Being a collector of records for decades - AND being in the business of selling old, rare and out-of-print vinyl (mostly 45's "the small ones") to collectors - what started as a hobby has become pretty dominant in my life. When somebody is self-employed, one tends to forget what it means to work "merely" 40-hour weeks.
I have always been an explorer of sorts, too - I seldom if ever have had the chance to be "THE FIRST HUMAN BEING EVER TO" go somewhere, or explore something, or make a discovery of any importance. In fact, seldom isn't even a good word to use - this has happened only ONCE in my life. And it probably was the best thing ever to happen to me.
By far the best and most interesting place to find old 45rpm records - if you can be the first person to get in to the stash - is a radio station. And, even more so, if they saved everything and didn't throw the "junk" away. Over the years it's the "junk," not the well-known hits, that have become sought after. For more than 20 years I was watching pretty much every other "record guy" have a find of that sort (where NOTHING was thrown out), but my efforts continued to be futile. I got into plenty of radio station libraries, but always (for reasons of space) they had only or mostly kept stuff they were playing, throwing away the coveted "junk."
Or, much more often, I was NOT the first person to get in.
This all changed on September 21, 1996 - a marvelous date that's now over ten years ago but still seems like yesterday in many ways. During another trip stopping inside radio stations and asking about records, I tried the Asheville, NC radio stations (this was about 16 days EARLIER than the 21st); one station told me that they had saved their old records but the owner wasn't in town, and I had no choice but to go home. Though it's a 1,500 mile round trip, I vowed to return ASAP when I could, and when he would be there. I found out it could happen on September 20, and I made the trip.
It took me only 2 or 3 SECONDS to quickly realize that, what I saw, was precisely what I had sought for over 20 years. I didn't even have to look at even one record; I could see the edges of the old sleeves and knew the vintage right away. However, about 90 minutes of inspection told me that these went back to 1954 or 1955, and all the way up to the mid-80s, and all the "JUNK" was there. I was able to negotiate a price with the owner, with the transaction (and hauling) to be consummated on the 21st.
It started to look like it wouldn't happen at all (even after I'd pulled out the $$$ I was going to pay this time), because I couldn't get ahold of him when we were supposed to confirm arrangements. Eventually by Saturday morning arrangements WERE made, he would meet me at the warehouse and I'd pay him and take 60% of the records. (There were too many for one trip - AND the money was too much to come up with all at once.) HE NEVER SHOWED UP AT THE WAREHOUSE! But somebody was there, who let me in. The radio guy had been on a bender Friday night, and that's why he didn't show up - he drank himself sick I'm sure. He sounded very hung over when I finally got directions from him how to drop the money off. (This whole thing was SO strange...)
And, before I go further and cause one to jump to wrong conclusions, I will say that I did end up getting the whole thing, with the second trip happening in January 1997 as had also been planned. But, without him present to supervise or watch what I was doing, I decided to - JUST IN CASE THE REST OF THE DEAL WENT SOUR (because, after all, I was dealing with an alcoholic) - fill up to capacity on this first trip, and take **all** of the older, really "good" boxes of stuff. After that, I wouldn't have complained AT ALL if the second part of the deal went sour, and it would have been all his fault if it had; what I left behind after the first trip was NOT "worth" the remaining amount owed, but I had made a promise, and the January part was finished right on schedule as well (when he didn't flake).
This batch of records cost me more than my HOUSE cost me in 1987. Let me add that the real estate market was depressed here in 1987, but a house still cost well into five-figures at that time.
I finally itched the scratch that had been driving me crazy for so many years. I was so obviously the very first human being EVER to go through these records since they had simply been thrown into boxes in 1955, 1980 and 1962 (and other years along the way), and just stashed away and ignored. It is the only time in my lifetime that I've ever "discovered" anything important. And, finally, I was able to add myself to the roster of other people who had accomplished something of this sort, and I no longer felt like the very last remaining "big guy" who never had the definitive find.
I've since concluded, all the while (and nothing will change my mind!), that the importance of this to me, was very possibly on an equal to the usual importance of somebody who enters a lifetime relationship with somebody who's a soulmate. I was very close, just before that time, to quitting and going back to work "for the man." I feel fortunate that I was able to remove the sense of desperation I was feeling during the first 2/3 of the Nineties.
Furthermore, I STILL have a few unexplored boxes yet to go through from this, more than ten years later. This is "the evil opposite" of what I've always seen happen when anybody else ever found this sort of thing - where, within 3 or 4 days, the whole thing gets "rifled" by whoever found the batch, and/or sometimes by people they immediately call who would drive or fly in from all over the world. (I was never privy to being called first on such a thing.)
Despite the massive cost, I've done well with these. Moreover, the value of ending this end-all-and-be-all quest...FOREVER...has been incalculable. It has probably increased my lifespan. The intensity of my effort (especially in the 1990's) had me on such an intense schedule, etc. that I was certainly putting myself in danger of heart attack, a fatal wreck, etc.
I should add that, at this point, such a "radio station find" is VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE NOW. Even radio stations in rural Idaho, etc. are "hit" by inquisitive hopeful record people multiple times a month, asing about records. Almost all "old" radio stations have been bought up and/or become parts of broadcasting groups, and a vast majority of stations are no longer in their original studios. Record libraries take space, and sometimes they've been THROWN AWAY if no buyer was there at the right time. I already knew it was "LATE" when my search kicked into high gear on 1/1/1990. I think it's literally possible that no more than 4 or 5 such stashes remain, in fact I'm aware of only one such find that's happened since 1996.