: how 'Thriller' was actually engineered

Crates of used records in cardboard boxes

VIMZ-007 · Crate Watch

Dollar-bin diving in Austin: a strategy, not a gamble

The catalog

Full tracklist

Every find, review and guide — VIMZ-001 on up.

◉ Vinyl of the day · 1995 · Heavenly · HVNLP10 · LP, Compilation

Saint Etienne — Too Young To Die - Singles 1990 - 1995

Newest arrival on the platter. Lights down, side one, full attention.

BThe collection

Inside the crates

Latest arrivals · 912 in the crates

1995

Saint Etienne

Too Young To Die - Singles 1990 - 1995

Heavenly · HVNLP10 · LP, Compilation

1969

Smith

A Group Called Smith

Dunhill · DS 50056 · LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo — Terre Haute Pressing

1969

Smith

A Group Called Smith

Dunhill · DS 50056 · LP, Album — Monarch Pressing

1984

The Boomtown Rats

In The Long Grass

Columbia · FC 39335 · LP, Album, Stereo — Pitman Pressing

1983

Christopher Cross

Another Page

Warner Bros. Records · 9 23757-1 · LP, Album

1980

The Boomtown Rats

Mondo Bongo

Mercury · 6359 042 · LP, Album, Stereo

1979

The Boomtown Rats

A Tonic For The Troops

Columbia · JC 35750 · LP, Album

1981

Genesis

Abacab

Atlantic · SD 19313 · LP, Album, Stereo — B/GYRB - Grey, Yellow, Red, Blue Cover

See the full collection

CThe Vinyl Surgeon

Your records deserve a second life

Garage-sale rescues, inherited crates, that one album you loved a little too hard in 1987. Deep ultrasonic cleaning, warp flattening, jacket repair — every patient gets a full play-through before it goes home. The operating room is open.

Visit the operating room