Quarter-inch magnetic tape, as used in 8-track tapes, is the optimum medium for those who love music, appreciate vintage style, and have poetry in their soul.
And what makes 1/4″ so special? It is the size tape that was used in 8-track tapes in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, as well as the shorter-lived 4-track tape cartridges of the 60s and the higher-end reel-to-reel tapes that rose to prominence as a way of enjoying recordings at home in the 70s.
Eight-track tapes, especially, deserve their place in history as a good idea that was crushed by other consumer demands. From their earliest form in the mid 60s, to their 1970s dominance, to their subsequent ignoble demise (mostly complete by 1982), to their complete disappearance around 1989, 8-track tapes were at turns efficient, frustrating, easy to use, hard to find, fun to look at, and curiously inspiring of devotion.
See also: 8-track tape cartridge repair tutorial (fully illustrated)
Who buys 8-track tapes now?
Devotion, these days, comes from hard-core music fans and sympathetic completist collectors. Cassette tapes won the 1970s-1980s battle with 8-track tapes in the marketplace, and CDs beat everyone by the 1990s.
A rare 8-track tape, Around the World in a Day by Prince and the Revolution
But 8-track tapes were produced for several major 1980s albums. Yes, it’s possible to find Culture Club‘s Waking Up With The House On Fire (1985), George Harrison‘s Cloud Nine (1987), Genesis‘ Invisible Touch (1986), AC/DC‘s Who Made Who (1986), Prince’s Sign O’ The Times (1987) if you’re extremely lucky, and many other albums from the 1980s on actual, official 8-track tapes. This is thanks to mail-order companies like Columbia House that catered, for whatever reason, to the otherwise left-for-dead 8-track community.
More: 8-track tape/cassette vintage adapters
Aside from that, though, most people who buy 8-tracks now are, to some degree, fans of 1970s rock. When you see a box of 8-tracks at a thrift store or a relative’s attic or in a bulk 8-track tape online sale, odds are that you will see Eagles, BTO, Kansas, Nazareth, and artists of that ilk. Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and David Bowie if you’re lucky. Elvis Costello, the Damned, Blue Cheer and Strawberry Alarm Clock if you’re particularly blessed that day.
The latter-day Culture Club album Waking Up With The House On Fire, a mail order-only 8-track tape.
More: Quadraphonic 8-track tapes: A vintage 4-channel experience
Whatever you find, an album always seems to sound better on 8-track tape. And, by definition, you do find new music to listen to when getting into 8-track tapes. You kind of have to, as the selection available to you is based on luck rather than desire.
8-tracks that need repair
Fixing 8-track tapes is nearly always a requirement — if not for one tape, then for the next one you get. Fixing them is part of the fun, and easy anyway (see our fully illustrated 8-track tape repair tutorial).
When buying 8-track tapes online, you can look for specific artists or just scroll through the many listings. You can find some excellent titles, sometimes still sealed, as well as 8-track tape players and even recorders to play them on for your home or car.
4-track tapes: Vintage cartridges from the 1960s
The 8-track world is a big one — have fun exploring!
