JGJR wrote:While that's all true, I think you missed the greater point. It was a lot easier to find now super rare stuff with persistence, patience, etc. back then (even into the '90s; heck more so since so many were getting rid of their records then) and the prices were obviously much better (even adjusted for inflation, etc.). They lived on the LES/EV and later Williamsburg when it was far different than it is now btw.
No sir.
1) Collecting punk/hardcore WAS a thing dating back to the early 80s, at least.
2) Nope, it’s 1000% easier to find rare records now, if you have the money. You may have paid less BITD, but your chances of finding these things were much less, unless you happened to live in a major city, preferably within the geographic region in which the record was released (both true for NYC and the Bad Brains single and Misfits records).
3) I lived in Williamsburg very briefly in the mid-90s and had friends living in NYC dating back to the early ‘90s. I am very aware of how different it was in the ‘80s/early ‘90s.
I
was a guy collecting rare punk/hardcore in the mid ‘80s. I know what it las like.