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Crate & Case: Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Miles Davis, John Prine and Thelonious Monk from the Used Records and CDs Bins

Hunting used vinyl & CDs in Toronto, Split & Princeton: Miles Davis, Monk, Isbell, Carlile, Prine—pristine finds, bargain prices.

Princeton Record Exchange (PREX) Used Records and CD Shopping Summer 2025

After recent record-shopping trips in Toronto, Split, and Princeton, I started thinking about what I actually buy—and why. You’re probably thinking, “Aren’t you the guy who just bitched in your Toronto column about vinyl prices?” Yeah, that’s me—but I started thinking about how to turn that losing experience into a win. Audiophiles waving their 1975 receipts like holy relics? Don’t make me laugh. That doesn’t mean jack to anyone alive today.

I get it—nostalgia’s a hell of a drug. I use it too. But it won’t buy you respect. Not here. This is my lawn. Remind me again that your copy of Physical Graffiti cost you $12 in 1975 and I’ll snap your cantilever before you can mutter “first pressing.” Have pliers. Will travel. And I’m all out of bubblegum.

Welcome to Crate & Case—no personal injury lawyers were left floating in the Meadowlands while I hammered this out in the backseat of my SUV. The poutine and gravy-soaked fries are bleeding into the armrest, the cold New Orleans coffee’s wearing a skin of curd, and the whole car reeks like a bad decision made at 2 a.m.

I was standing earlier this week at the counter at Princeton Record Exchange, listening to a couple of tourists from Austria and Germany kvetch about just how insanely expensive new and used vinyl is back home. The temptation to go full Basil Fawlty—“Ah, wunderbar! Allow me to introduce myself… your war… you wall… trespassers will be tied up with piano wire!”—was real. But the staff had already given me a warning once, so I played the good little stormtrooper… I mean, boy, and stuck to talking vinyl prices.

I shared my horror stories from Split and Toronto, and they just stared and nodded. Very German and Austrian, I guess. Which is to say: vinyl’s pricey everywhere, but at least here I don’t have to sell my collection of Bavarian Beer Hall records (I have 3) for a used MoFi pressing.

Used Vinyl and CDs: Because Paying Full Price for New Mediocre Music is for Suckers

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Going used, when you can score CDs and vinyl in pristine condition, isn’t just thrifty—it’s smart. I walked out of PRX with Miles Davis All Stars’ Walkin’ 50th Anniversary 20-bit K2, Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Music 20-bit K2, Jason Isbell’s Southeastern, Brandi Carlile’s By the Way, I Forgive You, and John Prine’s In Spite of Ourselves—five albums for under $70.

Every CD was sealed, every record VG+ or better, jackets and sleeves spotless. Used CDs, especially rare finds like SACDs, MoFi, Sony Mastersound, and DCC, ranged from $1.99 to under $15.

Since I came in under budget, I added Isbell’s latest Foxes in the Snow and a Japanese Blue Note Works 4100 Series CD of Jackie McLean’s Destination for just $19 more—and we’ll get to those around the end of September.


Miles Davis All Stars – Walkin’, Prestige 50th Anniversary Special Commemorative Edition

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This 1999 U.S. limited edition CD celebrates Walkin’ with a 20-bit K2 Super Coding remaster, capped at 10,000 copies. You get five tracks of straight-up jazz mastery: the 13-minute opener Walkin’, the blistering Blue ’N’ Boogie, and then a trio of Quintet classics—SolarYou Don’t Know What Love Is, and Love Me or Leave Me. Written by the likes of Davis, Carpenter, Gillespie, and Paparelli, each tune hits with clarity and swing. Median resale hovers around $8.50, high-end hits $15, and I snagged mine for $5.99—proof that greatness doesn’t have to come with a ransom note. Shiny reissues of albums you don’t care about? Forget it. This is jazz you actually want to own. Check price on Amazon.


Thelonious Monk Septet – Monk’s Music, Riverside 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

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This 2001 U.S. reissue CD is a mono remaster, limited to 10,000 copies, using a 20-bit K2 digital interface. Monk’s classic Septet session delivers seven tracks of pure bop and hard bop: from the brief hymn Abide With Me to the swinging 11-minute Well, You Needn’t, the poignant Ruby, My Dear, and the quirky Epistrophy. Featuring John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins on tenor, Ray Copeland on trumpet, Art Blakey on drums, and Wilbur Ware on bass, the lineup reads like a jazz all-star cheat sheet. Engineered by Jack Higgins, remastered by Shigeo Miyamoto under Tamaki Beck, and wrapped in Paul Bacon’s cover design, it’s as pristine as it is historic. Median resale sits around $15, high-end hits $39, and I paid $5.99—because apparently, the best jazz still doesn’t have to cost more than a good sandwich on Nassau Street. Check price on Amazon.


Jason Isbell – Southeastern, Southeastern Records LP

Released in 2013, this U.S. vinyl LP delivers Southern rock and alternative storytelling at its finest. The album opens with Cover Me Up, a song that hits like a punch to the chest—especially for anyone who’s wrestled with addiction, mental illness, destructive behavior, hospital stays, and the rare people who stick by you even when you don’t deserve it—which basically describes the past 12 months of my life.

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Vocals from Kim Richey and Will Johnson, fiddle and backing from Amanda Shires, and Paul Griffith on drums all add texture to an already unforgettable record. From Traveling Alone to Yvette, every track is superb, showcasing why Isbell became a superstar after this release. Median resale sits around $25, high-end $58.82, and I picked up my copy for $17. This is my third copy—one was tragically lost to a basement flood—but at these prices, it’s worth replacing every time. Forget overpriced new pressings of Taylor Swift; Southeastern is the real deal. Check price on Amazon.


Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You, Elektra / Low Country Sound LP

Released in 2018, this U.S., Canadian, and European gatefold LP is a powerhouse of folk and country, capturing Carlile at the peak that pushed her into the spotlight. The record opens with Every Time I Hear That Song and the unforgettable The Joke, both hits that hit emotionally hard—perfect for anyone grappling with loss, heartbreak, or the slow work of getting over someone. Across ten tracks, Carlile’s voice dominates with clarity, presence, and upper midrange energy that commands attention.

Median resale hovers around $26, highs near $41, and I paid $22 for this pristine copy. Comes with a digital download and lyric inserts, because sometimes you need both sides of the story. Clean, powerful, and impossible to ignore—this is folk pop and country done right. Check price on Amazon.


John Prine – In Spite of Ourselves, Oh Boy Records LP

This 2016 U.S. vinyl reissue is a country-folk gem, gatefold with a printed inner sleeve and digital download included. Prine duets with the likes of Iris DeMent, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, and more, delivering songs that mix heartbreak, humor, and the everyday absurdities of love. Highlights include the slyly tender (We’re Not) The Jet Set, the bittersweet We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds, and the title track, In Spite of Ourselves, a duet with DeMent that’s one of my favorite love songs—unlikely to sway the heart of some stuck-up Millennial who probably never heard of Prine, but for someone a tad rough around the edges like me, it hits like a truth bomb.

The late John Prine was a national treasure. Unlike Bob Dylan, he could actually sing, infusing humor, heartbreak, and wisdom into every line. Backed by upright bass, pedal steel, fiddle, and deft acoustic work, the album feels both classic and immediate. Median resale sits around $17.79, highs near $35, and I paid $18—pristine, playable, and far more satisfying than any overpriced, forgettable reissue. Zero fucks given, full-hearted music, and a reminder of what it really means to be a songwriter. Check price on Amazon.

So there you have it—five gems, all scored for peanuts, all in pristine shape, and all infinitely more satisfying than the shiny new pressings of music you don’t give a damn about. Next time, we’ll be diving into Los Lobos, Boards of Canada, Tori Amos, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Lee Hooker—because whether it’s roots, beats, heartbreak, or raw blues, I’ll be hunting the crates and cases so you don’t have to. 

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Anton

    August 22, 2025 at 10:07 am

    Interesting pivot from the article in July and some excellent music that I now need to track down. The Brandi Carlile album is really quite good.

    Miles Davis was overrated.

  2. Ian White

    August 22, 2025 at 11:50 am

    Anton,

    Saying that Miles Davis was overrated is like saying Kurosawa made average movies. Nope. Miles was very crazy and hateful at the end, but on another level with his playing and composition.

    Brandi Carlile is just superb. Watch the video to see just how great she is.

    Jason Isbell has become perhaps too popular for his own good, but I enjoy his music very much.

    Prine? On another level. His passing was a huge loss.

  3. Jackson

    August 22, 2025 at 12:48 pm

    Why do audiophile publications ignore modern artists like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler The Creator, and MF Doom. You take a picture of one of his albums, yet you didn’t review it.

    • Ian White

      August 22, 2025 at 2:32 pm

      Jackson,

      If the labels want to send us all of the artists you mentioned — we’re more than happy to review it. I own at least 6 albums from the 3 you mentioned and did plan on including 2 of them in forthcoming columns.

      The “audiophile” community listens to a wide range of music — and like the general listening audience — not all of it is that good. Not every jazz recording is worth reviewing, but some of the labels are more aggressive than others at sending out review copies and we don’t write reviews of everything. Only what we deem to be worthwhile or so putrid — that we need to warn people that it’s bad.

      IW

  4. bws

    August 22, 2025 at 9:07 pm

    “… John Prine was a national treasure. Unlike Bob Dylan, he could actually sing.”

    Truth!

  5. Magnus Hägermyr

    August 25, 2025 at 1:40 pm

    Thanks for the John Prine tip-off. I heard a lot of exciting stuff from him but are still a novice. It’s on my schedule to look deep into his catalogue.

    And if you ask me the problem with Bob Dylan isn’t Bob Dylan. It’s the part of his fans whos Gospel is that everybody (and they do mean everybody) owns it to him and he owns it to nobody. Luckily Mr Zimmerman himself seems to me to be a fairly humble and sympathetic person not late to lift his hat to other artists and his own influences.

    • Ian White

      August 25, 2025 at 2:42 pm

      Magnus,

      Prine was unique. Really found his niche and ran with it. I agree with you on Bob Dylan. I’ve always been a huge fan and never turned away from him because he can’t sing. The man was one of the top songwriters of the 20th century and his music will be played for another 100 years. If you watch the “USA for Africa/We are the World” documentary, you can see his obvious discomfort being surrounded by so many artists who were considered great singers — minus Springsteen who makes Bobby sound like Sam Cooke. Stevie Wonder coaches him and he’s about as good as Bob is going to be under the circumstances. He grins when he finishes (it was 5 a.m.) and the rest is history.

      IW

      • Magnus Hägermyr

        August 26, 2025 at 5:50 pm

        Kind of an interesting contrast Dylan _ Wonder, both as singers and as harp players. And no doubt both great musical personalities!

        • Ian White

          August 26, 2025 at 5:59 pm

          Magnus,

          There is one moment in the video (your post made me watch it again) where Bob Dylan clearly realises that he’s going to sound ridiculous surrounded by Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Lionel Ritchie, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Darry Hall, Steve Perry, and even Huey Lewis.

          He grimaces on camera during the chorus and you can tell he just wants this to end. Ray Charles even looks at him and laughs. Dylan’s music will be remembered for another century — unlike Swift.

          IW

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