Rediscovering my Music Collection Via Vinyl

My brother-in-law Ben recently gave me an excellent collection of records. Not owning a player myself, I turned to amazon to see what was available. I found the Electrohome Signature Retro Hi-Fi Stereo System - EANOS700. I like this player a lot because it's allowed me to consolidate and rediscover my music collection. It's a compact unit with built-in speakers that plays Vinyl, CD's, MP3's and Radio. I'm sure vinyl purists would consider this player to be less than ideal, but I like it. The sound is good and it means my collection of music remains usefully intact regardless of format. I made a custom sized stand for it out of some discarded futon wood, and now I'm enjoying classics like Simon & Garunkel, Chicago, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, The Grateful Dead, and The Beatles... on vinyl! 

While listening to Ben's records over the past week I've been soaking up the album art, jacket inserts and such. It's nice to experience each musicians creation this way. I'm also finding it nice to listen to an album in it's entirety, something I seem to have lost complete ability to do since the introduction of MP3s and internet radio. I think for me, absorbing cover art while listening to an album provides a more authentic experience than simply dialing up a playlist on my ipod. These records have reminded me how having a music collection tangibly available in my home can invite conversations about, and appreciation for, the artists who made it. I'm loving it!

Here are a couple pictures of the stand I made. I'm loving having a physical music collection again!

Every time I do a woodworking project I come away with a new piece of knowledge. This project I learned how to use a jointer which was AWESOME for getting the lumber stripped down to a raw surface. Another thing I really liked about using the jointer is that it creates a very straight finished edge. So, after running each board through, I was then able to glue several pieces of wood together for a solid top because their edges lined up much more nicely than they would have if I had just sanded the finish off.  

Here is my set up! I chose to leave the stand unstained for now. I'm kind of liking the unfinished look.