View Full Version : In +/- 25 years, what will the thrift store bins say about our g-g-generation?


d-ray657
03-16-2009, 11:04 AM
Those of you who hit the thrifts shopping for records probably find an abundance of Barbara Streisand, Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Mitch Miller, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Barry Manilo, Herb Alpert and others. :boring:

Making a number of presumptions here: that a substantial portion of records that find their way to the thrifts are the result of cleaning out a loved one's belongings after the loved one has moved out of their main home, or has moved on to the next life; that the prevailing age of the former owners is 70+; and that the records in the thrifts show some of what was popular with that generation.

There are, of course, many other possibilities regarding the music collections of that generation: that the better collections were preserved and retained by the next generation; that the better collections had sufficient value to be sold to dealers; that the thrifts are primarily stocked by collections from those who have chosen other media; and that the regular crap we find is there because people realized it was crap; and that the good stuff doesn't stay in the bins very long. Also, for fairness, one must acknowledge that thrifts also contain a substantial number of fine classical albums. :music:

That said, I wonder what the records in the thrifts say about the tastes of a generation? :scratch2:


To take the next step of my question, we must also make the unlikely assumption that vinyl, or even more unlikely, CDs, will continue to show up in thifts when we 50 somethings reach our ultimate destination. Maybe this generation will rebuild our music collections in blueray. In any event, what will be the equivalent of Barbara Streisand and Andy Williams. What will the next generation of bargain shoppers perceive as the music taste of this generation? Will they be overwhelmed with copies of Rumours or Thriller? Will Madonna replace Streisand?:puke: Will Dan Fogelberg replace Andy Williams? :dunno: Will Metallica take Glen Campbell's place? :rockon:

What do you think?

chicks
03-16-2009, 11:22 AM
There will be an abundance of Yanni, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, and all the others pushed on the unwashed masses through those PBS fund drives. ;)

JohnVF
03-16-2009, 11:26 AM
We'll all be looking through old hard drives at some lost-souls DRM encoded MP3s.

Actually, since most people that don't really appreciate music are going away from buying anything tangible and instead buying disposable digital files, the CDs and Vinyl that are actually to remain in production might actually be those with more artistic merit. So if there's CD and Vinyl in the thrifts of the future, perhaps it will be some of the better stuff. And, of course, 5 copies of Whipped Cream and Other Delights because that's just, by law, what thrift stores have to have.

d-ray657
03-16-2009, 11:31 AM
And, of course, 5 copies of Whipped Cream and Other Delights because that's just, by law, what thrift stores have to have.

But who's complaining right. Better'n seeing Tennessee Ernie's mug.

Regards,

D-Ray

JohnVF
03-16-2009, 11:43 AM
But who's complaining right. Better'n seeing Tennessee Ernie's mug.

Regards,

D-Ray

cheers to that.:yes:

SpeakerLabFan
03-16-2009, 11:59 AM
I see alot of this stuff already mixed in the bins alongside the Firestone, Mantovani, Roger Whittaker and Jim Nabors. It's multi-generational crap and/or very common records.

...and alot of copies of Jane Fonda's Workout Record

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGCVJX6EL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

jn229
03-16-2009, 12:20 PM
Thrift Stores will be out of buiness..........we are the through away generation

merrylander
03-16-2009, 03:02 PM
Probably no end of hip hugger jeans from the crack generation.

70salesguy
03-16-2009, 08:41 PM
There won't be any thrift stores. Society will be so different than it is now.

Thrift stores require 2 elements to exist, people to donate unwanted items of value and others to buy them at a price below their supposed market value.

Those buyers fall into 2 categories, people who have little money buying at this price point to survive and people that can afford to spend money for non-necessities (like most AK thrift shoppers).

Not all of those elements will be prevalent in society in 25 years.

I won't go into detail lest I violate forum rules.

ScramMan2
03-18-2009, 02:50 PM
I see alot of this stuff already mixed in the bins alongside the Firestone, Mantovani, Roger Whittaker and Jim Nabors. It's multi-generational crap and/or very common records.

...and alot of copies of Jane Fonda's Workout Record

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGCVJX6EL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Some background info. I'm a USMC Vietnam vet. Jane sure looked good in "Coming Home". Had to watch that again about a week ago.

I know I'm off topic, had to fit that in.

d-ray657
03-18-2009, 03:37 PM
Probably no end of hip hugger jeans from the crack generation.

Will there be any more Norge refrigerators left for Dan Akroyd to repair, and if so, where will he keep his screwdriver.

Regards,

D-Ray

AnalogDigit
03-19-2009, 01:46 AM
There will be s**t loads of broken, used, abused I-pods and MP3 players in huge boxes along with ear buds for a buck.

OvenMaster
03-19-2009, 10:04 AM
Probably no end of hip hugger jeans from the crack generation.
I love double-entendres. :lmao:
Tom

similost
03-19-2009, 10:17 AM
I think with some of us, we have so many LP's that the collection won't hit the thrift, because family will figure there must be value if the collection is that large..

Then there will be the small collections that probably will hit the thrifts, and those will probably be a lot of the same kind of stuff we see now.

Although the names won't be the same, it will still be the popular stuff that will be a dime a dozen and no one wants, over played and worn out.

Stillone
03-19-2009, 12:24 PM
They will be asking who are all of these long forgotten artists that fill up music server after music server with tens of thousands of tracks.