Recently a friend purchased a record player and a small collection of records, and asked me to pick up some records if I happened to find any. I came across a really nice pile of records including some Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, and much more. A friend at work loaned me a record player for a little while, and I've been listening to all the records one-by-one. I'm amazed at how cool it is to listen to records compared with listening to cd's. First of all, the artwork on the records is incredible. It's very large, and accessible. Typically, there is a large image on the front and back, and when you open up the record, there might be additional artwork inside. For whatever reason, the artwork that comes with CD's and tapes completely lacks the impact that a record provides. The other noticeable thing is that listening to records is an activity. You can't really put on a record and get distracted, because in fifteen or twenty minutes, you are going to have to flip the record or put on a new one. It keeps me involved in the music, and prevents me from getting distracted and running off to do something else. It makes it easy to focus on the music, and really get into it. Another great thing is that records hit their peak at the same time that rock and roll did. Most of the good music that is out there was originally produced on records, so it feels like you're listening to the real thing on records. It has been a lot of fun listening through all of the records even if it's only temporary.