When your record collection gets big enough, you’ll start focusing less on buying vinyl from your favorite musicians and more on ramping up with random records in the various genres of music. The transition is often organic but if you want to jump ahead a few years and several hundred records, then give this some thought.

The closest you and I may ever get to owning a record store is reorganizing our vinyl collections into categories instead of the more common approach, alphabetically. Classic rock, 80s synth pop, rap, blues, psych, new age and grunge are categories of music only made possible in the vinyl world when you have enough albums to squeeze into each category. To do so, you either need lots of time and money to build up your collection or laser focus.

Get fixated on one genre. Go to record fairs and local record shops and commit to only buying polka music. In a matter of months, you’ll have more polka records than you ever knew existed. Over time, change your focus, start buying records from another genre of music and then repeat – over and over and over again. In not too long you’ll have an eclectic mix of music separated by thick pieces of white plastic with labels that read, “Acid Jazz”, “Folktronica” and “Electropop”. Your friends and family will feel less intimidated by your now well organized and categorized vast collection of vinyl records. Heck, you could even start putting price tags on each album, buy a neon “Open” sign and see where the music takes you.

This is it. You’ve done it. Your own personal record store. Well done.

Recommended Genres, Albums & Pairings

Genre: Acid Jazz

Artist & Album: Jamiroquai, Travelling Without Moving

Recorded in August 1996 @ Great Linford Manor, England
Produced by Jason Kay & Al Stone

Beer Pairing:

Choice Bros Brewing, Virtual Insanity

A perfect pair for Jamiroquai’s bestselling album, New Zealand’s quirky Choice Bros Brewing offers up Virtual Insanity, a tropical Milkshake IPA with a deranged amount of lemon drop hops, mountains of mango and light notes of creamy coconut. Named in honor of Travelling Without Moving’s smash hit, it would be insane not to pair Virtual Insanity with Virtual Insanity.

 

 

Here is a photo of Virtual Insanity by Choice Bros Brewing

Genre: Electropop

Artist & Album: Com Truise, In Decay

Recorded in July 2012
Produced by Ghostly International

Beer Pairing:

Shorts Brewing, Melt My Brain

Melt My Brain, from Shorts Brewing in Belaire, Michigan is an experimental golden ale brewed with coriander, juniper berries, limes and blended with tonic water to create the tasting experience of drinking a gin and tonic cocktail. Much like Com Truise’s In Decay, this experimental masterpiece is medal-winning worthy. Melt My Brain took home a silver medal in the experimental category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. For this perfect pair, turn on In Decay, crank it up, kick back and start crushing the über crushable Melt My Brain.

 

Here is a photo of Melt My Brain by Shorts Brewing

Genre: Folktronica

Artist & Album: Four Tet, Rounds

Recorded in May 2003 @ Kieran Hebden's north London flat
Produced by Domino Recording Company

Beer Pairing:

Shorts Brewing, Mr. Fusion

Folktronica is often described as a combination of mechanical dance beats with elements of acoustic rock or folk, which remind me of relishing in the weird and 3-6 AM hangouts during “dealer’s choice” music sessions with friends. Without fail, somebody would pick out an album like Rounds and then everybody would give pause and appreciate Four Tet for his unmatched creativity.

Pair Four Tet’s Rounds or any folktronica record with the quintessential fusion beer, Mr. Fusion by Shorts Brewing. Mr. Fusion is a green tea and mint infused IPA with light, sweet lemon-lime aromas. It’s golden in color and has bright green and grassy hop flavors followed by modest hints of mint. Folk and electronic music probably fused together during 3-6 AM sessions of drinking too many Mr. Fusions.

Here is a photo of Mr. Fusion by Shorts Brewing