As I've written elsewhere, I'm pretty much finished with buying music, except for the odd release here and there.
But yesterday, driving to work, I passed an estate sale, and couldn't resist the temptation to stop by.
There were a few hundred LPs, nothing really rare, but here is what I loved about it:
The LPs were almost all classical, with some jazz. They were all mono, and they were all in pristine condition. Almost all dated from the 1950s. Many were on Columbia, and the LPs were still tucked inside the inner plastic sleeves that Columbia used in the 1950s. They were a buck a throw.
I bought a Stravinsky, some Satchmo, some Benny Goodman, and a Gunther Schuller.
But if I had more money right now, and were just starting a collection, I probably would have made an offer on the whole lot. It was obviously a well-loved, well-cared for, deliberately curated collection. It would have been nice if it could all have been kept intact.
At any rate, it was a nice window into the life of a neighbor whom I probably never met, and who had great taste in music.