A Vinyl Cleaning Cloth or Kit.
This one really should not be optional. Vinyl is a seriously expensive habit and you should want to keep your records in pristine condition. I have a specially made cloth for cleaning my records, just to take the dust and that off them before I start spinning them. Mine is from Planet Waves, but you can get them from a whole bunch of brands. If you click HERE I've linked a similar one from Amazon.
Decent Headphones
Again, probably shouldn't be optional, but there you are! I have a set of these exact headphones and they're literally the best thing since sliced bread. With a 6m cable you can enjoy your records without disturbing anyone else and move around the room with a sense of freedom you wouldn't ordinarily have if you just plugged in a pair of Beats or iPhone earbuds... Click HERE for the link!
Friends Who are into Records Too!
This one makes life so much more easy and fun, honestly! Himself and I frequently go record shopping and trade records here and there, which keeps things fresh and means we always have something new to listen to. Currently, I'm all about Torres and Daft Punk, which I wouldn't be if D hadn't forced them into my bag a few weekends ago, and I slid two of The Darkness onto his shelf as well as Woven Skull! It's fun, it keeps your tastes fresh and it sparks conversations, what's not to love?!
A General Idea of What Perfection is to You.
I'd also like to just mention that you should have a sense of the kind of music you want to have on vinyl. It's not a cheap hobby, so you want to invest your wedge wisely. I've got records by bands I absolutely wholeheartedly adore, and honestly. I wouldn't want my collection to have anything in it I didn't passionately think was the epitome of audio perfection. If, to you, perfection is vintage records, go for it! Same for new records - have a ball! Just build up your ideal collection, don't buy stuff you think is "meh".
Time To Spare...
...to spend at record fairs! Go to the Thomas House Record Fair, go to the Grand Social Flea Market, dig around in car boot sales, learn where all the secret hidden gem stores are, This hobby requires digging around in record bins, flipping through oceans of re-issues, but it's worth it! I bought a vintage Lord Of The Rings soundtrack because I had the patience to flip through all the crap to get to it!
So there you have it, some things every record-aficionado should have, from the tangible to the thoughtful! Let me know what your necessities are, folks!
Amy x