Chance Thrift Prog
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Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=101508
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Topic: Chance Thrift Prog
Posted By: zwordser
Subject: Chance Thrift Prog
Date Posted: February 25 2015 at 21:29
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While most of my prog collection is sought-and-bought, I have found old prog/prog related cassettes and/or CD's at thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, library sales, bargain bins, and swap meets--usually at very cheap prices (if not free), and I'll usually pick them up. These albums are by CHANCE, I never know what I'll find (and usually don't find anything of interest on any one visit). I've found its a great way to sample music generally, and over the years I've amassed several thrift cassettes and CD's! (I don't collect vinyl, but may in the future). Some of these albums I've listened to once or twice and tossed aside, but others I've found are pretty decent and I keep them on hand for more listens, including: Stormwatch -- Jethro Tull The Final Cut -- Pink Floyd Can't Buy a Thrill -- Steeley Dan 9012Live -- Yes Fugazi -- Marillion Rage for Order -- Queensryche Flaming Star -- Sally Oldfield Streets, A Rock Opera -- Savatage Cured -- Steve Hackett Hergest Ridge -- Mike Oldfield Free Fall -- Dixie Dregs Peter Gabriel -- Peter Gabriel The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys -- Traffic The Birth of Cool -- Miles Davis Works, Volume II -- ELP (but unfortunately only Disk 2). Child is Father to the Man -- Blood, Sweat & Tears Encores, Legends, and Paradox; A Tribute to the Music of ELP -- (Various) Sometimes I've found more than one from the same band, often together in the same place (most of which I like at least fairly well) including: Four albums of Shadowfax, including their best: Watercourse Way Three albums of Jean-luc Ponty Three albums of Pat Metheney Four Albums (cassettes) of the Moody Blues Three Genesis albums Three CDs of Kate Bush Three Chicago CDs Three Tori Amos CDs Two Rush albums Two Herbie Hancock CDs and one cassette Two King Crimson CDs Two CDs of The Pentangle Two Opeth CDs Two Queen albums Two Vangelis albums Two Beatles albums ...and I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of at the moment Anyone else do this?? Have you discovered good or great artists/albums this way? ------------- Z |
Replies:
Posted By: sublime220
Date Posted: February 25 2015 at 21:46
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All the time. It's my favourite way to find them too. Hard, but it feels really good afterwards for some reason in ways I cannot describe properly. You've also got a nice collection up there. Shadowfax, man, I thought they had disappeared from everyone's brains. Amazing band, truly. ------------- There is no dark side in the moon, really... Matter of fact, it's all dark... |
Posted By: Floyd Steely
Date Posted: February 25 2015 at 22:25
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There's nothing better than finding an incredible bargain in the bins. I've paid $20+ for a disc plenty of times, but getting something for nothing is the more memorable event.On New Years Day 2015, I stopped by a local thrift shop, not even knowing if it'd be open. Besides a few non-musical treasures, I scored a near-pristine copy of Pink Floyd's Pulse for a dollar. (Not to mention a near-mint 25th Anniversary Edition double-CD of Paul McCartney and Wings' Band on the Run, also for a dollar.) I also recall visiting a Reckless Records in Chicago and picking up two CDs I didn't think I'd like much (but did!): Magnification by Yes for $1.99 and ELP's Tarkus for $2.99. Oh yeah, a couple months back I stopped into a store and saw Focus III used for $7. Three days later, I came back fully intending to buy that CD. It wasn't until I set it down by the register that I realized it had now been marked down to $2. I felt a bit guilty paying so little when I'd have gladly paid the previous price. ------------- And if you can't be with the prog you love, honey, love the prog you're with. |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: February 25 2015 at 22:30
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A few years ago, my wife found The Decemberists' The Crane Wife in a Rite-Aid Pharmacy discount CD bin and bought it for me. To this day we are unsure how it got there. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 00:43
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I picked up Wind & Wuthering as well as Asia Minor's Between Flesh and Divine (a real find!) from the dollar bin at a record store once. I also found Alive in an Ultra World by Steve Vai for a couple of bucks at a thrift shop. I always look when I can, but rarely find good Prog. ------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty" |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 00:46
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Do people still shop for albums? You guys must be old. ------------- "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 01:33
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^ More to the point does anyone shop in the traditional way any more? I quite like the record fayres you get regularly but I've never spotted a bargain as yet. One day I hope to see Monsoon - Third Eye for a not stupid price. That's about the rairest CD I would love to have but buying stuff on the off chance it might be good and because its cheap is something I tend not to do if I'm honest
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Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 03:09
Yes I do, and yes I am. Vinyl only. Why? Because it sounds better. Therefore, any second hand purchase is a bit of a risk, but I've found some great albums in good condition at car boot sales and in charity shops. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Atavachron wrote:Posted By: Stool Man
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 03:15
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Vinyl LPs I bought for one pound in the last ten years include Aqualung, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and Tales From Topographic Oceans. Why pay ten or twenty times as much when these classics can be found for less than the cost of the bus ride to the shop? ------------- rotten hound of the burnie crew |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 03:28
Me too on both counts, my little local b&m closed a few years ago and I miss it terribly. ------------- "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 04:04
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I had to convert myself to digital music because of lack of space at home. I'd love to spin my thousand vynils if I could. Sometimes I purchase a vinyl even if I know that it will never spin. However, bandcamp is a source of great music if you have the patience to search between the rubbish. Just try this as example 1974.bandcamp.com (i don't know how to link a url with a smartphone) ------------- Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half. My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: Walton Street
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 07:12
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thrift shops and garage sailing - although for the most part - by the time vinyl gets to a thrift shop they are not fit to play. I get a ton of CDs in thrift shops anywhere from $3 to 25 cents each. I'm sure that since the mid 80's 75% of everything I have was bought this way. (while buying books and movies as well) strictly prog - most of the vinyl was bought new as it was coming out, most of the cds were bought used except for the few I bought on Ebay to fill in the holes. ------------- "I know one thing: that I know nothing" - SpongeBob Socrates |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 09:18
I think I know what you mean: its like finding hidden treasures. Often like some kind of good-feeling serendipitous moment when you find something good you didn't realize was there--an album or albums that you really wanted, but didn't know it until you found them. I got my first Shadowfax cassette (I think 25 cents) only because I liked the name--I had actually never heard of the band. Was surprised to find out they were listed on this site. That first cassette was light and new-agey, but I was fortunate to find Watercourse Way shortly after. What a great album! I've written reviews for them now. ------------- Z |
Posted By: Michael678
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 12:03
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i went to nearby thrift shops in the past; the only i found the most interesting were ELP's debut & Yes' 90125, both of which on vinyl (and kind of beaten up from what i can remember). ------------- Progrockdude |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 13:53
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I don't go to thrift stores much, and I've never found any music of value in there when I have. But a few years ago I was at a garage sale the the lady's kid had a decent Porcupine Tree collection for sale. I picked up the 2 disc version of The Sky Moves Sideways for $1. Even though it was missing the 2nd disc. I went up to the lady and asked if she had the 2nd disc somewhere, and she gave me a look like, "are you kidding?" Good thing I didn't ask for a discount. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 14:19
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We found a couple of interesting albums (Kate Bush's Lionheart and Led Zeppelin's Presence) in secondhand book stores that also stock some music. Luckily, there are still a few secondhand music stores left here in the DC metro area, and in the past few years we have found some really great stuff there (even rare, out-of-print albums). |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 16:55
I also picked up a Wind and Wuthering cassette at the Baja Prog Festival in Mexico last year (one of the few Genesis albums I didn't yet have). At $2.00 it was a little more than I normally pay for cassettes (I rarely pay over a dollar, but W&W was worth it). It has become one of my fave Genesis albums, and you reminded me, I gotta get the CD or digital! Agreed about rarely finding good prog at thrift shops--I often gotta wade through a lot of crappy (and often unorganized) stuff to find anything worth taking. My list above represents a few years worth of collecting, and most times I've gone looking, I haven't found any prog at all. But usually I'm hoping to find good stuff from other genres too--classical especially seems to be more common at thrift shops. Some places have a lot of good jazz or folk as well. ------------- Z |
Posted By: AreYouHuman
Date Posted: February 26 2015 at 23:19
How about dollar stores? A few years back, a local one had several
copies of the first Richard Sinclair’s Caravan of Dreams CD for $1, all
presumably new. I just checked on Amazon
and the cheapest seller wants $23.88 for it new.
------------- Caption: We tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. Silly human race! Yes is for everybody! |
Posted By: martinprog77
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 04:12
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Once i got from amoeba new trolls concerto grosso for 1and 2 $ 2.99 ------------- Nothing can last there are no second chances. Never give a day away. Always live for today. |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 04:48
| At a yard sale last fall..I picked up a second hand copy of Blodywn Pig "Ahead Rings Out" ..then at the Heritage convenience store I picked up Genesis Live and Foxtrot. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 05:55
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I found the Artcane album at salvage store many years ago, but I don't usually go to those kind of places. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 08:35
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Hi, Haven't been to a record store in years. In Portland, since Django's died, it kinda went down hill and the other store that was near them, used to have a lot of old stuff and all of a sudden they have newer stuff mixed with it (I'm OK with that) but the amount of old stuff disappeared, and some of their prices went ridiculous to get closer to the newer stuff. Done with that one! In general, for the past 2 years I have done nothing but replace the LP's in my collection and more than 300 of them are gone in that time replaced by CD's. All in all, in terms of looking for things, nowadays, this is what PA is good for ... and about the only band I have not given a good listen to, and is on my list, is The Enid, that Dean talks about so much. I just haven't gotten there yet, but will pretty soon. About 150 more LP's to go this year first! In general, you might not find this or that, but something else comes up instead, and this is how I have always found music for my "collection", though, by looking at it, I would confuse anyone ... that I am not a "collector" other than of "experiences" and the stuff I have is the best for it, and it tends to bust right through labels and ideas easily! NP: Bonzos - The Sound of Music ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 08:47
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Cut to the chase here: those flukey bargains that anecdotal evidence would hazard that 'back in the day' only garage sales and attic trawls unearthed, are now supplanted by illegal download sites. Pre loved Prog is, in the main, free to a disreputable home. ------------- 
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Posted By: Walton Street
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 08:51
not the same thing to collectors, and as far as I can see, prog people love to own the original hard copies. the genre itself is so collectable .. ------------- "I know one thing: that I know nothing" - SpongeBob Socrates |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 08:59
A surfeit of supply would consign a collector to those who belong to the legions of the mentally ill. Scarcity alone confers a value on anything that collectors consider worth erm....collecting. Dig hippy? -------------
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Posted By: TeleStrat
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 09:03
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As I mentioned elsewhere, the many swap meets in my area are long gone because the drive-in theaters have been torn down. Yard sales/garage sales are few and far between because of city ordinances. Years ago it was common to find decent vinyl at thrift stores for less than two dollars but not lately. Try finding out when your local thrift stores get their weekly deliveries from their distribution centers. That way you can get a first look at their most recent items.
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Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 10:43
Please try the first 4 albums and take your time allowing them to grow on you. They are all instrumental and are an inspiration closely connected with the life they lived at Finchdeon Manor. Steven Stewart and Francis Lickerish spent years in this experimental school for problematic children and several of the pieces have a very bewitching romantic vibe. A vibe that influences a person to dream and possibly feel some of the same things they felt in a very obscure way ..like being under a spell or having a dream sequence and remembering the detail when waking up the next day. Robert John Godfrey ..(I believe?), spent a few years at the school after he had composed string arrangements for Barclay James Harvest. It's easier and personally enjoyable to experience their early instrumental albums first and then slowly exploring the later albums with vocals. A great powerful period of albums with vocals would be....Seed And The Sower, Tripping The Light Fantastic, and White Goddess because not only is it reminiscent of their early work, but creates more new ideas and further interests me. The Seed And The Sower was originally a solo album from R.J. Godfrey and Steven Stewart, but the cd I have has The Enid printed on the cover and a background painting that is similar to the style of artwork on the re-recorded 80's release of In The Region Of The Summer Stars. I also have the original recordings of In The Region Of The Summer Stars and Aerie Faerie Nonsense which are a must!...However!....on the re-recorded 80's version of In The Region Of The Summer Stars ..the opening track.."Fool" has the most intriguing atmospheric soundscape I have ever heard in my life and on the original version it's pretty much wiped out completely. The piece begins with a question and answer performance on the piano and it's very likely to hold someone's attention because it calls you. It has a calling or an awakening vibe and it actually is like a calling ...like when a human being has a calling to change their life and the music has that power from within. The original album wasn't released until 1975, but the 3 of them were composing and rehearsing it years before...so with all due respect, they are a Progressive Rock band from the early 70's and not the mid 70's. They are currently in a lawsuit with their old label and asking for donations to fight for justice. I believe the band may still live together in a house owned by Robert John Godfrey because that's the way things were originally arranged when they started. I have yet to purchase their last 3 releases. Shame on me... |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: February 27 2015 at 12:28
Dollar stores in my area don't typically have any good music. I only recall once finding anything prog related at a dollar store: it was Phish's Round Room for $1.00. I like Phish, but I remember not liking this album as much as some of their others, and its gone missing somewhere. ------------- Z |
Posted By: Raccoon
Date Posted: February 28 2015 at 23:03
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Only one time have I found a decent discovery at a thrift shop. The rest, the typical albums (Aqualung, Tarkus–if you're lucky). But this one, I found the same album (Water Works!!), two Passport albums (the best ones! But not the early ones), Free Hand by GG, and A Wizard, A True Star by Rundgren (one of my personal favorites). Got that lot for $12 in total. But the record stores in Portland, you can be lucky and find LOADS of albums for cheap (as-in $5 or below). Never Caravan or Soft Machine, but the typical ones you can find for 3 or so buckaroos. Anything by Jean-Luc, Metheny, all ELP, Genesis, etc. And I check the world section in EVERY record store I go in... I've never been THAT lucky  You know, c'mon!! Give me some Premiata!! And not the English version  ------------- Check out my FREE album: A one-man project The Distant Dynasty |
Posted By: RockHound
Date Posted: March 01 2015 at 02:53
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It's been ages since I've been to a record store of any kind, but back in the day I used to spend a lot of time going through the used bins at Record Revolution and Record Rendezvous in Cleveland. Among my most fondly remembered cheapie acquisitions are: Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot as $0.99 cutouts back around 1973 (in cellophane) DJ copy of Group 87 DJ copy of Red Queen to Gryphon Three DJ copy of Tormato (not my favorite Yes album, but an interesting acquisition, nevertheless). DJ copy of Ant Phillips' Wise after the event UK Hergest Ridge (a common bin item - apparently a lot of people bought and sold it quickly) All kinds of Jean-Luc Ponty and RTF albums
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Posted By: Yogaprogyoda
Date Posted: March 04 2015 at 16:28
| Have DREAMED of that amazing thrift store find, but haven't yet had one…not in the prog realm anyway. The closest experience I can relate is finding the original Philips vinyl of Artcane's 'Odyssee', Near Mint, at a used record store for a mere $15, which is a fraction of its actual value. |
Posted By: Yogaprogyoda
Date Posted: March 04 2015 at 16:29
good lord, I just mentioned a steal of a purchase of this same album, and THEN read this post. Perhaps someone had a box of copies that they let out a few years ago…?
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Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: March 05 2015 at 09:20
| Found an unwrapped Danny Wilding's and Peter Bonus' Pleasure Signals CD a couple of years ago at my local used CD/record store for $6 and change. Phil Collins plays on a couple of tracks (Wilding/Bonus were early associates of Brand X). My big score around 10 years back was finding an unwrapped, mid '70's double album of All This and World War II with a newly independent Peter Gabriel singing Strawberry Fields and Bryan Ferry warbling She's Leaving Home. The guy at the now defunct used record story apparently didn't know what he had and let it go for its original sticker price. It's probably not that valuable as Leo Sayers was handed two songs to help pad it out. |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: March 05 2015 at 11:36
Quite honestly the "thrifty" way has proved most successful for finding things outside of online. I have a few used shops I visit regularly and have found quite a few gems including Magma, Banco, Omnia and a rare recording of KC's Midnight Special appearances. Sometimes I will buy really obscure albums even if I already have a copy just to give them a home. They make great gifts for people who can appreciate it.  ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: March 05 2015 at 11:55
| ^"KC's Midnight Special appearances"? They appeared only once on Oct. 12, 1973. You're technically correct though as they appeared twice on that one show. |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: March 05 2015 at 14:06
Are you talking about used music stores, or just thrift shops? I have found a couple rare albums/bands in the SW U.S. at used music stores, but by starting this thread, I was mainly thinking about very cheap albums (mostly $2.00 or less) found at common thrift store outlets. I would consider it a near miracle to find a Banco or Magma album at a yard sale or thrift shop in my area! (but not Kansas or Jethro Tull, eg.). ------------- Z |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 07:57
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Sadly there are no 'record stores' in my local area anymore except for one small used place that only has cd's, and they rarely have anything interesting.....but there is going to be a record and music 'fair' at a local Elks Lodge soon where I can check out vinyl, cd's, magazines, books, memorabilia, etc.. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: March 06 2015 at 10:21
| Saw the Trevor Rabin LP Can't Look Away, still in plastic with a very clean looking disc, at a local public library's used book room on sale for 50 cents. Alan White played on two of its tracks, but I couldn't manage to part with my Kennedy-head half-dollar because, after all, it was still only Rabin. |
Posted By: zwordser
Date Posted: February 09 2016 at 13:40
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OK, About a year after I originally created this post, and here are some prog/prog related CDs/tapes I've found over the last year, completely by chance, mostly at thrift stores and swap meets (again, mostly free to $1.00, some a little more). My Favorite Headache -- Geddy Lee Beat -- King Crimson Can't Buy A Thrill -- Steely Dan Two Against Nature -- Steely Dan Defector -- Steve Hackett Please Don't Touch -- Steve Hackett (cassette) Chicago III Holidays in Eden -- Marillion Basic Miles -- Miles Davis (cassette) Dead Winter Dead -- Trans Siberian Orchestra Even in the Quietest Moments -- Supertramp The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway -- Genesis (bought extra, even though already had) Mask -- Vangelis Mr. Fantasy -- Traffic The Polite Force -- Egg Quadrophenia -- The Who The Who Sell Out -- The Who The Serpent is Rising -- Styx Paradise Theatre -- Styx Scarlet's Walk -- Tori Amos Shleep -- Robert Wyatt A Passage in Time -- Dead Can Dance Worlds Collide -- Apocalyptica I Looked Up -- The Incredible String Band More Live Nektar in New York Do they Hurt? -- Brand X (cassette) So, pretty good year for me for unexpected prog! Of these, I'd say Shleep, The Polite Force, Mr. Fantasy, Worlds Collide, My Favorite Headache, Defector, Please Don't Touch, Quadrophenia and I Looked Up were the best. Anyone else? (Note, some people previously replied about finds in music stores -- This thread was intended to be mainly about non-music store places where you come across prog by chance (that is, you don't expect to find whatever you picked up, or don't know what you'll find). ------------- Z |
Posted By: scruffydragon
Date Posted: February 09 2016 at 14:22
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Since Christmas I have had a real mixed bag from charity shops in my area. ELO. Face the music, Discovery, Out of the blue. These three came from the same shop on the same day.£1.00 each. I was thrilled at that. Genesis. Turn it on again(Hits),We can't dance, And then there were three, Invisible touch. Late Genesis seems to be common in this area. Some of these albums at the moment seem to appear in different charity shops often duplicated. Earlier Gabriel era material seems to be scarce so perhaps people treasure it more. Jeff Wayne. Highlights from The War of the Worlds. I found the full version in a charity shop last year. Mike Oldfield. The collection and Tubular Bells II. From the same charity shop last weekend. I missed out on the Orchestral tubular bells as I had no cash at the time. Queen, Greatest hits,3 CD set. Scuffed and well loved but plays fine. A steal at £1.50. Queen II. Sky, Sky,Sky 2,Cadmium,Sky 4. All came from a second hand shop for 50p each. Vangelis,Themes. Mostly all odds and ends but they were all cheap enough to purchase and finding them in a charity shop is always nice.
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Posted By: WeepingElf
Date Posted: February 09 2016 at 14:37
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Years ago, I found two Magma CDs (Üdü Wüdü and Magma Live) on a flea market. Paid 5 DM for each. Later, I found two The Mars Volta CDs (Nocturniquet and De-Loused in the Comatorium) on another flea market that went for € 0.50 a piece. ------------- ... brought to you by the Weeping Elf "What does Elvish rock music sound like?" - "Yes." |
Posted By: HemispheresOfXanadu
Date Posted: February 09 2016 at 14:40
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Went to a hole-in-the-wall music store a while ago when camping. There were CD cases and boxes of records all over the floor--it was beautiful. I got: Fear Factory - Remanufacture (Would appeal to prog metal + electronic fans imo) ------------- https://twitter.com/ProgFollower" rel="nofollow - @ProgFollower on Twitter. Tweet me muzak. |