Turn of the century essentials: The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week
Welcome back to Far Out’s weekly vinyl corner feature, where we look to bring you a tempting selection of records from some of our favourite artists, bargain vinyl deals to look out for, and unmissable limited-edition releases. Today, we’re picking out a selection of essential albums from the period surrounding the millennium.
Vinyl sales grew for the 15th consecutive year in 2022, rising to 5.5 million units, the highest level since 1990, when …But Seriously by Phil Collins was the year’s biggest-selling studio album. The return to plastic has steadily climbed since the invasion of streaming services in the late 2000s. While the weightless, highly accessible and practical format is great for discovering and consuming swathes of new music while you’re out and about, there’s nothing like coming home to a bit of vinyl.
Fellow collectors will agree that if there’s an artist or album you love, there’s always a good reason to have the turntable at the ready and a 12″ slot reserved on the shelf for inevitable expansion. The sound quality of vinyl brings something more hearty and vibrant with its analogue warmth and crisp definition that there really isn’t a substitute for.
So if, like me, you have a soft spot for these groovy discs of plastic, allow me to walk you through ten hot picks for this week. The list includes a selection of indie classics from The Strokes and Yo La Tengo alongside some electro-infused gems by Radiohead and Moby.
The following selections have been handpicked by Far Out Magazine, and as a result, we may earn from qualifying purchases.
The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week:
The Strokes – Is This It
New York legends The Strokes redefined indie rock in the early 2000s with a run of highly impressive releases highlighted by their debut album, Is This It. The album triggered a chain reaction of rock revival in New York, which saw the likes of Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and LCD Soundsystem emerge.
“Our music was, like, [the Doors’], but trying to be classical,” drummer Fabrizio Moretti told Rolling Stone in 2002. “We all took music classes and tried writing songs, and when we put them together, they were this crazy amalgam of insane ideas that we thought was really cool.”
Available for purchase here for £34.65.
Moby – Play
After a humble start in New York’s post-punk scene in the 1980s, Moby tried his hand at electro-production, releasing the popular dance single ‘Go’ in 1991. Sadly, his career took a slump through the mid-’1990s, but in 1999, the miracle that is Play saved him from destitution.
The album flows through a range of emotions, but a head-bobbing melancholy permeates most of the album’s strongest tracks, such as ‘Natural Blues’, ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?’ and ‘Porcelain’. However, Moby also explores more upbeat territory in hits like ‘Honey’ or the hip-hop-inspired ‘Bodyrock’.
Available for purchase here for £25.99.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
Since his days with The Birthday Party, Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave has led a prolific and wildly capricious career. Cave’s discography follows him through the highs and lows of love, loss and addiction, wielding music of anger, sorrow and sentimentality. Cave and the Bad Seeds have concurrently framed these rolling emotions with a diverse framework of instrumental styles.
While many fans pick out 1997’s The Boatman’s Call as the best Bad Seeds album, there’s something to be said for this gem. Abattoir Blues is another lyrical peak that harmonises with robust instrumental variation, from the elation of ‘Breathless’ to the desperation of ‘Abattoir Blues’ and the rapturous poignance of ‘O Children’.
Available for purchase here for £28.99.
Eminem – Marshall Mathers LP
Marshall Mathers, the American rapper better known as Eminem, rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and garnered a healthy following with his first two albums, 1996’s Infinite and 1999’s The Slim Shady LP. However, it was 2000’s Marshall Mathers LP that saw Eminem’s biggest breakthrough.
Eminem collaborated with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and many of his D12 bandmates for his masterpiece third album. The release includes the brilliant Dido featuring ‘Stan’, ‘The Way I Am’, ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and ‘Bitch Please II’, among many other essential hits.
Available for purchase here from £37.29.
Radiohead – Kid A
In the late 1990s, Radiohead began to experiment with synthesisers and drum machines. The lead singer and principal songwriter Thom Yorke had grown weary of traditional rock sounds and sought to knead the influence of IDM by the likes of Aphex Twin, Autechre and Squarepusher into the band’s dough.
The glorious results of these post-OK Computer sessions can be heard across 2000’s Kid A and 2001’s Amnesiac. The former, for most fans, just about takes gold thanks to its pioneering post-rock shock factor. From the first needle drop, ‘Everything in its Right Place’ made it patently clear Radiohead never planned to stand still. Other highlight tracks from the album include ‘How to Disappear Completely’ and ‘Idioteque’.
Available for purchase here for £32.99.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
In 1999, Red Hot Chili Peppers released Californication, their immensely popular album that marked the first return of guitarist John Frusciante, who had previously flavoured Mother’s Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The album was the first in a run of hit albums that made Red Hot Chili’s a mainstay on charts around the world.
Californication brimmed with accessible hits and housed five singles: ‘Scar Tissue’, ‘Around the World’, ‘Otherside’, ‘Californication’ and ‘Road Trippin”. Over the next decade, By the Way and Stadium Arcadium consolidated the band’s success in their most fruitful period with Frusciante on the strings.
Available for purchase here from £25.25.
The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
In the late 1990s, the Detroit duo The White Stripes, comprised of Jack and Meg White, led an emphatic garage rock renaissance. They garnered a solid local following with their first two albums, 1999’s The White Stripes and 2000’s De Stijl, but 2001’s White Blood Cells was the crucial moment that lifted them to global majesty.
Fans would have to wait until 2003’s Elephant to hear the signature stomp of ‘Seven Nation Army’, but White Blood Cells was home to such essentials as ‘Fell in Love with a Girl’, ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’ and ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’.
Available for purchase here from £26.49.
The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
The prolific American neo-psychedelia group The Flaming Lips released their ninth studio album, The Soft Bulletin, in 1999. The release marked a significant change in the band’s sound: where before, their music had been heavily guitar-orientated, The Soft Bulletin introduced a more refined and intricately textured platter.
The nebulous soundscapes visited in the albums highlight moments like ‘Race for the Prize’, ‘Feeling Yourself Disintegrate’ and ‘Waitin’ for a Superman’, which helped secure widespread acclaim heading into their popular electrified follow-up of 2002, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Available for purchase here from £36.37.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
It’s easy to see why Godspeed You! Black Emperor have never been the talk of the town or the cream of the charts. If these Montreal-based wizards wanted to be there, they wouldn’t create albums consisting of just three or four epic 20-minute tracks.
Within their area of expertise, Godspeed You! Black Emperor have excelled on every album they’ve pleased us with, but 2000’s Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven surfaces as a particular highlight. The album is home to just four epic tracks: ‘Storm’, ‘Static’, ‘Sleep’ and ‘Like Antennas To Heaven…’.
Available for purchase here from £25.79.
PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories From The Sea
In 2000, English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey released her masterpiece fifth studio album, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. The album was an unmitigated success, swiping the 2001 Mercury Prize alongside a host of accolades. It marked her second big commercial break following her popular third LP of 1995, To Bring You My Love.
Stories from the City, Stories From The Sea is home to a pleasing balance of emotion and musical styles reminiscent of Patti Smith’s punk-era musings. The album’s most memorable moment was ‘This Mess We’re In’, featuring Thom Yorke, but ‘This Is Love’, ‘Good Fortune’ and ‘You Said Something’ shine just as brightly.
Available for purchase here from £22.99.
