Seattle, WA | ‘Everyday is Record Store Day’: Three Seattle record stores, three cultural institutions. …In the aftermath of RSD at Silver Platters in SoDo, shoppers mill about under the supervision of Elliott Smith, the members of Alice in Chains, and a slew of other Pacific Northwest artists, thanks to a mural that stretches the length of the store. Silver Platters resurrects the meditative art of browsing, inviting shoppers to pause at listening stations punctuating the aisles, equipped with headphones. …Joules Goldblatt and her roommates chose Silver Platters for RSD. Goldblatt ended up with Pacific, an instrumental Japanese album, that she selected for its randomness. “I think physical media is special in a lot of ways,” Goldblatt said. “We really just have been so oversaturated with digital media, specifically, low quality, digital media.”
Montreal, CA | Our favorite record stores in Montreal: For CDs, vinyl, and the best music selection in town, we have 5 (almost) secret spots. Montreal is a city of music, musicians, and independent music. For the city’s best soundtrack, there are experts and music lovers ready to recommend records to us. And Spotify is great, but it would be silly not to take advantage of the musical culture of Montrealers who work in music stores. There are music stores and record shops all over Montreal, but there are five we go to when we want to be inspired, musically.
IL | Find nostalgia, vinyl treasures at 4 record stores in Starved Rock Country: X marks the spot for Horizons Music in Mendota. That is, because it will feel like discovering a hidden treasure for vinyl collectors. Located in a warehouse off the beaten path (literally in the middle of a neighborhood at the intersection of 14th Street and Milwaukee Avenue in Mendota), Horizons Music houses more than a million items with titles like Zager and Evans, Splatcats and The Rainbow Band. You likely won’t find the latest Taylor Swift record, or even familiar stocks. This is a destination for the deep divers. Horizons boasts that it specializes in “out of print” or “hard to find” releases.
Falmouth, UK | Final spin for much-loved Falmouth record shop as Jam to close after 23 years: Much-loved independent record shop Jam is set to close its doors after more than two decades on Falmouth’s Old High Street. The decision marks the end of 23 years at the helm for owner Mandy Kemp who says it was not a difficult choice, as she feels she has come to the end of the road (or record). Speaking to the Packet, Mandy said the move had been a long time coming. “I’ve had enough. Twenty-three years is quite enough,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed it—mostly—but enough’s enough.” She added: “I could never have imagined it would last so long, what with all the new-fangled developments like the internet and so forth. But here we are, 23 years on, and I’m thinking that’s probably enough now.”
Tunis, TN | Tunis’ Only Vinyl-Digging Record Store Eddisco to Open New Store in L’Écurie: In a world where digital music feels increasingly overwhelming and shaped by algorithms, vinyl digging remains a slower, more intentional way of connecting with sound. That space exists through Eddisco, Tunisia’s only dedicated record store for vinyl digging and community building, which continuously supports the country’s underground electronic scene. Launched in 2018 by Hamdi Ryder, Aymen Ghanoudi, and Ghassen Yahyaoui, and Downtown Vibes, Eddisco operates as both an appointment-only record shop and an independent label. Over the years, it has built a community rooted in Tunis while connecting with kindred spirits around the world, carving out a singular place in the city’s electronic ecosystem. The space functions as a hub for vinyl digging, local releases, and cultural exchange, while the label has developed a distinct voice, championing regional talent through a steady stream of releases and recorded in-store mixes.
Lucerne, CH | In The Groove: Detroit’s sound reaches a record store in Switzerland. Detroit’s sound continues to move across borders, shaping scenes and connecting listeners in places far from where it began. Detroit’s musical influence stretches far beyond the city, reaching record stores, listeners, and cultures across the globe. In Lucerne, Switzerland, a small shop called Co-mix Remix is built around that sound. Owner Walter Beer says Detroit music has shaped not just his taste, but his entire approach to collecting and sharing records. “It’s all the music from Detroit that influenced me. The soul, the funk, the Motown. It’s connected to hip-hop and to house music. Without Detroit, life would be not so fun.” From Motown classics to underground house, Detroit’s sound fills the store. Artists like Marvin Gaye and J Dilla are central to that influence, with Dilla’s legacy honored through an annual tribute night in Lucerne.
Denton, TX | Recycled Books has records too: The intoxicating sound of indie rock penetrates patrons’ ears as they enter the fabled Denton institution, Recycled Books, Records, & CDs. As shoppers traverse past the inviting maze of ideas put to paper, they can discover a not-so hidden oasis of musical flavors to excite the senses. Despite books being named first in the title, the true cheese in the mousetrap for Recycled Books is the record section. Vinyl has become an immensely vital piece of the stores puzzle. …For many record shoppers, Recycled Books is the mecca for physical media in Denton. Decorated in his crate digging uniform of a metal band T-shirt and jeans, George Call says he hits the Recycled Books bins a minimum of once a week to add to his record collection.
SF Bay Area, CA | Bay Area Gen Z revives physical music formats over streaming platforms: Last December, 17-year-old Navya Chitlur had only one thing on her Christmas list: a portable CD player. She’d been collecting CDs from her favorite artists for the last few months—but now she wanted to go all in and actually listen to them. “It feels like a whole different experience listening to CDs,” said Chitlur, a senior at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont. A music aficionado, Chitlur grew up listening to music on Spotify, but had recently fallen in love with the way she can hold a CD in her hand or watch a vinyl record spin as it plays music. …Some young people say they’re beginning to shift away from their phones and toward physical media like vinyls, CDs, books and analog hobbies, largely as a result of screen fatigue. In a survey of 120 Bay Area high schoolers who responded on Mosaic’s Instagram, 57% reported making a conscious effort to use more physical media.
Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh’s Hellbender Vinyl expands into North Philly, tapping into the city’s music scene with every groove: The Pittsburgh-based pressing plant is expanding into Philadelphia as U.S. vinyl record sales surpassed $1 billion last year. Hellbender Vinyl has opened up a new location in North Philadelphia after acquiring a pressing plant in the city’s Lawncrest neighborhood. The Pittsburgh-based record-pressing company shipped its first order in 2023, offering recording artists and labels direct access to vinyl manufacturing. The expansion from Pittsburgh is a result of the acquisition of Softwax Record Pressing, formerly based in the Bond Building, a converted bread factory. Co-founder and CEO Matt Dowling called the opportunity “serendipitous” and said operating on both sides of the state connects two cities with deep manufacturing roots.
Follow The Vinyl District on Facebook HERE, Instagram HERE, Threads HERE, Bluesky HERE, and X/Twitter HERE.
