Vinyl Verdicts has gone by a few names over the years, but the heart of it has always been the same: people who love music, trading songs and seeing what sticks.
The show began in 2021 as The Chris and Amanda Show, where Chris and Amanda would pick a theme and swap songs with each other, some they'd heard a hundred times and some they'd never heard at all, then give them an honest rating. That trade became the whole point, and the show was renamed Song Swap Showdown.
In 2025, Amanda stepped away and Rachel joined Chris behind the mic. With a new co-host came a new name, Vinyl Verdicts, and eventually a new format. Three songs stopped being enough. Now each week Chris and Rachel pick a theme and each build a full playlist around it, then pull out the tracks they most want to talk about, whether that's a song they love, one they can't believe the other person picked, or a deep cut that deserves more ears.
Every song reviewed gets a rating on a scale of 1 to 5 records. One record is a hard skip. Five records is music to our ears. Somewhere in between is where most of the arguing happens.
When the show wraps, the full playlist goes up on Spotify so you can hear everything, including the songs that didn't make it to air. Listen along, make your own verdict, and tell us where we got it wrong. We can take it. Mostly.
Vinyl Verdicts is proudly part of Radio Garden State, independent radio from New Jersey.
Missed an episode? Catch up on past shows below: