Washington, DC | 6 Best Vinyl Record Shops in Washington DC: Washington, D.C. has long served as a home to influential political movements, but did you know it has birthed major musical movements, too? The D.C. hardcore movement of the late ’70s and early ’80s was one of the most influential punk scenes in the United States, and record stores like Smash Records carry on the movement’s legacy with an impressive selection of hardcore punk vinyl. Also born in the district in the ’60s and ’70s, the go-go scene took over the world and remains popular in the D.C. area where it was named the “official music” of the city in 2020. You can find D.C.’s own legacy on wax in shops like Som Records. Beyond D.C.-born music, music lovers can find nearly any genre on vinyl in these six shops within the district.
Fairfield, OH | Three Feather Records wants people to discover and rediscover music: For the longest time, Eric DePrato and his sons, Jack and Mitchell, didn’t know what to do with the retail space they leased, but they knew it would be a record shop. “I don’t know anything about retail, and the boys, they don’t know anything about it,” Eric said of himself and his sons Jack, 21, and Mitchell, 17. So after about a year of uncertainty and second-guessing decisions, on Nov. 12, they opened Three Feather Records at 1105 Magie Ave. in Fairfield. “Finally we said we were tired of messing around and we’ve got to make a decision and go with it. It’s whatever we found on Pintrest.” The store’s name is a tribute to Maria DePrato, Eric’s wife of 20 years and the boy’s mother, who died four years ago from complications of lung cancer. And it’s also a subtle tribute to Dave Grohl, the Foo Fighters frontman whose music helped the three as they grieved Maria’s death. They also have a large Dave Grohl mural on the back of the store.
Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati’s 11 best record stores: Discovering good new Music is one of the nicest feelings in the world. While finding new Music on large internet platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and others is exciting, there’s nothing quite like personally discovering some hidden gems. I’m referring to browsing record stores for vinyl records. Walking into a store, browsing through records, and discovering something completely new to take home is a thrilling experience. And statistics reveal that vinyl is rapidly regaining popularity. Look at the chart below, which shows vinyl sales by year since the 1970s, courtesy of Digital Music News: Fortunately for those who live in Cincinnati, there are multiple record stores strewn across the city with rows upon rows of vinyl to peruse. We’ve compiled a list of the top 11 record stores in Cincinnati.
Milwaukee, WI | Antonia’s 365 Hip-Hop Museum is a Collection Curated in a Love for Vinyl: If Antonia Anderson could travel back in time to give herself one piece of advice, she’d probably tell herself to stock up on milk crates because there’s no way she’d tell herself to stop collecting vinyl records. Taking a stroll through Anderson’s house is like traveling through history. Guests are greeted with red carpet and some of hip-hop’s most legendary acts. From Run-D.M.C. and Wu-Tang Clan, to Tupac Shakur and N.W.A., the walls are covered in memorabilia. Records are stacked to the ceiling. Cassette and VHS tapes line the walls. Anderson’s house is a hip-hop history museum. It started with one Motown vinyl and turned into a decade of rummaging through record bins and scouring online for collectables. Whether it’s her Public Enemy comic book or the KRS-One “Stop the Violence” educational program—Anderson’s got it all.
Dublin, IE | Covid-19 rough for record shops despite tables continuing to be turned on sales: The sale of vinyl records has continued to rise worldwide throughout Covid-19, despite complications caused by the pandemic. According to the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) 309,000 vinyl records were purchased in 2020, compared to 218,000 bought in 2019, which represents a 42% year-on-year increase. These sales accounted for 8.1% of the total Irish albums market, and continued the trend of vinyl records growing in popularity. While official data has not yet been released for 2021 there is no indication that this growth will not continue. In general, 2020 was a good year for music revenue worldwide despite global lockdowns, with a growth in music revenue of 7.4%. It was the industry’s sixth consecutive year of growth, being led by surges in subscription streaming and sales of vinyl records.
MA | All Rep. Pressley Wants for Christmas Is Her Mariah Carey Record Back: The singer, whose Christmas song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has become a staple of the festive season, was quick to offer a replacement. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley might not have had a new vinyl record in her Christmas list, but it looks like she’ll be receiving one — and from a very special person. The one and only Mariah Carey offered to send the Massachusetts Democrat a new copy of her record, after Pressley announced someone had swiped hers. Pressley tweeted about the missing record on Friday. “This is a PSA or a warning depending on how you choose to take it,” Pressley wrote. “Whomever ‘borrowed’ my #MariahCare (sic) Christmas vinyl, return it. You can leave it at my office door, no questions asked.” She followed that tweet up with, “Y’all got me so heated I’m posting typos #MariahCarey.” But Pressley was in for a surprise. The singer herself, whose Christmas song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has become a staple of the festive season, was quick to offer a replacement.
How to shop for a record player or turntable, according to experts: Buying a turntable can be intimidating given some hefty jargon. We asked experts what actually matters and what doesn’t — and which models they recommend. What’s old is new again, particularly when it comes to music. In 2020, vinyl record sales surpassed CD sales for the first time since the 1980s, totaling $232 million of revenue in the U.S. — and 62 percent of all physical music revenue — according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America. And while shoppers from older generations are most likely to pay for music on vinyl, more than a quarter of millennials and Gen Zers (28 percent and 26 percent, respectively) said they’d spend the money in a 2019 YouGov survey. Listeners are newly discovering older artists, too: In a recent survey from Dolby, almost half of respondents (and nearly 70 percent of Gen Zers) said they’d recently started listening to a song first released over a decade ago.
