Meghan Braddy is a third-year journalism major and writes “Meghan’s Muses” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the paper.
I’ve always had intense academic stress and anxiety growing up. I remember when my fear of failure and striving for perfection caused me to put too much on my plate and have panic attacks throughout high school. There were days when I would leave class, go to the bathroom and bawl my eyes out simply because I was way too overwhelmed. I would have mental health days where I would stay at home with my mom to help ease this stress, but I never found an outlet for it until vinyl records became my safe space.
Every time I came home from a long day of work and school feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I would instantly put a record on. It was almost a form of therapy for me, as the acoustics of each record could instantly calm me.
At first, I never really understood why vinyl affected me this way, especially since most people my age use apps like Spotify and Apple Music to stream or download their songs.
However, I quickly realized what I love most about vinyl is how authentic the music sounds. Every groove played, every crackle and pop heard and the simplicity of every song intertwining into the next helped block out the noise in my head.
Studies show that I’m not alone. A meta-analysis from the National Library of Medicine shows that of 32 controlled studies with over 1,900 participants, music therapy showed significantly reduced anxiety amongst those surveyed.
Having this hobby of record collecting also gives me something to focus on. I soon found that there were so many things to love about vinyl, such as how it can transform any music into a more unique and interactive listening experience.
For me, listening to vinyl is much different than listening to digital music that streaming services provide. I love accessing millions of songs on my phone, but I feel like they sometimes lack the warmth of listening to a record. Digital music can be so compressed, and I feel there’s an intimacy and rawness in analog music that a digital listening experience can't replicate.
For instance, I can listen to a “Tame Impala” song on my phone and be satisfied, but transfer that song to a record player, and it’s almost as if I’ve never heard the song before.
When I’m taking in this new listening experience, I’m not concerned about anything or anyone around me. It’s just me, my records and the music. It's precisely the distraction I need from the stressfulness of my day-to-day life.
As a journalist and student working two jobs, my life can get hectic. I constantly attend class, work and meetings, and I don’t always have time to be in the moment. However, when I listen to my records, I don’t have to answer to anyone, and nothing is demanded of me. I can just sit, listen to the tracks and give my mind a break.
There’s also a certain nostalgia from this hobby that reminds me of my parents, instantly providing a comforting feeling that calms me in any stressful situation I find myself in. I’ve discovered this to be especially helpful when I’m away from my family at school.
Although my parents grew up on cassette tapes, all the music they listened to influenced my record purchases. They exposed me to bands and artists like “Prince,” “David Bowie,” “The Eagles,” “The Rolling Stones,” “Pink Floyd,” “Boston” and many more.
Although all of these aspects of listening to records help ground me, it’s not just the listening part that helps.
When my parents bought me my first record player, it opened up a world for me to have a creative outlet where I could dedicate my time to collecting records instead of worrying about the things in life that I couldn’t control. I started going to every record store I could find and always stopped in vinyl sections in stores because I wanted to constantly add to my collection, carefully selecting each new record with purpose and intention.
Sometimes, I wanted older records previously owned by others because of the history that came with them. Other times, I would buy brand new records because I wanted to add a new artist or band to my collection that I didn’t have before.
Eventually, I noticed an increase in my overall happiness because I never had a hobby before. Deciding to dedicate my time to record-collecting and listening to them just felt right for me.
It was almost as if I found the one hobby that took me away from everything, and my affinity for it wasn’t as dated as I thought it was. Data published by Statista in April 2024 from the Recording Industry Association of America shows that 43.2 million extended and long-play records were sold in the United States the previous year.
I remember one day I came home feeling very overwhelmed. It felt like I was drowning in responsibilities, and I started panicking. I placed “Prince and The Revolution’s” “Purple Rain” on my turntable. The first few notes of “Let’s Go Crazy” played, and I started to slowly get invested in the music. As I listened, I became much more relaxed.
It felt like I was living in a moment when nothing else mattered. I played the entire album front to back, and the music guided me back to a point where I became much more calm.
My collection has grown a lot over the years. I now have over 40 records, and each one holds sentimental value to me. One of my favorite finds is “Marvin Gaye Live.” I discovered it in a small record store near my hometown. I wasn’t even buying anything that day. My mom bought a T-shirt, and when we checked out, it was sitting by the register for only five dollars.
To this day, it’s one of the best records I own because each song leads into the next, and you can hear Marvin Gaye talking to the crowd before he sings each song. It was exciting to discover it, and listening to the album front to back when I got home soothed my soul.
Ultimately, collecting and listening to vinyl is more than just a hobby for me. It reminds me to slow down and helps me find comfort in something as simple as a needle hitting a record.
No matter how chaotic life gets, I know I can always come home, put on a record, and let the music take me somewhere peaceful, safe and entirely mine. I suggest that anyone who wants to feel this way start listening to vinyl, too. It may seem like a tedious task since you can listen to the same songs on your phone, but I promise there’s nothing like putting a record on and letting the stress melt away.
Contact Meghan Braddy via email at meghan.braddy@bsu.edu or on X @meghan_braddy.
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