I could take the time to record both sides of an album, edit those recordings, create metadata, find the album art, and maybe create a digital booklet to go with it.

But Is there an easier way?

• Check Amazon for CD or streamable version. If the album is streamable or available as a CD, then I won’t bother recording it. A digital copy will cost some money, yes, but the sound will be good, and the album art and metadata will be in place. Does the record mean so much to me I want to buy the CD? That will be One More Thing to add to my load, when the goal is actually to lighten my load.

• Check iTunes. Some vendors sell their wares in one place but not the other, so it pays to check both.

• Check YouTube or Vimeo. I use Replay Media Catcher to capture the audio; there are numerous similar utilities out there.

• Check archive.org’s Audio collections. This is the court of last resort, but obscure treasures do show up here.

Updated on 2026-01-30: Later on, I replaced Replay Media Catcher with Audio Hijack and Fission.