I don't know what it is, but LP pickings in thrift stores of late have been superb, particularly of late 50s through early 70s country and bluegrass (with mid-60s being the best represented). Since this is great music it is hard to complain. It helps too that I am a big fan of both Conway Twitty and Porter Wagoner, since both of those dudes seem to have recorded 100s of albums. But maybe the stuff that has been most interesting to me are some early Hank Williams, Jr. records like "I've got a right to cry" and "Eleven Roses." I think his later stuff is pure shite, but these are really good.

I'm happy the pickings have been good because CHKD, which has dozens on thrift stores around here, has jacked prices up to $1.98. Maybe a buck is relative 'jacking' considering the total cost, but it seems like an outrage to me to charge more than a buck at a thrift store.

I have a couple theories why there are suddenly a ton of good picks across the region in all 7 cities. One, I think that a certain era of country listener is starting to die off and their kids just dump wholesale record collections in the thrift stores (they have tended to come in big clumps). My other theory is that the foreclosure crisis is forcing people to quickly dump their stuff that might otherwise be sold.

Or perhaps there are many good records around because End Times are nigh, that is my other theory.