Milton Keynes, UK | Off the Record charity shop in Milton Keynes chosen for ‘Record Store Day’ venue: This year Record Store Day will be on Saturday 20 April and Off The Record, located in Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes has been selected to be part of this worldwide event. Record Store Day is an annual event where independent record shops come together to celebrate people’s love of music with limited releases. Off the Record is a specially curated shop by Willen Hospice, selling pre-loved and new vinyl records to raise funds for the charity. They will be celebrating the day by selling limited releases and live music in store. The centre will open at 6am if people want to arrive early and the shop will open from 8am. The shop will be managing the queue and admittance will be limited to ensure people have space to browse. Each customer will be allowed to buy one copy of each LP and a list of stock will be updated throughout the day. There will still be the normal range of pre-loved and new music and accessories as well for customers to browse, but when the records are gone, they are gone.
Hayward, CA | The Record Store: This Shop’s Niche Hip-Hop, Soul, Jazz, and Funk Make It a DJ’s Dream: Come inside The Stacks Record Shop in Hayward, California. When SETI X—the San Francisco-based emcee and recipient of the Pharrell Williams-backed J Dilla Music Tech Grant—told me about a small brick-and-mortar he co-owned with Delrokz, a turntablist and breakdancer from Daly City, I knew my visit would yield audio gold. Nestled in Hayward, a sleepy suburb 45 minutes outside of San Francisco—and whose local high school mascot is a hay-carrying farmer—The Stacks Record Shop can be easy to miss. The brick shop is on the edge of a three-block downtown scene, which isn’t particularly known for any music or arts presence in the region. Though off the radar, it’s a Bay Area audiophile’s sanctuary. Since opening in 2020 during shelter-in-place, the Filipino- and Indian-owned storefront has become one of the only remaining spaces that specializes in niche hip-hop, soul, jazz, and funk.
Cambridge, MA | A walk into Armageddon will delight aficionados of punk and metal with vinyl, CDs and cassettes: It’s time for another episode of Totally Excellent Mid-January Cambridge Day-Approved Record Store Walk & You Better Dress Warm. Except the days are warmer, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and spring has officially sprung. What better weather to hide away in a basement record shop void of natural light with aggro punk obscurities screaming at you through the loudspeakers from open to close? If you read that last line as snark, you’re one type of person. If you read it and thought “Fuck yeah!” you’re another. Armageddon Record Shop (12 Eliot St. B, Harvard Square, Cambridge) is for the truly initiated, mostly initiated into punk and metal. Contrast it with a more generalist shop such as Planet Records, a few blocks away.
Louisville, KY | Jack Harlow Foundation and Guestroom Records Give Away 100 Records and Record Players: The partnership gave Louisville kids their choice of vinyl albums and players to go with them. Jack Harlow’s non-profit organization continues its mission to make Louisville a better place to live. In March, the Jack Harlow Foundation made Louisville a better sounding place too. In partnership with the local record shop Guestroom Records, they welcomed 100 local kids to come to the store, chose their favorite album, and then take home a record player to listen to it on. In a photo set by Urban Wyatt we spot kids with everything from Chief Keef’s “Glotoven” on glow-in-the-dark vinyl to Korn’s “Issues” and even Alex G’s “Trick.” When Travis Searle and Justin Sowers opened Guestroom Records all the way back in 2002, their inventory was their personal vinyl collection. They sold records out of their guest rooms and garages for 11 years, until they opened their retail location in the Clifton neighborhood in 2013. In 2024, they helped make memories for 100 kids and we are here for it.
Bakery Hill, AU | Store calls out for record spin celebration: The owners of the recently opened Kank Wolverang Records are calling out for people to get involved in an annual disc-flicking occasion.Next month, the shop will be one of many acknowledging Record Store Day on Saturday 20 April, and co-owner Justin Hayward said they’re keen for collectors and traders to get involved. “We’re hoping to get a diverse crew of people interested in selling and buying, and it’ll be 
Manchester, UK | A spin around Northern Quarter’s newest record shop with a witty name and a treasure trove of vinyl. You’re sure to find some real gems in here. We recently popped our heads into the wittily named Withy Groove Records, the new vinyl exchange and all things music that quietly opened up its doors late last year but is now one of the latest hidden gems in the Northern Quarter. Opening up on the edge of Shudehill on the edge of NQ and just down the road from the Withy Grove Stores buildings (hence the clever little name), the new basement record shop technically began trading in December 2023 but has only just had its front signage completed and the name put above the door. We especially like the new striking Haçienda-inspired lettering, not that we’re biased towards black and yellow logos or anything… But seriously though, this little den of old discs, vintage vinyl and music memorabilia is 
Indianapolis, IN | The Record Store: Seasoned Owner Tells Us How Much (and How Little) Record Stores Have Changed: Meet James Ector co-owner of Karma Records in Indianapolis. “I want to show you something cool,” says James Ector, co-owner of Karma Records in Indianapolis. Wearing a dark hoodie over a Cheap Trick T-shirt, he grabs a Ziploc baggie from an old filing cabinet—covered with generations of stickers—and slides out a black-and-white photo. “A customer brought this in to us. That’s Van Halen.” Ector points to the man in the middle, who looks like Billy Joel but is actually a local DJ popular in ‘70s and ‘80s, and he’s flanked by four guys who looked like they’ve been up all night. They’re all holding T-shirts and visors emblazoned with the Karma logo. On the far end is Indiana native David Lee Roth, looking both painfully hungover and ready for the next party. “This would have been their first tour, when they were opening for Black Sabbath,” he says.” 
Fischer, TX | Yard Sale Records joins Hill Country music scene with brick-and-mortar: The shop offers new and used vinyl, books, magazines, posters, and vintage clothing. Vinyl record lovers have a new spot in the Hill Country with the opening of a new brick-and-mortar record store. Music lovers now have a go-to for all things new and old in the music scene. Yard Sale Records opened its “little piece of vinyl heaven” on Friday, March 1, at 880 Elliot Knox Blvd., Ste. 600, New Braunfels, located off Elliot Knox Boulevard near S. Walnut Avenue. The shop offers an assortment of new and used vinyl, books, magazines, posters, and select vintage clothing. Records at the shop are curated to support locals’ interests. Some genres sold at the shop include honky-tonk, Texas garage rock, and indie vinyl. Owner Howard Lovell expanded his business after three years of selling vinyls at pop-up markets in Central Texas across the Hill Country and in Austin. Lovell told MySA he chose to set up his shop in the Germantown because it was not only his home, but also for its 
Northfield, MN | Vintage record store opens in downtown Northfield: Whenever customers walk into Verbena Vinyl, they’d better have enough time to browse the record crates, sit and listen to some tracks and banter about recordings and concerts with owner Victoria “Vicki” Scott. Scott, who opened the vintage record store at 419 Division St. S. in early January, said she’s pleased that Northfield once again has a record store downtown. Before the pandemic, the city, home to around 5,000 college students nine months of the year, had always supported a couple of independent record stores. “Currently, I’m it,” said Scott. “Except, of course, for some of the antique stores that sell old records and album covers.” In her two months of business, Scott said the weekday traffic has been a bit slow, but the weekend shoppers have more than made up for that. “I love that 
Minneapolis, MN | Lakota vinyl collector revitalizes Indigenous music, language one record at a time: Justis Brokenrope has collected vinyl by Native musicians for the past decade. Now he shares that music with the digital world. “You can listen to music nowadays without ever touching a CD, a record, or a tape,” said Brokenrope, who is Sicangu Lakota. “It’s just so digital and ubiquitous all the time. But to hold the physical thing and then to see yourself represented in that, and to see your community, your people, your family represented in that, I think that’s just so important for us.” A self-described shaggy-haired kid, Justis Brokenrope started collecting vinyl records near his hometown in rural Nebraska. As a young musician, he played in punk and metal bands touring the U.S. and Europe. He was in a record store in Providence, R.I., about ten years ago where he found a compilation record consisting of Indigenous North American music, and inspiration struck.
Southsea, UK | Independent record store resurgence: Pie & Vinyl’s success mirrors the industries growth: The owner of a popular Southsea record store looks back on it’s success as independent record stores reach a 10 year high. Steve Courtnell, the owner of Pie & Vinyl in Castle Road, has spoken about his shops success as it was revealed that there are more independent record stores nationwide than there were ten years ago. The unique pastry and music based shop opened in 2012 and since it began the industry has seen an upturn in fortunes. …Having sat on Castle Road for over a decade, Pie & Vinyl has become a fixture of the city, renowned and revered by many. However, that description still takes Steve by surprise. He said: “When people say, everyone knows Pie & Vinyl it never fails to warm my heart a bit. Obviously there has been an incredible amount of hard work to nearly get to 12 years old, there has been lots of challenges and there continues to be lots of challenges. What we try and offer is something unique, and 
Mansfield, OH | Operation Fandom & Blackbird Records moves to former Uncommon Nostalgia: Mansfielders will still be able to shop for collectibles, music and games at 36 W. 4th St. but from a different business. Following the closure of Uncommon Nostalgia, Operation: Fandom and Blackbird Records opened their store on Friday. Owner Josh Lehman said the new space nearly doubles the floor space they had between City Grille and The Clubhouse. “This will become the largest store of the three we have,” Lehman said. “It was our smallest store before. We have two different 1,000-square-foot stores in Wooster, and about 2,400 square feet in Medina. “We had tall ceilings at the old place, but only 1,400 square feet. Here, we have 3,000 square feet.” Lehman said the extended space will allow for more records, games and spread-out shopping aisles. “I think we’ll have 
RI | 7 Local Record Stores to Lend an Ear: Record stores—a reminder of the slower pace of times past—are experiencing a resurgence with new generations of vinyl enthusiasts. From vinyl records to CDs, cassettes, band merch and more, record stores in Rhode Island are teeming with vintage finds and unique collectibles. While online streaming services provide our favorite tunes at our fingertips, the experience of visiting a record store is about more than just the music—it offers a sanctuary and 
Rio de Janeiro, BR | Rio’s Best Party Happens Once a Month at This Tiny Record Store: Vinil do Mustafa is a treasure trove of 1970s Tropicalía music. …Before Mustafa inhabited his current digs, he kept a shop nearby in the same neighborhood—a subterranean space that turned into an exclusive club every Thursday night. After the pandemic, however, the owner “wanted to see the sky.” In his new location, Mustafa boasts an impressive collection of everything you might expect, but he doesn’t say no to the odd ‘90s hip-hop album or movie soundtrack. It’s more important for the owner to keep his collection tight than to be picky about genre. “I don’t want to sell records in bulk,” he says. “I don’t want to have thousands of records, where you step into the store and you can’t find what you’re looking for.” Instead, he carefully curates his selection, some of which he sells on the cheap, though especially rare titles can bring in much more. “I’m aiming for 
