Vinyl Four Podcast
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.
Episodes
18 episodes
S1 - Ep 18 - Round 15: Punk Urgency, Soul Depth & Dream-Pop Haze
Shawn and Craig return for Round 15 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, squaring off against another deep and emotionally charged set of 16 albums pulled from Rolling Stone’s Top 500. At this stage, every decision feels heavier — and every matchup h...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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28:18
S1 - Ep 17 - Round 14: From Talking Book to The Downward Spiral, Nothing Is Safe
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.
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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31:53
S1 - Ep 16 - Round 13: Confessional Songs, Street Narratives & Soulful Truths
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 confessiona...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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32:25
S1 - Ep 15 - Recap #3: Hip-Hop Tension, Folk Intimacy & Stadium Rock Energy
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 shift...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:31
S1 - Ep 14 - Round 12: From Dre to Led Zep - From Wire to Santana - Genres Collide Beautifully
Shawn and Craig are back for Round 12 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, staring down another heavyweight set of 16 albums as they battle their way to this week’s Vinyl 4.This round defies easy categorization. Picture ambient jazz tension...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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34:26
S1 - Ep 13 - Round 11: The Smiths, Curtis Mayfield & More in a Battle for Another Vinyl Four
Shawn and Craig return for Round 11 of the Vinyl Four Podcast, diving into another loaded bracket pulled from Rolling Stone’s Top 500. Sixteen albums enter the arena, and after plenty of debate, only four survive.This week’s matchups sp...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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34:25
S1 - Ep 12 - Round 10: The Pixies, Kanye, Beach Boys & More in an Impossible Matchup
Shawn and Craig enter Round 10 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, and the bracket has officially reached “no easy choices left.” This week brings another powerhouse set of 16 albums — a mix of groundbreaking classics, cult favorites, and genre-defi...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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36:11
S1 - Ep 11 - Round 9: A Mashup of Outkast, The Dead, Sinatra, Sabbath & The Clash
Shawn and Craig dive into Round 9 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, taking on another wildly eclectic set of 16 albums pulled from Rolling Stone’s Top 500. This week spans blues legends, rock icons, hip-hop pioneers, and avant-pop innovators — all battli...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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19:51
S1 - Ep 10 - Special Edition: Our 2nd Sweet 16 Recap – From Ray Charles to Radiohead
Shawn and Craig return for Episode 10, the second recap installment of the Vinyl Four Podcast. This time, the guys revisit the winners from Rounds 5–8 — the next four brackets — which together form the newest Sweet 16
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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29:01
S1 - Ep 9: Round 8: From Dr. John to Sonic Youth – The Bracket Gets Wild
Shawn and Craig return for Round 8 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast — and the bracket just keeps getting weirder (and better). This week’s 16 albums stretch the boundaries of genre, from Dr. John’s swamp-rock voodoo to Sonic Youth’s ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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21:43
S1 - Ep 8 - Round 7: Avant-Rock, Americana & Everything in Between
Shawn and Craig are back for Round 7 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, where the musical contrasts are sharper than ever. This week’s 16-album bracket bridges wildly different sounds — from Brian Eno’s avant-rock experiments to Bonnie Ra...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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43:36
S1 - Ep 7 - Round 6 – The Most Diverse Round Yet: LL Cool J, U2, The Band, Black Flag & More
Shawn and Craig are back with Round 6 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast, and this one might be the wildest yet. The 16-album lineup stretches across genres and generations — from the smooth harmonies of The Carpenters to the hardcore punch o...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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34:26
S1 - Ep 6 – Round 5: From Post-Punk to Roots Reggae, the Police Patrol the Bracket
Shawn and Craig are back for Round 5 of the Vinyl 4 Podcast! Another batch of 16 albums, randomly selected from Rolling Stone’s Top 500, go head-to-head as the guys narrow it down to 4 more finalists.This week’s bracket spans genres and...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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31:34
S1 - Ep 5 - Special Edition: The First Sweet 16 Recap & Round 5 Reveal
Shawn and Craig return with a special edition of the Vinyl Four Podcast! This week, the duo revisits the winners from Rounds 1 through 4 — 16 albums that have survived the bracket gauntlet so far. From the soul-shaking power of Aretha...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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33:09
S1 - Ep 4 – Round 4: From Dylan to N.W.A, Heavy Metal to Southern Soul
Shawn and Craig return for Round 4 of the Vinyl Four Podcast, pulling another 16 random numbers from Rolling Stone’s Top 500 albums list and battling it out to narrow things down to 4 new finalists.This round spans generations and...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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37:07
S1 - Ep 3 - Round 3: From The Ramones to Radiohead in the Race for the Vinyl Four
Shawn and Craig are back for Round 3 of the Vinyl Four Podcast! Another set of 16 random numbers from Rolling Stone’s Top 500 albums sets the stage for fresh matchups and tough decisions, as the bracket narrows toward the next four final...
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42:07
S1 - Ep 2 - Round 2: Marley to Zeppelin (and Beyond)
Shawn and Craig are back for Round 2 of the Vinyl Four Podcast! With the first four finalists locked in from Episode 1, it’s time to build the next half of the bracket.This week’s lineup brings the heat — from Bob Marley’s reggae ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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32:08
S1 - Ep 1 - Round 1: Welcome to the Vinyl 4 Podcast - Let the Games Begin!
Shawn and Craig kick off the very first bracket battle with 16 wild card picks pulled straight from Rolling Stone’s Top 500. From the electric fire of Jimi Hendrix and the grit of Bruce Springsteen to the soulful harmonies of The Drifters and t...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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32:18