I only had one day to hit the Orlando Record Show, so I went early-bird (an extra $5) and tried to make every minute count. The show is a 20,000-square-foot dig, and while the vibe was friendly and music-first, the early admission logistics threw me off—dealers were still rolling in and setting up, so I had to keep skipping booths and circling back. The upside was it wasn’t as crowded as I expected, which made it easier to move around and actually talk to people. What made this show stand out was how conversational it felt. I met dealers who weren’t just trying to “sell records,” but were genuinely talking music, making recommendations, and turning me on to new stuff—like Audacious Analog putting me onto Cortex, and Lenny being an absolute encyclopedia on psychedelic rock. Then I break down my pickups: DJ-friendly Neapolitan disco-funk from Nu Genea, hyper-produced hi-fi demo material from Yello, Talk Talk’s dynamic “bridge” era, a couple UK Vertigo Swirl first presses, Nuggets Vol. 3, and even a rare Led Zeppelin live boot. I also get real about something that’s killing the in-person digging experience: vendors pricing at the very top of Discogs sales history. When every pull is “max price ever,” negotiating becomes pointless—and it honestly makes me want to buy more from trusted online sellers, which I hate admitting as someone who loves crate digging in person.