Ask a record collector why they prefer wax over the decidedly more convenient audio advancements that have emerged over the past few decades, and they will give you any number of reasons: the quality of sound, the packaging, the physical nature or even the sentimentality of the format. For Jeffrey Jones, whose vinyl collection boasts more than 7,000 titles, alphabetized and chronologically organized by artist or composer, the answer is relatively simple: vinyl was the format that was available when he started his collection more than 40 years ago.
"The vast majority of this is all out on CD now, but it wasn't then," Jones said. "If it was on LP originally, I want it on LP."
Jones traces the roots of his obsession back to his childhood, when his family would listen to selections from his parents' collection, which consisted of 100 or so classical records and show tune soundtracks. Some of the first records he purchased, in the late 1960s, included Iron Butterfly's "Ball," The Who's "Tommy," and Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma," which he was attracted to because of the album art and in turn led him down a rabbit hole to a host of interesting music that was outside the realm of his suburban upbringing. Frank Zappa was another revelatory discovery to Jones in his early collecting days, leading him to an appreciation for jazz, and to a certain extent, rekindling his appreciation for classical music.
Jones's musical taste is known to some in Lexington by his weekly radio show on WRFL, which is devoted to progressive rock and related forms (the show, called "The Musical Box, airs 10 p.m. - midnight every Thursday). However, his collection encompasses a much wider variety than prog rock -- extensive selections of jazz, classical and classic rock, as well as obscure avant garde and progressive rock titles, can be found in the stackable wooden crates that consume most of the wall space in his Idle Hour apartment. (Many of the crates were handmade by Jones himself, and each record in a sealable acetate sleeve.)
"The collection includes anything that strikes me as interesting," he said, "and interesting could be any sort of thing."