If you’re someone who likes rifling through vintage record collections and/or has an affinity for embarrassing album covers from the 1970s, here’s some good news for you. The New York Public Library’s Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound are holding a record sale this week, putting 22,000 donated vinyls in their collection up for grabs. Doo-wop music party, anyone?
They’ve been putting a small sample of the available records on their Tumblr and Facebook pages, and plan on uploading new ones until the sale hits town this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You can also contact them and reserve a record if you see something you like. A few goodies so far: The Mothers (as in, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention) at the Fillmore East in June 1971, David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World, Iggy Pop and Bowie’s Stowaway D.O.A., New Kids on the Block’s You Got It (The Right Stuff) and a beautiful copy of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham. Seriously, this sale is amazing.
These aren’t scratched up or bum records either. the library says they’re selling these off years worth of unsolicited donations they already had a copy of. Deals kick off at noon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts near Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and while the sale does require you to venture across the East River, it is worth it. They’ll be offering the records at the “lowest possible price,” too, so you won’t break the bank by sweetening up your collection.