A daily must-visit for record collectors everywhere, Discogs.com launched in 2000 with the lofty goal of cataloging every piece of recorded music in history. Fast-forward nearly two decades, and Discogs has over 9 million different releases currently documented. They've also got a popular mobile app, a busy digital marketplace that fuels the vinyl community worldwide, and sister sites that similarly catalog books, comics, posters, films and recording gear. Discogs CEO Chad Dahlstrom joins us today to talk about his own record collection, the site's recent ban on bootlegged and pirated material, building relationships with artists and labels, updates we can expect in the future and much more. Follow @Discogs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Plus, we debut some brand new music from Ohio quartet Curtail!

Founded in 1964, Stoughton Printing Company is a leading provider of quality music packaging and production planner Rob Maushund is at the helm of getting that superior work out the door and into record stores around the world. From working first-hand and directly with King Tuff, Jack White or Thurston Moore to Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Gillian Welch or Father John Misty, Rob's 30+ year career at Stoughton has led to literally thousands of astounding record packages, earning Grammys and other industry accolades. On this episode, Rob shares his thoughts on the inaugural Making Vinyl Conference in Detroit this past fall, the history of the tip-on jacket process, and how musicians can explore a vast realm of packaging options without spending a fortune. Visit stoughtonprinting.com for more information, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram @StoughtonPrinting. Also check out @OldStyleRecordJackets on Facebook.

In 1962, soul vocalist and songwriter William Bell was sharing stages with Jackie Wilson and Gladys Knight, before a phone call from his mother and a letter from the U.S. government halted his blossoming career. Today, Andrew Winistorfer from Vinyl Me, Please tells us about their new reissue of Bell's debut LP (originally released by Stax), and what it's been like to get to know the 78-year-old Bell himself while working on the project. Also, Jim speaks with record collector friends Perry Day and Mike Pecucci to get their angle on Record Store Day, as well as Pinwheel Records owner Scott Schaaf, as he prepares for their biggest day of the year.

President and CEO of Fairfax, VA's Furnace Record Pressing Eric Astor has seemingly done it all within the record label / disto / CD and vinyl pressing universe over the last 20+ years, with zero sign of stopping: Furnace is soon adding 16 new and refurbished vinyl presses, likely solidifying them as the second largest vinyl pressing plant in America. Today, Eric chats about his previous and current companies (including ORGMusic, VinylStyl and Lumberjack Distribution), as well as what these new machines mean for not just Furnace's output, but for the current bottlenecking experienced across the board by today’s vinyl manufacturers. Visit FurnaceMFG.com and ORGMusic.com for more information!

Within the last five years, U-Turn Audio has gone from the Kickstarter dream of three east coast college students to one of the biggest names in turntables. In a fanatical vinyl market, they've managed to stand apart by making each deck to order, keeping their manufacturing in Boston and offering audiophile-like quality at a price tag that's nearly half of those of their largest competitors. U-Turn's customization factor is also a huge selling point, with listeners having the ability to add a pop of color, a higher-end cartridge, a cue lever and more to an already stellar piece of equipment. Co-founder Ben Carter drops in this week to discuss the company's genesis, how the audiophile community influenced U-Turn's original designs, the endless debate between belt-driven and direct-driven turntables, his affection for Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" and the impact of Pennie Smith's iconic photo on the front of The Clash's "London Calling," plus dealing with feedback and customer satisfaction in the age of social media. Visit uturnaudio.com to learn more!

Today's show is all about getting -- and keeping -- your records clean! Perfect Vinyl Forever is a relatively new service based in Wisconsin, determined to restore albums to "better than new" condition through more scientific means than your standard over-the-counter methods. Founder Steve Evans joins us today to discuss the do's and don'ts of commercially available cleaning processes (like brush-and-solution combos and Spin-Clean Record Washers), how PVF strives to improve the fidelity of brand new LP's, the different types of record collectors he encounters, and the joy he gets from working on Perfect Vinyl Forever with his daughters, who also appear on today's episode to discuss their own appreciation for records as well as their feelings as young women in a collector's culture that isn't always inviting or inclusive. If you're in the Milwaukee area, check out Perfect Vinyl Forever's next record cleaning clinic at Ultra Fidelis in Wauwatosa, WI on January 27, and visit PerfectVinylForever.com for more info!

Having cut his teeth within the small but tight-knit Green Bay punk scene of the early 2000's, Milwaukee-area producer/engineer Justin Perkins gives tips on mastering records both digitally and for vinyl and discusses temporarily joining Screeching Weasel, being in charge of documenting the final Replacements reunion show in 2015, and how trying to change an album's audio mix after the mastering process is like attempting to cook an already-burnt pizza. Visit mysteryroommastering.com for more info on Justin's studio work, and check out BashAndPop.bandcamp.com to hear his recent musical project, backing up the Replacements' Tommy Stinson! 

2017's Trinity Lane, the third album from Nashville-based Lilly Hiatt, is a true triumph within the alt-country/Americana genre, from an artist who has not only overcome personal tragedy, addiction and heartbreak, but has done so while standing outside of the musical shadow of her dad, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter John Hiatt. NPR nailed it earlier this year by saying, "Her willingness to portray herself in moments of anger or neediness that others might deem unseemly, particularly coming from a woman, and to examine gender divisions in emotional labor at close range, is courageous and affecting." Today, Lilly talks about digging through vinyl dollar bins on the road, how her turntable played a part in her newfound independence, playing everything from Cat Stevens to Kendrick Lamar while in the van, what her dream vinyl pressing of Trinity Lane would entail, and the romance that blossomed through the recording of her recent Third Man Records seven-inch. Trinity Lane is available wherever you buy physical or digital music, and visit LillyHiatt.com for upcoming tour dates, social media and more. PLUS check out @VinylEmergency on Facebook or Twitter for our corresponding Spotify playlist to this episode!

The recent, sudden passing of Tom Petty has been rough for all who knew him and adored his music, so this week we're rerunning our chat last fall with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench. Ben's memories over the last 40 years of performing with Tom, and his passion for vinyl and music in general, make this one of our favorite interviews we've done. Follow @BenmontTench on Facebook and Instagram, as well as @BenchTen on Twitter.

Surrounded by her parents' jovial and eccentric group of friends as a youngster -- whom she likened to "the Marx Brothers in tie-dye" -- photographer and director Autumn de Wilde has captured a venerable who's who list of artists on film, such as Willie Nelson, Prince, Ryan Adams, the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Sonic Youth, Fiona Apple and the Decemberists. This week, Autumn and Jim discuss how her shots on iconic record covers for Beck's "Sea Change," Elliott Smith's "Figure 8" and Jenny Lewis' "The Voyager" came to fruition, the comedy albums that she loved growing up, some long-lost photos Autumn took of Jim during a shoot for "Wilco the Album" back in 2009, and how she uses a certain improvisational wildness within her art while ensuring her subject never feels trapped by it. Follow @autumndewilde on Instagram and Twitter, and keep an eye out for the latest video she has directed for Starcrawler's "I Love L.A.," coming later this month. SPONSORS: Vinyl Me, Please; Pinwheel Records; Vinyl for a Cause; flipbin.

Friend, fellow record collector and previous guest Chris Fitzgerald joins us to talk about the songs and memories we'll hold of the late Tom Petty.

This week, our host Jim Hanke guests on Dig Me Out as part of a roundtable discussion about all things alt-country! Touchstone albums, current favorites, what defines the genre and more are discussed with DMO hosts Tim Minneci and Jason Dziak, Jim Kopeny of Chicagoist.com, and the Dallas Observer's Eric Grubbs. Visit DigMeOutPodcast.com for great weekly album discussions and other great episodes. PLUS -- We announce our next LIVE Vinyl Emergency episode, at Pinwheel Records in Chicago this November!

In the pantheon of 90's alternative-rock, you could say Boston trio Morphine were one of the most alternative. Leader Mark Sandman's seductive vocals and two-string slide bass, partnered with only baritone saxophone and drums, created a sound Sandman himself dubbed as "low rock" but almost 30 years after the band's inception, their fans as well as newcomers still struggle to put Morphine's uniqueness into words. Since Sandman's tragic death in 1999, saxophonist Dana Colley (along with surviving members of Morphine and other collaborators) has kept that distinct sound alive through Orchestra Morphine and currently Vapors Of Morphine, as well as an upcoming limited LP release from Warner Music Group imprint Run Out Groove of Morphine's 1997 set at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, cut to vinyl by Jeff Powell at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording. On today's show, Colley discusses his fascination with liner notes and how vinyl records act as an archive for a moment in time, while Run Out Groove's Matt Block visits to talk about the label's fan-driven voting process, why a Morphine live show was chosen over studio albums that have yet to see vinyl pressings and how quality digital recordings have as much of a right to exist in the vinyl market as analog. Visit RunOutGrooveVinyl.com to find a store near you that will carry Morphine's Live At The Warfield 1997 next month, and check out VaporsOfMorphine.com for news and tour dates.

Over the last 25+ years, the legendary Chuck Berry, an inarguable architect of rock n' roll and known worldwide for hits like "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven," had been working on what would become his final album. The aptly-titled Chuck is his first studio record since 1979 and was finished prior to his death this past March. The LP features current rock staples like Gary Clark Jr., Nathaniel Rateliff and Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello alongside members of his family, including son Charles Jr., who had already built himself a successful career in IT, but had virtually zero music experience, before joining his father's band in the early 2000's. This week, Charles Jr. remembers 16RPM records, his mother's vinyl collection and his dad's guitars over the years, plus we discuss his own vinyl buying habits and why this final album took over a generation to complete. He also talks about the memories he's made through his father's music with his own son, Charles III, including their recent appearance together on The Tonight Show. The album Chuck is available on Dualtone Records wherever you buy music; go to ChuckBerry.com for more info. SPONSORS: Vinyl Me, Please; Pinwheel Records; Vinyl For A Cause; Flipbin.

Born in Italy and raised in the English city of Oxford, Olivia Chaney is an acclaimed and classically-trained pianist/folk singer who -- thanks to a Twitter dialogue with Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy -- recently partnered with the group to form the side-project Offa Rex, providing a psychedelic motif to traditional British folk songs from as early as the 17th century. This week, Olivia talks about being intrigued by Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding LP as a child, the vinyl care package she recently received from her label Nonesuch, opening shows for the legendary Robert Plant, the song selection process for Offa Rex's debut album The Queen Of Hearts, how our discussion has potentially influenced her to record direct to analog from now on and how cassette tapes on family road trips not only formed her earliest musical memories, but also became the focus for the cover of her debut album, 2015's The Longest River. Visit both oliviachaney.net and offarex.co for music, social media and more! SPONSORS: Vinyl Me, Please; Pinwheel Records; Vinyl For A Cause; Flipbin.

As one of indie-rock's busiest mastering engineers, TW Walsh has tackled almost 1,000 different projects, including releases for Sufjan Stevens, Ben Gibbard and The Shins. He's also had a longtime friendship and working alliance with former Vinyl Emergency guest David Bazan, writing and performing on albums for Pedro The Lion, Headphones and most recently Lo Tom, as Walsh and Bazan are joined by Starflyer 59's Jason Martin and Trey Many. As Lo Tom's debut full-length was released last month by Barsuk, and his newest solo effort Terrible Freedom came out in April, Walsh joins us to discuss his father's extensive record collection, the future of mastering in the age of digital DIY, how the benefits of streaming have prevented albums from growing on us, Elvis Costello's vast and diverse discography, whether Walsh will continue to press vinyl on his own and how he became the subject of one of Bazan's best-known lyrics. Visit twwalsh.com to buy his releases on vinyl or digitally, and pick up Lo Tom's new album from Barsuk.com or wherever you purchase music. You can also follow @LoTomLoTom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. SPONSORS: Vinyl Me, Please; Pinwheel Records; Vinyl For A Cause; Flipbin.

Original Violent Femmes drummer Victor DeLorenzo and his Nineteen Thirteen bandmate/cellist Janet Schiff discuss their own relationships with vinyl over the years, the unique sounds they're creating as a portable two-piece band and how a chance meeting at a diner spawned their musical kinship. Janet recalls "inventing" her own cello as a child, spinning records in her makeshift basement roller rink and whether or not to buy your bandmate's classic LP while he's in the record store with you, while Victor talks about the iconic artwork of the Femmes' self-titled debut and sets the record straight on their now legendary gig opening for The Pretenders at Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre in 1981, plus how it feels to have sports fans in packed stadiums around the world clapping along with his seminal percussion on "Blister In The Sun." Check out their two most recent albums, Music For Time Travel and The Dream, on Spotify and visit nineteenthirteen.com for upcoming gigs, their social media and more!

Despite vinyl's comeback, selling it online as a small, independent label is an uphill battle; Now imagine doing so door-to-door. As former Director of Operations for G.E.D. Soul Records, there were times when Nashville native David Guy would do just that: visit record stores across the country unannounced, selling funky 45's and adding to his own vast record collection along the way.

Currently, David is a hard-working bassist for hire, having spent time in many G.E.D. Soul projects like The Coolin' System and DeRobert & The Half-Truths -- as well as Time Is Tight, a Booker T. & The MG's tribute act -- before joining up with Amanda Shires last year, touring behind her 2016 album My Piece Of Land and playing some of the largest shows he's ever done, opening for Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit.

With even more excitement coming soon (Amanda and her band hit Red Rocks next month and film a set for PBS' Austin City Limits in a few weeks), David discusses some of his recent soul jazz finds on vinyl, the remarkable history of United Record Pressing's Motown Suite, which albums he picks up for Amanda while on tour, how race can wrongfully decide who reaches a wider audience, and much more. Follow David's record collection and life on the road via Instagram @davidandguy, check upcoming tour dates at AmandaShiresMusic.com and pick up some of David's releases via GEDSoulRecords.com!