What was the first medium you had for each of the studio albums?
With the hype building around PJ11, it got me thinking about where I was/how I obtained each of the first 10. I know everybody has all the vinyl and each album in multiple formats now, but what was your first? (Sorry if there's already a similar thread...a few basic searches didn't come up with one) For me:
Ten - CD from Columbia House as a referral to the club by my dad
Vs. - CD from local Musicland (or it may have changed to Sam Goody by then)
Vitalogy - CD from same store above (came out the day before my 15th bday)
No Code - CD from my local new & used record store, CD Jungle (loved that place). I subsequently traded this back as I was not initially a fan of the "new sound" (I know, I know, I know). The credit probably went toward something like Notorious B.I.G. Life After Death
Yield - CD. I don't exactly remember where I bought this one, but it is scratched to shit and the case is missing...the last semester of high school was a wild time
Binaural - mp3. In college? In the year 2000? I see no point in lying...this was most definitely obtained via illegal download
Riot Act - mp3. Sadly, I believe this still would have been the result of more piracy (both of these have now been purchased multiple times over...I hope it counts for something)
Pearl Jam - mp3. By this time, iTunes was a well-oiled machine and it was definitely worth the price for a clean download that could easily be added to your iPod
Backspacer - CD purchased from Target to get the two free bootleg downloads (those were Halifax '05 and Santiago 2 '05 if anyone cares)
Lightning Bolt - mp3. Another iTunes purchase. This was a few months before I really got into vinyl, so the chance at red vinyl/Sevens flew under the radar for me at the time
Thanks for checking this out, and I look forward to reading some of yours!
Ten - CD from Columbia House as a referral to the club by my dad
Vs. - CD from local Musicland (or it may have changed to Sam Goody by then)
Vitalogy - CD from same store above (came out the day before my 15th bday)
No Code - CD from my local new & used record store, CD Jungle (loved that place). I subsequently traded this back as I was not initially a fan of the "new sound" (I know, I know, I know). The credit probably went toward something like Notorious B.I.G. Life After Death
Yield - CD. I don't exactly remember where I bought this one, but it is scratched to shit and the case is missing...the last semester of high school was a wild time
Binaural - mp3. In college? In the year 2000? I see no point in lying...this was most definitely obtained via illegal download
Riot Act - mp3. Sadly, I believe this still would have been the result of more piracy (both of these have now been purchased multiple times over...I hope it counts for something)
Pearl Jam - mp3. By this time, iTunes was a well-oiled machine and it was definitely worth the price for a clean download that could easily be added to your iPod
Backspacer - CD purchased from Target to get the two free bootleg downloads (those were Halifax '05 and Santiago 2 '05 if anyone cares)
Lightning Bolt - mp3. Another iTunes purchase. This was a few months before I really got into vinyl, so the chance at red vinyl/Sevens flew under the radar for me at the time
Thanks for checking this out, and I look forward to reading some of yours!
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Ten - Bought the tape at Sams the Record Man at my local mall after seeing Evenflow on MuchMusic a year after it released
VS - Bought close to launch day at Sam's on tape
Vitalogy - Day one at Mister Music. First CD I ever bought
No Code - I remember getting this a couple of weeks after it was released. Cuffed school with a couple of friends and hit the uptown mall to get the CD
Yield - Was a year later on this one. I think I got it second hand at a pawn shop
Binaural - Can not remember this one though I think second hand
Riot Act - 2000 - 2002 for some reason I did not listen to this band much and did not even know Riot Act was coming out. I remember having a long drive to my aunts house for dinner and they were playing the album on my local radio station from front to back. I came into the airing right when Love Boat Captain came on. My girlfriend(now wife) and I listened to the whole thing slowing down the drive to take it all in. I bought the album the next day on CD.
Pearl Jam - Second hand at a local record shop on CD
Backspacer - Never owned this for some reason
Lightning Bolt - Itunes
VS........skipped school, bought at Music World on its release date ( tape)
Vitalogy..skipped school, bought at Music World on its release date ( tape)
No Code.......A friend of mine owned a record store and sold me a copy ( on the down low) 5 days before it was released (CD)
Yeild........purchased at HMV during a collage spare on its release date (CD)
Binaural.......purchased at HMV about a month after release date (CD)
Riot Act........Christmas gift 2002 ( CD)
Pearl Jam .......Birthday gift June 15th 2006 ( CD)
Backspacer.....purchased at HMV about a month after release date (CD)
Lightning Bolt....purchased at the "Beat Goes On" on its release date (CD)
2005.....Hamilton
2011.....Toronto N1, Toronto N2, Hamilton
2013.....London, Buffalo
2014.....Detroit
2016.....Toronto N1 Toronto N2, Boston N1, Boston N2, Chicago N1
2018.....Seattle N1, Seattle N2
2022.....San Diego, Los Angeles N1, Los Angeles N2, Phoenix, Oakland N1, Oakland N2, Quebec City, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto
2023.....Fort Worth N1, Fort Worth N2, Austin N1, Austin N2
2024.....Las Vegas N1, Las Vegas N2, Los Angeles N1, Los Angeles N2, Boston N1, Boston N2
2025.....????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Temple of the Dog — The Wall CD
VS—- Sam Goody CD
Vitalogy— cannot remember where CD
No Code — Kmart CD
Yield —- Sam Goody CD
Binaural —- Sam Goody CD
Riot Act — indie record store CD
Self titled — Best Buy CD
Backspacer — Target CD
Lightning Bolt — 10club vinyl
Ten -- CD from record store in college. Was enthralled w/ Alive video, heard the album at friend's place, purchased shortly thereafter.
Vs -- Vinyl from record store in college, week before CD was released. Didn't have a record player at the time so had to wait for CD to launch. My PJ ticket buddy at the time and I drove to the record store to purchase CDs together and then cranked it at volume 10 at a listening session at his apartment
Vitalogy -- Vinyl from record store in Charleston, SC while on vacay w family, week before CD was released. First time I heard tho, I think, was on a radio broadcast that aired the songs just prior to release. I was working at a restaurant in college washing dishes and vaguely recall hearing the songs for the first time there....plastic gloves on, big industrial dish washer, the smell of the antiseptic detergent clinging to hair and clothes, and the magical sounds of new Pearl Jam songs filling the air. Did I just make that up? I dunno, maybe so.
No Code -- CD. A buddy and I bought it at midnight release from Coconuts (maybe?) in Birmingham, AL during school break
Yield -- CD from record store in Miami on release day. Was in the Everglades for a two week canoe trip as part of a college class (man o' man, would it be nice to have classes like those again, ha) but a tropical storm caused us to jettison the trip. Several buddies and I re-routed to Miami for a 24 hour pit stop before heading north
Binaural -- CD from Tower Records in Nashville on release day
Riot Act -- CD from Tower Records in Nashville on release day
S/T -- CD & Vinyl from 10C
Backspacer -- CD & Vinyl from 10C
Lightning Bolt -- CD & Vinyl from 10C
p.s. OP, at least the credit for the No Code trade-in went towards Biggie!
VS - CD Bought on release day
Vitalogy - Vinyl cause I wanted to hear it a week sooner. The first vinyl record I ever bought. Still have it.
No Code - Cassette cause the CD changer in my POS car had crapped out but the tape deck still worked
Yield and everything after that was all on CD first but I’ve purchased vinyl versions as well since Binaural
Vs. - CD Music Plus
Vitalogy - CD when I was working at the Virgin Megastore in Hollywood
No Code - CD Best Buy
Yield - CD Virgin Megastore @ midnight (lined up for the playing cards poster)
Binaural - CD Best Buy
Riot Act - CD Best Buy
S/T - CD Target
Backspacer - CD 10C
Lightning Bolt - CD 10C
From Binaural on, i got both the CD and Vinyl.
Nuclear fission
all day of release:
Vs. - CD bought day of release at Cutlers, New Haven, CT
Vitalogy - CD Strawberries, Farmington, CT
No Code - CD Coconuts, Farmington, CT
Yield - CD my mom was nice enough to drive it to me at school - bought at Strawberries, Avon, CT
Binaural - CD Best Buy, Farmington, CT
Riot Act - CD Best Buy, Worcester, MA
S/T - CD Tunes, Hoboken, NJ - should've been f-ing lining up for the Irving/Tower but my boss didn't let me out! grrrr.
Backspacer - CD / Vinyl 10c
Lightning Bolt - CD / Vinyl 10C
Vs. Day it came out dad bought it for me. Original gatefold version
Vitalogy. Same as above
No code. 4 friends rode our bikes to Coconuts and waited in line for store to open day it came out
Yield. Friend and I bought it at best buy day it came out
Binaural. GF grabbed it for me at best buy day it was released. Came with free place/date book
Riot act. Bought it at midnight day it was released at local place in Iowa city
All since I've preordered via tenclub
Vs- CD at Tower Records
Vitalogy- CD at Tower Records
No Code- CD at Tower Records
Yield- CD at Virgin Megastore (yes, I got the playing card poster! 😉)
Binaural- CD at Tower Records
Riot Act- Vinyl at Dimple Records
ST- Vinyl at Fry’s Electronics
Backspacer- CD (the one in the DVD case) at Target
Lightning Bolt- Vinyl at Dimple
With the exception of Ten, all were bought day of release, and anything bought on cd first was shortly followed by the vinyl, except Binaural, which I somehow missed, and had to wait for years till the reissue...
TEN - cassette bought at same time as Nevermind, after Jeremy hit big on MTV
VS. - cassette (with Five Against One printed on it) bought day of release
Vitology - CD bought within 1st few days of release
No Code - Cd but this one i waited for years to buy. didn't get me excited at all. i think i ended up buying this after Live on Two Legs was released.
Yield - CD within week of it being released
Binaural - CD as it came out
Riot Act - CD at a Circuit City and had to take 2 different versions back as they were defective. finally got it correct on try #3
S/T - CD through 10 Club
Backspacer - CD through 10 Club
Lightning Bolt - CD through 10 Club. I still like having a physical copy.
VS. Vinyl new from Andy's Records in Lincoln (bought same day as Ten but they refused to give me the advertised discount on the Ten vinyl as it was still in the official chart).
Vitalogy. second hand CD somewhere in Boston probably 1995.
No Code. cannot remember where but new CD (I do remember the review in the NME so close to release date).
Yield. CD on release day Sam Goody in Boston.
Binaural. CD around release Virgin Hull.
Riot Act. CD again new probably Hull.
Self Titled. Chinese bootleg in a Burmese market during a visa run from Thailand.
Back Spacer. two CD copies Cambridge HMV.
Lighting Bolt. Ten Club vinyl pre-order.
TEN - cassette bought at Listening Booth /The Wall same day as Rush Roll the Bones -day before my senior year of high school
VS. – Bought the vinyl the week before release on the Tuesday it was released at Record Revolution (R.I.P. to a great independent record store), and then the CD at the midnight sale Record Revolution was having
Vitalogy – Vinyl released first at Record Revolution CD to follow
No Code - I think it was an HMV in Paris, European release was a week before the US
Yield – Was able to pick up the CD on Monday before the Tuesday release date at Record Revolution
Binaural - CD at Target on release date
Riot Act - CD at Downtown Records the Saturday before release.
S/T - CD at Downtown Records the Friday before release along with Tool 10,000 Days
Backspacer - CD at Downtown Records the Friday before the Sunday Target release date. Went to Target on that Sunday to buy it too.
Lightning Bolt - CD through 10 ClubVs - CD from Musicland
Vitalogy - vinyl from Dr. Wax in Evanston IL
No Code - CD/Vinyl from Vibes mUsic in Milwaukee
Binaural - Vinyl from 10c/CD from Best Buy
Riot Act - CD/Vinyl from Virgin Megastore
The rest I bought just the vinyl from 10c.
Ten-Cassette tape. Traded a friend for it.
Vs- Cassette tape. My copy didn't have VS on it. Bought it at Best Buy the day it came out and was on constant rotation.
Vitalogy- Heard that only 50,000 copies of the vinyl were made so wanted to have that before the main release. Got this at a record shop in Santa Monica at 3rd st Promenade. Bought the CD when it debuted too. Kind of hard to play a record in your car...
No Code- I was out in the Berring Sea when it was released and made my brother and sister buy it and mail it to me ASAP. Before we departed Seattle I recorded a show off the radio and it had this new song that blew my mind called Lukin. I was most likely the only person in the whole fishing industry to have that CD at that time, lol.
Yield- Now working in Arizona. Drove almost an hour to find a Bestbuy to purchase the CD.
Binaural-Wasn't excited about this album, got the CD. Was very underwhelmed at the time. Bestbuy was my go to. They always had cool imports.
Riot Act- Wasn't even aware it came out as PJ was not in my wheelhouse at this time. Bought the CD, gave it 1 listen and back on the shelf.
S/T- Was actually interested in finding this as I heard "World Wide suicide". Couldn't find the damn album anywhere. Come to find out it was a Target release only...My sister bought the CD for me.
Backspacer- Heard the Fixer and was excited about this one until I actually listened to it... CD went back on the shelf.
Lightning Bolt-Pre ordered the CD from 10c, thought I had ordered the LP too but apparently I did not...
Vs - New cd. Asked my girlfriends roommate to pick up the one Id seen in a store in our hometown. Specifically wanted the black plastic "snap case", if you will, as opposed to the generic cd jewel case.
Vitalogy - New cd. A Best Buy on release day (or night?)
No Code - New cd. Forget actually when and where. I took another chance on them after the downward slope of Vitalogy. 3rd albums are frequently a mishmash, as a group (usually) is trying to figure out where they might be going for a long run. Theyve beaten the crap outta their first 2 albums, so then now what? No Code was not an improvement. Figured I was done with them.
Yield - used cd. Cheap, I wanna say 3-5 bucks. No idea how long after release date.
2000 Bootlegs - I was very intrigued by this whole project. Rows and rows of light grey and dark tan cardboard in the Best Buys. Only issue was, couldnt figure which ones to get into!
Binaural - New cd. Couldnt say when or where, but got it to hear studio versions of 2000 Bootleg songs.
Riot Act - New cd. Had it ready for my 2003 return to Pearl Jam concert attending!
S/T - New cd from TenClub shop w/ bonus 12/31/92 cd.
Backspacer - New cd from Target w/ two concert downloads.
Lightning Bolt - New cd from TenClub.
To this day, I own none vinyl of Pearl Jam studio albums. Love the vinyl vaults, annual singles, live vinyl EPs, side projects, etc etc etc...!
Raleigh '03
Charlotte '13
Cincinnati '14
Greenville '16, Columbia '16
Nashville '22
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Inherited VS (cd) and Vitalogy (vinyl) from my brother when he got a girlfriend in high school and started listening only to country. I was in middle school.
Bought a used copy of Ten on CD shortly after. From No Code on I bought both CD and vinyl the day they were released (except Binaural, never did get that vinyl)
But I remember getting Yield a week early on vinyl, anyone else remember that?