Customer Reviews

Goldmine's Price Guide to Alternative Records

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really was very dissapointed in the range of music that this book covers. I was hoping to get at least a decent discography of many of these bands, but this volume failed even that test. Having listened to this music in the 1970's and 80's into the 90's and beyond, I take offense to the many glaring ommissions that the author made either by choice or poor research. A few examples are: Psychic TV, Primus, the Muffs, amd Cyprus Hill are a few bands that did not make the cut at all. Steve Albini's original band Big Black is ommited but his 90's band Rapeman is represnted, go figure! (Probobly because by this time he had produced bands like Nirvana, even though Big Black is by far the more influential of his bands) Other bands have only a token mention with only one or two of their discs listed. Examples: Didjits, Naked Raygun, Fugazi, etc. Even more popular acts like Elvis Costello may have his LP's well listed but his Stiff records 45's are completely ignored, likewise Joy Division and the Specials also are poorly represented in the singles department. Especially frustrating to those who grew up with this music is the author's choice to include such modern pop-rock monstrosities as Hootie and the Blowfish and Blues Traveler and other such bands which might find a fine home on most adult contemporary radio stations but can not in any good conscience be considered 'Alternative'. Also if you go into any finer used record store you might be a bit surprised at some of the prices. While the vast majority of record prices have remained constant, he is well off on many of the rarer issues. In conclusion it seems that the author has a real shallow understanding of the heart and soul of the variety of musical forms that are collectively entitled 'Alternative', his viewpoint seems to be that of a contemporary mainstream rock station's music director, strong on the 90's rock but excedingly weak on the roots.

Lotsa errors, omissions and inaccuracies. There's about as much chance of finding some of the Misfits singles for the prices listed in this guide as there is for the Boulder police to ever solve the Jon Bennet Ramsey murder.

Tim Neely is very clear in his Intro (or Disclaimer, if you will) that this book is a guide only and could not include many artist. His Intro addresses most of the negative reviews listed for this book. I liked the book and it proved useful to me. Yes, after almost 10 years it should be updated. Thank You.

This book is the only one of it's kind that I know of...I think it needs to be updated soon though...it is a 1996 pricing guide..Also, it does need some adds on the artist listings section and a CD guide would be great too. It is the only book that I have found that has what I need for Alternative Rock vinyl listings.

This book is the only one of it's kind that I know of...I think it needs to be updated soon though...it is a 1996 pricing guide..Also, it does need some adds on the artist listings section and a CD guide would be great too. It is the only book that I have found that has what I need for Alternative Rock vinyl listings.

Yes, there are many glaring omissions, and yes, the prices of many of the records are laughably low. This book's value, however, lies in its cataloging of many popular "alternative" bands from 1976-1996.

Even if you never find them for the prices Neely has listed, at least you'll be able to find out the number of 7"s Rage Against the Machine released, or how many pressings of "Pick Your King" Poison Idea released and which ones were on what colored vinyl.

Admittedly, you can probably find all of the information in the book with some searching online, but there's nothing like having an old fashioned paperback, with a bevy of information in it, right by your side. Flipping through its pages requires no electricity, it gives you a break from the computer screen glare, and will just perhaps shed some light on a group or record you didn't know existed.

And, hey, it's $1.99 from the Amazon Marketplace. How can you pass it up?