About NTX Vinyl

I bought my first record around 1991. I was 13 years old, and It was the age of the CD, but I didn’t care. I loved the oversized artwork of an LP, I loved the crackle, the way you could see it spinning while it played, and the tactile nature of the entire experience.

I was hooked. Immediately. 

Over the next 25 years I picked up records whenever and wherever I could. From family members, at garage sales, thrift stores, and of course from independent record shops. I was always on the hunt. 

It has been a life long obsession. One that only intensified in the digital age.

As CDs vanished and all of our music disappeared into our devices I found myself more interested than ever in physical media. And the vinyl LP was my weapon of choice.

By 2015 my collection had really grown. I was buying a ton of records on a regular basis, and many times in large batches. It was starting to snowball, and I loved every bit of it. I was discovering so much music I had never even heard of or seen, researching how and where particular albums were pressed, learning how to properly care for them, and how to “grade” and assess their potential value. All while supporting my favorite bands by actually paying for their art, and tediously organizing and gawking over the albums as I played them.

Rob Gordon would have been so proud. But by 2018 something had to give.

I was buried in crates of albums. Of every genre, era, and style of music imaginable. I had to devise a solution to keep exploring the hobby, to continue collecting, but without going bankrupt.

That is the moment when the idea of NTX Vinyl was born. 

I realized that I had everything I needed to cross over from record collector, to record store owner — without even knowing it was there. I had countless years of experience in the music industry. I’d been on the stage, worked at and with labels, for artist management, merchandise, and marketing companies. 

And most importantly, I was insanely passionate about music, and had a lifetime of knowledge to support such an endeavor. Every album I had ever bought, the hundreds of concerts I’d seen, every note I had played. It was all leading me…….here. 

In June of 2019 I hosted a “Pop-Up Record Store” at my home. It was legitimately a garage sale…consisting of only records. For months I bought, cleaned, sleeved, graded, and priced albums — learning so much along the way. I built shelves and displays. I designed a logo and my kids made signs. I promoted the “event” to local record collectors and simply thought it would be a fun way to clear out a ton of the “extras” I had accumulated, planning to simply reinvest any profits back into my own collecting. 

Little did I know, that day would change my life. 

Over a hundred people showed up that day in my garage. I sold countless albums, and made some life long friends, and customers.

The one question everyone kept asking was, “When are you doing this again?”

I honestly had no idea. I really hadn’t planned much beyond that day. But often times, opportunities present themselves just at the right time, in the right place. 

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