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GOOD TASTE Records News Blog

The GTR Guide to Physical Formats: Vinyl, 180 Gram, CD, SHM-CD, and SACD

Format stickers do a lot of work on a record sleeve. 180 gram. SHM-CD. Hybrid SACD. Some of them describe a real difference in how the music reaches your ears, and some describe a difference in the plastic and nothing more. Here is the plain version of each format we carry, what it actually changes, what it does not, and when the premium is worth paying.

Essential 90s Hip-Hop on Vinyl: A Starter's Guide

The 1990s produced hip-hop's deepest album shelf, and this is where we tell people to start. Ten essential records, from Return of the Boom Bap and Ready to Die to The Diary and Future Development, covering New York boom bap, Houston storytelling, and Oakland independence. Every pick is a modern pressing we carry, with a word from behind the counter on why each one earns its slot.

Jul 27, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals July 31, 2026

July goes out loud. The final Friday lands a pop giant's return, five David Bowie remasters, a three-record KRS-One wave, DJ Krush's first album in two years, and the vinyl debut of the summer's most talked-about movie soundtrack. Because it's month-end, this guide also rounds up every record from July's earlier drops still moving through the racks, from jazz harp pioneers to faux-Japanese Belgian funk. All new, all sealed, all in GOOD TASTE.

Jungle "Sunshine" Album Playback Party - August 15 at GOOD TASTE Records

Jungle is back with Sunshine, and we are throwing a party for it. On Friday, August 15, GOOD TASTE Records hosts an official album playback event, spinning the new record front to back on a proper system. Free to attend, no registration, just walk in. We will have prizes and giveaways all afternoon, plus both pressings of the album available to take home the day after it drops.

Roy Ayers on Vinyl: Where to Start With the Jazz-Funk Master

Few musicians left a wider footprint on modern groove music than Roy Ayers. Born in Los Angeles on September 10, 1940...

Essential City Pop on Vinyl: A Starter's Guide

From Masayoshi Takanaka to Tatsuro Yamashita: eleven essential city pop and Japanese fusion records on vinyl, and how to start a Japan-import shelf.

Essential Trip-Hop on Vinyl: A Bristol Sound Starter's Guide

The Bristol sound on wax: ten essential trip-hop records from Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky, and where to start with each.

Jul 20, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals July 24, 2026

We're calling it: July 24 is the most stacked new vinyl Friday of 2026 so far. Four of the biggest names in pop and rock share the date, a Bristol legend's catalog returns in one wave, and the Japan import our regulars ask about most is in the racks. Add a brand new Blue Note reissue series and two pressings limited to 500 copies, and this drop rewards the full scroll. All in GOOD TASTE.

Jul 13, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals July 17, 2026

This Friday goes deep: Gracie Abrams' Daughter From Hell and Tricky's first album under his own name in six years land beside Giveon's expanded Beloved and Gorillaz' The Mountain. Then the Japan wave hits: six remastered Studio Ghibli soundtracks from Joe Hisaishi, three Himiko Kikuchi reissues, and Ryo Fukui's Scenery, plus the DJ Shadow Mo' Wax singles box for the crate diggers. All new, all sealed, all in GOOD TASTE.

Jul 6, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals July 10, 2026

July 10 is one of the biggest release Fridays of the year: brand new albums from the Rolling Stones, Jack White, Kelela, and Future land alongside Madonna's Confessions II and Sienna Spiro's debut. Around the headliners, the racks fill out with El Michels Affair's Enter the 37th Chamber, a 35th anniversary Geto Boys pressing, BBE's final J Jazz volume, city pop from Anri, and soundtrack vinyl from Spira to Hyrule. All new, all sealed, all in GOOD TASTE.

Jun 29, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals July 3, 2026

July 3, 2026 is a Madonna week in full. The headline is the long-awaited Confessions II/2, landing alongside one of the deepest runs of her catalog we have had at once, from the 1983 debut through Ray of Light and beyond. Around her sits Japanese fusion and city pop from Masayoshi Takanaka and Casiopea, underground hip-hop from billy woods & Kenny Segal and Oddisee, audiophile John Coltrane, and a stack of video game soundtracks.

Jun 22, 2026

New Album Releases & Arrivals June 26, 2026

June 26 is the kind of Friday that rewards careful attention. The headline is Boards of Canada's Inferno -- their first album in over a decade -- but the drop runs deep in every direction: Olivia Rodrigo, Kehlani, Alicia Keys at 25 years, three Roy Ayers albums at once, Jalen Ngonda on Daptone, a major Japanese city pop haul from Hiroshi Sato and Anri, and dozens more new pressings across hip-hop, soul, jazz, electronic, rock, and reggae.