Vinyl worthy

If you haven’t purchased a record in a while, I have some news for you. Vinyl has gotten very expensive.

Records run from $30 up to $80 for a new release. Because of the cost and the fact I want to keep my collection lean and mean, I have developed a litmus test for buying a record.

When I pull the record out of the bin, I do a mental exercise: I picture my future self sitting in front of my entire collection and asking myself the following question, “Of all the records in front of me, am I really going to pull this record out of the stack? Am I really going to choose this record to listen to over the Jerry Garcia Band, Steely Dan, Tedeschi Trucks, Pearl Jam or ‘The Garden State Soundtrack?’”

If the answer is yes I buy the record. Very few records pass this test.

Here are the records from 2024 that pass my vinyl litmus test. These are the records destined to meet the needle on my turntable. (Of course, many of these aren’t available on vinyl, but you get the point.)

No. 10: Natalie Spears, “Hymn of Wild Things”

Carbondale resident Natalie Spears’ 2024 record deserves a shoutout because it is a great effort that is worthy of repeated recognition. 

“Hymn of Wild Things” features nine sublime tracks that dip in and out of genres — from an instrumental, to a New Orleans juke-joint tune, to a tale of a miner who loses his home to “the company,” to a song about her father’s struggle with Alzheimer’s, to songs about nature, which is Spears’ true love.

The album plays like a collection of short stories, each one exploring a completely different world, the only common thread being the voice of the author. She has spun a beautiful musical yarn.

“Hymn of Wild Things” hasn’t found its way to vinyl, but here’s hoping it makes its way onto wax.

No. 9: “Dangermuffin” (self-titled)

This four-piece from Asheville, North Carolina, released its first album since 2017 and it is a beauty. It harkens back to their 2010 release “Moonscapes,” which is a must listen to record.

Lead singer Dan Lotti calls the band’s music “sandblasted roots rock because it was born at the beach steeped in those vibes.” The band’s music is a mix between The Samples meets Sting, meets Mt. Joy meets Slightly Stoopid.

From the first melodic lines of “We Push Mountains” all the way through, “Dangermuffin” goes down smooth. “Omaha” and “LBL” are other standout tracks. The latter has a trancelike vibe, perfect for skiing powder on a bluebird day and will sound great on a vinyl record.

No. 8: Black Keys, “The Black Keys Ohio Players”

Dan (Auerbach) and Patrick (Carney), you had me at, “This is Nowhere.”

That’s the opening track of the Black Keys new record and it is classic Black Keys — rocking, groovy, cool falsetto vocals, just a great track.

In the song, Auerbach sings what feels like a line perfect for these times, “Gonna take a one way trip to nowhere, gonna pack my bags head out to nowhere, gonna tell my friends I’m going back to nowhere.”

The Black Keys are my vote for best rock band of the 21st century and “Ohio Players” only cements their legacy and this record will happily take its place in my vinyl collection.

No. 7: Khruangbin, “A la Sala”

Khruangbin is a musical trio from Houston. The band consists of Laura Lee Ochoa (bass, guitar and vocals), Mark Speer (guitar and vocals), and DJ Johnson (drums, keyboards and vocals). The trio is known for blending classic soul, dub and rock with influences from across the globe, all dripped in gooey psychedelia. 

If you love groovy music with luscious bass, melodic guitar and various exotic instruments, then Khruangbin is for you — think New Mastersounds after smoking a hookah. 

The band’s music is primarily instrumental, though they occasionally throw in some ethereal lyrics. “May 9th,” my favorite track on “A la Sala,” is such a track in which Ochoa sings “Oh what it could be, oh what a dream to me, memory burned and gone, a multi-colored gray.” Those lyrics, particularly the idea of “a multi-colored gray,” sums up the band perfectly.

Khruangbin’s music cries out to be learned on vinyl, so while you’re pulling “A la Sala,” grab whatever else is in the bin. Future mornings drinking coffee and late nights grooving will thank you for it.

No. 6: Gillian Welch/David Rawlings, “Woodland”

Welch and Rawlings have collaborated on nine albums, five released under her name, three released under Rawlings’ name, and two under both of their names. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a duo that presented itself in such a way.

In “Woodland,” Welch gets top billing. This album is an absolute delight. It fits in perfectly with some of the great male/female duets of the 1970s — Lindsay Buckingham with Stevie Nicks and Chrstine McVie, Eric Clapton and Marcy Levy, Neil Young and Nicolette Larson. 

The song “What We Had” could easily be mashed up with Larson’s “Lotta Love.”

The opening lyrics from the first track on the album, “Empty Trainload of Sky” sums up the music perfectly, “Saw a freight train yesterday it was chugging, plugging away, ‘cross a river trestle so high, just a boxcar blue showing daylight clear through, just an empty trainload of sky.”

The beautiful melodies, vocal harmonies, lush textures and contemplative lyrics cry out for analog sound.

No. 5: Widespread Panic, “Snake Oil King,” “Hailbound Queen”

Widespread Panic’s founding member, guitarist, composer, lyricist and vocalist Michael Houser died in 2002. The band made two very good records while his successor George McConnell was in the band, 2003’s “Ball” and 2006’s “Earth to America” but since guitar player Jimmy Herring joined the band, their records have been fair to midland, with the exception of 2010’s “Dirty Side Down” which was a solid effort.

Widespread Panic had not put a record out since 2014’s “Street Dogs” and seemed to be dead in the water as a recording entity (while remaining one of the great live rock bands in the world). 

That changed in 2024. Widespread Panic released two albums this year. They dropped “Snake Oil King” in June and followed with “Hailbound Queen” in November.

All the songs on the two LPS are solid and there are three great songs that stand up to their Houser days —“We Walk Each Other Home,” “Trashy” and “King Baby.”

Panic even made a video for the song “Trashy” (which is a cover of a Bloodkin song), something they hadn’t done since the 1990s. It is an animated piece that was directed by Daren Ney, guitar player for Nikki Bluhm and The Gramblers. 

Make a little space in the “W” section of your record collection for two Widespread Panic records.

No. 4: David Shaw, “Take a Look Inside”

In October, David Shaw — the lead singer of the New Orleans rock band The Revivalists — released his second solo album “Take a Look Inside,” a decidedly more contemplative and mid-tempo album than his previous work, but possibly his best album yet — which is saying something because the bar has been set quite high by The Revivalists’ six albums and his first solo record. 

Right off the bat, the album goes next level because it has a new recording of the Revivalists’ epic song “Soulfight,” which is worth the price of admission alone.

Drawing off his experiences as a new father and wisdom gained from the clicking of the odometer of the tour bus, the new material is outstanding.

“Take a Look Inside,” “Come Back Home,” “Arms of the River” and “Guru” are all epic songs. This is an absolute must hear record. Shaw also released an accompanying piece to “Take a Look Inside,” in which he performed all of the songs on the album on solo piano with no lyrics.

“Take a Look Inside (piano version)” is absolutely gorgeous, another must have piece of music and something that will sound brilliant on vinyl. 

No. 3: MJ Lenderman, “Manning Fireworks”

MJ Lenderman released his first solo effort, a self-titled album in 2019. At that time, he was working in an ice cream shop to support himself financially. 

In 2021, he released “Ghost of Your Guitar Solo” and in 2022, followed that with “Boat Songs,” which made several best album lists from that year.

“Manning Fireworks” sounds like a record that Uncle Tupelo (progenitors of alt-country and the band that begat Wilco and Son Volt) might have made if they invited Jonathan Richmond into the proceedings. 

The song “Wristwatch” captures the contradiction of living in a time where technology follows you everywhere at the cost of meaningful human connection. “I’ve got a beach house up in Buffalo, and a wristwatch that’s a compass and a cell phone, and a wristwatch that tells me you’re all alone.” 

In 2024, Lendermann also did a guest appearance on the female vocalist Waxahatchee’s album “Tiger’s Blood” on the song “Right Back to it” that is one of 2024’s best tracks. 

“Manning Fireworks” only has nine songs on it and all are great.“She’s Leaving You” is an instant classic and the last track “Bark at the Moon” features seven minutes of reverb and distortion that is somehow trancelike and melodic.

“Manning Fireworks” is a contender for album of the year. It’s that good. The disqualifier is it’s only 38 minutes long, but each and every one of those minutes will sound awfully good on vinyl.

No. 2: Bonny Light Horseman, “Keep Me on Your Mind/Set Me Free.”

Bonny Light Horseman is Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson and Josh Kaufman. Their self-titled debut album was released in January 2020. The album contains a mixture of traditional British folk songs and original material. Brilliant harmonies, lovely melody and laid-back guitars and piano earned the album a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

The band released their second record “Rolling Golden Holy” in 2022. On June 7, Bonny Light Horseman released “Keep Me on Your Mind/Set Me Free.” 

The track “Old Dutch” is one of the best songs of the year and there are easily nine behind it that will stand the test of time. Somehow, this album was not nominated for a Grammy, which is an egregious oversight. 

“Keep Me on Your Mind/Set Me Free” is a slow grooving masterpiece that beautifully blends the harmonies of Mitchell and Johnson with musical textures laid out by Kaufman that are sublime and will sound fantastic on vinyl. 

No. 1: Billy Strings, “Highway Prayers” and “Live. Vol. 1”

William Apostle (aka Billy Strings, but known simply as Billy to his faithful) had quite the 2024. He continued to pilot his rocketship on his meteoric rise of playing bigger and bigger venues, far exceeding the capacity of any bluegrass act in history. 

Billy is the first bona fide rock star in bluegrass history (apologies to Sam Bush and Drew Emmitt). 

Billy sold out two shows at Fiddler’s Green in May. He released two excellent records, “Live Vol. 1” in March and his sixth studio record “Highway Prayers” in June. And to top it off, he became a father for the first time in September. 

The baby was born during the first night of his Renewal Festival in Buena Vista which prompted him to have to leave his own shindig to return to his home city of Nashville to be there for the birth. 

Billy got a little help from his friends (including Ringo Starr who flew him back to Nashville in his private jet) and the show went on without him in Buena Vista. Billy ended up refunding all those who attended their money which only further solidified his “GOAT” status as an uber musician and righteous dude.

Billy’s album “Highway Prayers” is packed with solid bluegrass fare. “Leaning on a Traveling Song,” “In the Clear,” “Seven Weeks in County” will all be staples in his catalogue for years.

But it is the presence of the song “Gild the Lily” that gives this album a date with destiny on your turntable. The song sounds like it would have fit perfectly on a “Traffic” record. It is my song of the year.

Billy gets the top spot in the list because not only did he release “Highway Companion” he dropped his first official live release “Live Vol. 1” which perfectly bottles Billy’s magical live performances.

Billy is a legend in his prime. It’s his world, we’re just living in it, and you’ll be living large if you’re listening to Billy Strings on vinyl.