Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting

Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting documents vinyl enthusiasts and their collections through photographs and interviews. Photographer Eilon Paz traveled across multiple countries to capture portraits of collectors and their prized records. The book presents over 250 full-color photographs showing both intimate details of rare albums and wider shots of collectors' spaces and organizational systems. Each featured collector shares personal stories about their most meaningful finds and what drives their passion for vinyl. The work spans genres from jazz to punk to classical, featuring DJs, musicians, and dedicated collectors from diverse backgrounds. Paz's photographs are accompanied by in-depth interviews that explore the cultural and historical significance of specific albums and artists. Through these profiles and images, the book examines how physical music objects become repositories of memory and meaning in an increasingly digital world. The collectors' stories reveal how vinyl records can anchor personal identity and build communities around shared cultural passions.

Record collectors praise the photography quality, with many noting the intimate portraits capture both the personalities and spaces of vinyl enthusiasts. Readers highlight how the interviews dive deep into collectors' motivations and methods rather than just showing off rare records. Common praise points: - Coffee table book quality and production value - Mix of famous and unknown collectors - Details about organization systems and collection philosophies - Behind-the-scenes looks at private music spaces Main criticism focuses on the price point, with some readers noting it's expensive for a niche topic. A few mention wanting more diversity among featured collectors. Ratings: Goodreads: 4.47/5 (173 ratings) Amazon: 4.8/5 (116 ratings) Notable reader comment: "The photographs make you feel like you're sitting in these collectors' spaces, examining their shelves. Each page reveals something new about the psychology of collecting." - Goodreads reviewer

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Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium by John Corbett Presents essays and photographs documenting rare records and the culture of vinyl collecting from a record collector's perspective.

Why Vinyl Matters by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike Documents vinyl culture through interviews with musicians, producers, label owners, and collectors who share their connections to vinyl records.

Dead Format: Vinyl Lives by Richard Frenneaux Captures portraits and narratives of record collectors in their natural habitats, showcasing their collections and listening spaces.

Vinyl: The Art of Making Records by Mike Evans Details the complete process of vinyl record production from recording to pressing, including technical aspects and historical developments.

📚 The book began as a photo blog in 2008 when Eilon Paz, newly arrived in Brooklyn, started documenting local vinyl collectors as a way to explore his new surroundings. 🎵 Featured collectors include legendary hip-hop producer DJ Premier, Questlove from The Roots, and Four Tet's Kieran Hebden. 📷 The photography project expanded across three continents, with Paz traveling to photograph collectors and their vinyl treasures in Europe, Japan, and across the United States. 💿 The book showcases more than 130 vinyl collectors with their personal collections, ranging from modest curations to massive archives containing over 100,000 records. 🏆 After a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $40,000, the first edition was published in 2014 and quickly sold out, leading to subsequent reprints due to popular demand.