Portland, OR | Portland Record Stores: Spend the day exploring the stacks at these local record stores. Every day is Record Store Day in Portland, where vintage audio hi-fi systems and turntables are commonplace and vinyl record shops line neighborhood streets. Whether it’s gift-giving season or time to build out your collection, you’ll find everything from rare imports to the latest pop sensation at one of these local record stores. Music Millennium: Portland’s oldest music store, Music Millennium, opened in 1969 with a mission to stock the kind of underground tunes absent from the racks of mainstream department stores of the era. To the delight of audiophiles, not much has changed. Multiple rooms stash untold tuneful treasures, from bargain bins of used CDs and vinyl to collector rarities (a first pressing of Led Zeppelin I sold here for $1,000). Looking for live music? Touring bands often drop by the shop for free shows…
Yorkshire, UK | Where to buy records in Yorkshire? Here are the best places to shop independent and enjoy music: With a debate in the US about whether there has been a decline in vinyl record sales, we take a look closer to home where the Office for National Statistics reports a “resurgence in popularity” in vinyl records despite the domination of streaming platforms. While some stores have closed in recent times, we take a look at some of the vinyl record stores which are still booming in Yorkshire. Wah Wah Records, Wakefield: Alan Nutton, the owner of Wah Wah Records said he saw a resurgence of vinyl sales following lockdown. Alan, who relocated from Brook St to a bigger store on Cross St in Wakefield city centre in 2022, said: “Record sales have been the same in the last few years after a spike but they’ve not dropped. We’ve got a lot of regular customers who love vinyl…”
Studio City, CA | Licorice Pizza serves nostalgia in Studio City: If you grew up in Southern California in the 1970s and 1980s, there’s a good chance you spent time at a record store called Licorice Pizza. At its peak, the chain had 34 locations, until it was sold in the 1980s. But now, Licorice Pizza is being revived by music producer Kerry Brown. Brown said he sees vinyl records as “historical document[s].” He grew up going to a Licorice Pizza location in Orange County. “I don’t even know why those few years when I was hanging out at Licorice Pizza are some of the most vivid upfront memories still to this day. There are tones and textures of who I am today, and my DNA comes out of that store at 20 in Orange,” he shared. Brown found success in the 1990s as part of the Smashing Pumpkins. Since that time, streaming and digital albums have largely replaced physical media. Music journalist Lyndsey Parker talked about a recent rise in popularity of vinyls.
UK | The record stores that shaped Black music in Britain: A new documentary and podcast series reveals how independent record stores championing Black music became cultural hubs from the 1950s onward. A Midlands-based creative arts collective has launched an ambitious project highlighting the profound cultural impact of independent record stores that championed Black music across the UK from the 1950s to today. Leicester’s 2Funky Arts has released The Record Store & Black Music, A UK History – a documentary and podcast series that unearths personal stories and hidden histories that reflect the role of these record stores as cultural havens and powerful sites of community resilience. Through a mix of oral histories, film, audio, and photographic archives, the series offers a deep dive into how these stores fostered new music movements and subcultures, while also shaping society’s relationship with Black music.
Davis, CA | Armadillo Music serves as community hub for music lovers: Record stores have made a massive comeback in recent years, with more and more folks electing to listen to their favorite singers and bands on the retro medium. Whether you listen to Bach or to rock ‘n roll, Armadillo Music — located on 207 F St. — has music for everyone in the form of vinyl, cassette tapes and CDs. The establishment was founded in 1996, and since then, the store has sold vinyls, instruments, CDs, and even tickets to music events they have hosted or co-hosted for over a quarter of a century. “It was a desire to have a place for folks in our community to come together and appreciate music together,” owner Josh Chapman, who is also the mayor of Davis, said to The Dirt, “in an environment and space where everyone feels comfortable.” The store is covered in music memorabilia across a wide array of genres, including signed vinyls from popular musicians, cassettes stacked in wall-to-ceiling shelving, posters from rock bands of yesterday and today…
Denver, CO | Wax Trax Records Expands Into Aurora: Denver’s oldest record store is opening a kiosk in the Stanley Marketplace. For decades, Wax Trax Records has been the anchor of Capitol Hill’s business strip with its shop at 638 East 13th Avenue. Then in April, the store spread to a second location at 200 South Broadway, on the hip stretch north of Alameda. Now Wax Trax will plant its flag at a new frontier outpost on November 21: a kiosk at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora. “We’ve had this mobile unit called Wax Trax Attacks that’s been going around town and selling records outdoors,” explains Pete Stidman, general manager of Wax Trax and son of one of the longtime co-owners, David Stidman. “People have shopped at it even as far away as Fort Collins and Colorado Springs and here at the Santa Fe Art Walk. We’ve been going to breweries with the truck, too. But that thing needed a home for the winter.” That home, it turns out, is Stanley Marketplace, at 2501 Dallas Street.
Vernon, BC | Vernon’s Record City has officially closed its doors: Record City is no more. The Vernon vinyl shop is empty with only a few cabinets remaining at the 30th Avenue location. Owner Kelvin Forgo told Castanet it is just not financially feasible to keep the record store open. “I’ve noticed a big downturn in record sales in the last little while,” Forgo said. And like so many other businesses, Record City took a major hit during the COVID-19 shut downs, something that had a lasting impact on business. Forgo said the closure came faster than expected. He had been planning to close shop after Christmas, but when an offer was made to buy his entire stock, he accepted. He has been operating the store for more than nine years. “I will be hanging out for the rest of November to clear up consignment stuff and finish some repair work. I will have some stereo stands and record displays and some of my own personal stuff to sell in the next few weeks…”
Erie, PA | The Erie Record Riot! Over 10,000 vinyl records in ONE ROOM! Sat November 16th at Quality Inn & Suites: The Erie Record Riot RETURNS! It’s a GIANT vinyl record POP-UP sale at the Quality Inn & Suites. Sat Nov 16th. 10000+ vinyl records in ONE ROOM! Great music and amazing family fun. LPs, CDs and 45s. A giant record store lands in Erie! Dealers from far and wide converge for a giant music sale! LPs and 45s and CDs too. All types of music from punk to funk to country to classic rock, hip hop, soul/jazz and more. Dust off that turntable and come on down. DOOR PRIZES TOO! Regular admission starts at 10 AM ($5) with early admission at 9 AM ($15). Don’t miss the BIG VINYL DIG!
Nottingham, UK | Secret Nottinghamshire: I couldn’t believe my eyes when visiting Nottingham’s ‘frozen in time’ record shop: The iconic shop has been trading records for more than 40 years. The way we listen to music has changed dramatically over the decades. In the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s vinyl was king, before the popularity of CDs took over in the ‘90s and ‘00s. In recent years streaming platforms have taken over much of the music industry, with one single subscription allowing fans access to thousands of songs. But 2023 marked a turning point for the industry, with the highest number of vinyl sales in the UK since 1990. That is of course welcome news for record shops up and down the country, particularly those which have been there for vinyl fans through thick and thin. Here in Nottingham, it’s fair to say that Rob’s Records has been the number one destination in the city for vinyl junkies for more than four decades.
