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Vinyl Four Podcast

Vinyl Four Podcast

By: Shawn Farmer
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About this listen

The Vinyl 4 Podcast, brought to you by Signal Syndicate Productions, puts a tournament spin on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time. Each week, Shawn and Craig face off with 16 randomly selected records, whittling them down through head-to-head matchups until only the ultimate “Vinyl 4” remains. Equal parts music nerdery and bracket madness, it’s a fresh take on discovering classics, debating favorites, and having fun with the albums that shaped music history.

© 2026 Vinyl Four Podcast
Music
Episodes
  • S1 - Ep 17 - Round 14: From Talking Book to The Downward Spiral, Nothing Is Safe
    Jan 23 2026

    Shawn and Craig return for Round 14 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, facing another heavyweight bracket pulled from Rolling Stone’s Top 500. With 16 albums spanning decades, genres, and creative extremes, the margin for error continues to shrink.

    This round invites comparisons across wildly different musical worlds — from the emotional pull of Talking Book to the raw tension of The Downward Spiral, from the timeless songwriting of Simon & Garfunkel to the fearless experimentation of The Mothers of Invention. Along the way, touchstones of ’90s alternative, classic soul, and genre-defying pop shape the debate without making the decisions any easier.

    As always, the fellas battle it out, narrowing the field to four survivors and pushing the Vinyl 4 journey one step closer to its endgame.

    📩 Subscribe and follow on your favorite podcast platform to keep up with the brackets.
    🎶 Got your own picks or snubs? Drop us a line at vinylfourpodcast@gmail.com.
    📸 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes posts, polls, and bracket updates — @VinylFourPodcast .

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    32 mins
  • S1 - Ep 16 - Round 13: Confessional Songs, Street Narratives & Soulful Truths
    Jan 9 2026

    Shawn and Craig return for Round 13 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, facing another deep and diverse field of 16 albums as they battle their way toward this week’s Vinyl 4.

    This round lives in contrasts and collisions — think confessional songwriting, street-level grit, and late-night soul sharing space in the same bracket. Along the way, the discussion draws energy from artists like Joni Mitchell, Funkadelic, Raekwon, and The Pogues, while albums that feel intimate, rebellious, and timeless all vie for survival.

    It’s a round where emotion matters just as much as influence, and where tough decisions come fast. Sixteen enter, four advance — and the Vinyl 4 journey presses on.

    📩 Subscribe and follow on your favorite podcast platform to keep up with the brackets.
    🎶 Got your own picks or snubs? Drop us a line at vinylfourpodcast@gmail.com.
    📸 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes posts, polls, and bracket updates — @vinylfourpodcast.

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    32 mins
  • S1 - Ep 15 - Recap #3: Hip-Hop Tension, Folk Intimacy & Stadium Rock Energy
    Jan 2 2026

    Shawn and Craig are back with Recap #3, taking a deeper dive into the winners from Rounds 9 through 12 as the Vinyl 4 field tightens and the stakes continue to rise. With four full brackets now in the books, the conversation shifts from rapid-fire decisions to reflection, context, and why certain records continue to stand the test of time.

    This stretch of the bracket evokes everything from The Clash to Nick Drake, from landmark albums like Rubber Soul and Voodoo to genre-spanning touchstones that echo across decades. Along the way, sounds associated with psychedelic rock, neo-soul, and alternative rock weave in and out of the discussion — sometimes where you least expect them.

    It’s a thoughtful checkpoint in the journey, revisiting the albums that advanced, unpacking the debates that shaped them, and setting the tone for what lies ahead as the Vinyl 4 grows ever more formidable.

    📩 Subscribe and follow on your favorite podcast platform to keep up with the brackets.
    🎶 Got your own picks or snubs? Drop us a line at vinylfourpodcast@gmail.com.
    📸 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes posts, polls, and bracket updates — @vinylfourpodcast.

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    27 mins
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