No, you don't need a new turntable this Record Store Day, just use this cheap extra to clean your vinyl

The act of choosing the best turntable — and the best stereo speakers, and amplifiers, and cables, and so on — is all part of the pursuit of the perfect analog sound. But you might be barking up the wrong tree in the pursuit of perfection.

As part of Record Store Day 2026 on April 16, audiophiles are going to be supporting their local music store, gushing over the new exclusive releases, and likely comparing all the new Hi-Fi kit upon which to listen to their new records.

And most of the time, spending more money gets you a better sound. I liked the Sony LX310BT, but it's not going to do for your records what the Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 can.

But sometimes, making your turntable sound great isn't about the cartridge or tonearm, nor is it about the extra kit you buy to eke out the audio. Take it from me: sometimes it's a whole lot simpler and cheaper.

• Just bought a new deck? Here's our how to set up a turntable explainer

Dishing the dirt

I've written before about how my entire record collection was inherited: a fat stack of vinyl that fell into my hands when my childhood home was being sold. The records are all decades old (and some feel like they haven't been used in that time).

Some of these are early pressings from major artists, others are recordings of music a parent contributed to. It's a really big range, and when I acquired the collection, I found plenty of the records missing or unplayable. Time takes its toll with the physical music product.

When I started listening to them, their age was evident. There was so much snapping, crackling and popping that it sounded like I was eating a bowl of Rice Crispies. Many of the records would skip like they were frolicking in a spring meadow. In short, they didn't sound great.

I know sometimes the natural solution to such a problem is to spend more. Maybe a fancier record player, amplification solution or top-end speakers would do away with such a problem? Or maybe I need to elevate my cables from nasty reverb with those little stands?

Back then I may have been a vinyl novice, unaware of just how much cleanliness affects a record's sound (or its lasting power). But it wasn't hard to put 1+1 together, and realize that a layer of dust probably wasn't helping a needle track through an ever-decreasing groove. So the natural solution to me soon presented itself: do a bit of spring cleaning.

Cleaning your records correctly

The music from a record comes from the grooves on the vinyl, and so doing anything to it might seem heinous: wiping a cloth over it, putting it on a machine, blowing it. I can understand why some people might be reticent to clean their records.

But it's actually incredibly easy. We've got a guide on how to clean your turntable and records, and it basically just comes down to using the right spray and cloth. There are options on Amazon for just $15 / £20 / AU$40 that are simple and easy.

If you've got loads of cash, you could buy a special machine for it — and the corresponding solution to feed it. I recently covered a vinyl cleaning machine with different companies offering their own versions all the time. But these options aren't as cheap as just buying your own kit.

I got a kit that has a spray and a cleaning brush. Two squirts on the brush, and it picks up all the visible fluff and dust. It takes less than a minute to clean both sides of a record. Easy.

Your $15 vs $1,500

I was surprised by just how effective cleaning my records was — the contrast possibly helped by just how dusty they were. Listening back to wiped vinyl, the amount of noise and crackling was audibly lower.

The nicest part, though, was that this process only cost me the price of three beers: spending $15 (around £11 or AU$21) on a cleaning kit instead of $1,500 on a top-end turntable will save you a lot of money for more vinyl. The only other expenditure is a minute per record of your precious time, to actually clean it.

The irony about the pricier option is that your fancy turntable still won't make vinyl sing if it's mucky, the cheaper option will have a more audible effect.

According to experts, record maintenance doesn't just make it sound better, but keeps it lasting longer, and stops your stylus wearing out as fast. So I'm keeping this collection lasting longer too, which is the real savings.

The best turntables for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best turntables
1. Best overall:
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo
2. Best cheap beginner deck:
House of Marley Revolution
3. Best budget Bluetooth deck:
Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT
4. Best premium Bluetooth deck:
Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2

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