How to Store Vinyl Records Effectively: Top Vinyl Storage Ideas!

Below is a transcript from my YouTube video on how best to store your vinyl records.  You can read it as an article, or watch the full video below.  And if you enjoy it, please subscribe to my Devoted to Vinyl YouTube channel.

Hey guys, it’s Michael from Devoted to Vinyl.  And in this video, we’re going to be talking about the best way you can store your vinyl records.  So let’s get started.

So we’ve all been there, right?  You’ve got a whole bunch of records and you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do with them.

First, we all know one thing you don’t do.  You don’t stack them on top of each other. 

You never stack them on top of each other.

But the big question is:  what do you do with your records?  What is the best way you can store them?

Some people like to use milk crates.  Some people like to use shelves at Ikea.  But I’m going to show you the way I like to store my vinyl records, which I think is a pretty practical way of doing it, but also fits in well with the rest of the decor of your room.  So let’s take a quick look at what I do.

• But before we get started, please take a quick look (below) at a few popular vinyl record storage options you may want to consider:

Photo	Model
	Line Phono Height Stand
	Line Phono Extra Height Stand

Alright guys, so what you see here are two microsuede ottomans, one is brown and one is black.  Both of them are 30 inches wide by 15 inches tall by 15 inches deep.  And so, it’s really perfect for storing your records.

Now what you’re gonna see here is really only 60 percent of my collection—I do have another ottoman in another room.  But for the sake of convenience, I just wanted to show these two to kind of give you an idea of how I like to store my collection.

Now although I store my vinyl records by genre of music, within that categorization, I also store them alphabetically by the artist.  So that means that if we’re going through the SOUL music category, Jimmy Ruffin is going to come up before Stevie Wonder.  And so, for me, that’s another way of being able to better categorize and find what I’m looking for.

So another thing I really like about these two ottomans that I’m showing you is not only do they store your vinyl records very well but, they’re also collapsable.  And so I’m going to show you that right now.

You first have to reach inside the bottom of the ottoman, and there will be a pull tab in which you can pull the bottom out.

Once you actually collapse the ottoman, what I like to do is simply take the top of the ottoman and I lay it down.  And then I’ll put the actual body of the newly collapsed ottoman inside of the top, along with the bottom portion that we took out first.

And now, as you can see, the whole thing is totally collapsed.  And you can do whatever you want with it.  You can move it to another room.  You can move it to another house.  It’s totally transportable and it’s very convenient. 

Now if you’re looking for a portable way to store your records and take them with you on the go, what I like to use is what is called the GPO Portable Carrying Case for LP records.  And it stores about 40 to 45 records per case.

Now this actually comes in five different colors, what you see here is the black, which I like. I think it looks very classic.  But I’ve also seen it in red and blue and a couple other colors, as well.

Now as we open up the case and we take a look at what’s inside, you can notice that there is a little bit of a felt like material that’s black on the inside. 

So now that we have the case open, I’m actually going to put in three records so you can actually get an idea of how well your records will actually fit inside this case.

And as you can see, the records fir perfectly fine inside of this case.  So you can put in your 12 inch records.  You can lock your case.  And you can grab it and go.  Another cool feature on this carrying case is that it actually has a detachable top.  All you have to do is gentle grab the top and pull up slowly.  And it will automatically remove itself from the hinges.

But wait!  There’s more!

So what can be better than a portable carrying case that holds 12 inch vinyl records?  What about a portable carrying case that holds 7 inch vinyl records?

So because I also collect 45s, I need something to obviously store them in.  Now when you look at the smaller carrying case, you probably assume that it’s an exact replica of its big brother, and that’s actually not entirely true.

Although they share similar features, here are a few of the differences.  The first difference is how many records the smaller carrying case can hold.  While the bigger one can hold about 40 to 45 vinyl records, this smaller one can hold about 20 to 25.

The second thing you’ll notice is that on the front there’s only one clasp, whereas on the bigger carrying case there were two. 

The third thing is that, unlike the first carrying case I showed you, where you could actually take off the top from its hinges, so that you could have easier access to the vinyl records, this smaller carrying case does not have a detachable top.

But other than that, it’s pretty much the same.  Once you put your records inside, you close the top, you lock the clasp, and you pick up your record carrying case and you go.

So that’s it guys.  Those are the ways I like to store my vinyl records.  I think it works for me in terms of being able to store something that’s stationary and is not going to leave my home anytime soon.  And then have another option, for taking them outside the home, so you can show your friends and family. 

If you liked this video, I encourage you to hit the like button.  Also subscribe to my channel Devoted to Vinyl, where I’m going to be coming out with regular videos about vinyl and the collecting hobby that we all love.  I think we’re going to have a lot of fun on this channel and I really can’t wait to have you guys on board so we can go on this journey together.  I’m really excited. 

And, don’t forget, please leave me a comment down below.  I really am interested in knowing how you all store your vinyl records. 

Do you like using milk crates?  Do you like buying book shelves and storing your records vertically?  Maybe you guys have some more creative ways of doing it.  I would love to know.

So, once again, leave your comments down below.  I’m going to read every single one.  I’m going to respond to as many as I can.  And I will see you in the comments section and later on with more videos on this channel.

Thanks guys.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

“I’m going to actually show you the way that I like to store my vinyl records, which I think is an actually—“

Ugh.

[Big sigh]

I think I probably have that covered.

“Do you like putting them in milk crates, do you like buying bookcase shelves—“

Bookcase shelves?  Book shelves? 

Mad props to ya’ll who do this man, this is work.