Features

Live from Montréal Audiofest 2026, Ken Micallef shows us turntables galore from the likes of Rega, Michell, Yuki, Stable 33.33, Thorens, Yamaha, Pure Fidelity, The Wand, J.Sikora, Takumi, and many more. . .

Time for another exclusive AP sneak preview! Check out Ken Micallef’s unboxing video of Fluance’s RT82 turntable. . .

In a moment that truly signifies the end of an era, the passing of 1960s psychedelic music legend, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir at age 78 on January 10, 2026, has certainly shook the souls of fans all around the world. It’s such a tremendous loss, and we here at AP can’t help but continue to be awe-inspired by his incredible career and joyously rich musical output. To properly fete the man’s accomplishments, we tasked our resident Deadhead Mark Smotroff to reflect on Weir’s life and times, in addition to recommending some choice Weir-centric listening moments on vinyl — both studio recordings and live performances — for fans old and new to seek out and enjoy. . .

Welcome to Part 2 of our annual, year-end Best LPs extravaganza! As we noted at the outset of Part 1 yesterday (December 23), it’s never been easy paring down our favorite LPs to the final selections for these best-of listings, but we do feel we’ve done our measured best after sifting through the multiple hundreds of LPs we spun throughout the course of 2025 in order to represent the top-tier of what we’ve heard on vinyl this year. In the aforementioned Part 1, we — and by “we,” we mean a) Mike Mettler, our ever-faithful AP editor, and b) our chief LP reviewer, Mark Smotroff — covered our Top 10 favorite archival/reissues LPs. And now, read Part 2 to see what our Top 10 new LPs of the year are. . .

Tis the season, just like the header says! Yesterday, AP editor Mike Mettler visited the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library and donated 13 sealed LPs to their Spin It Forward campaign, which promotes the idea of making new LPs available to the library’s patrons. See what other vinyl-related goodness he discovered during that library gifting visit, and think about how you can get involved in — or even come up with — a similar program in your own community. . .

AP editor Mike Mettler, still recovering from a nasty cold, masked up to venture out for Record Store Day today on November 28, 2025. Read on to see what he found (and obtained) while out and about on his masked but not anonymous RSD 2025 ventures. . .