Sugar Land, TX | ZT Records sells vintage music at First Colony Mall in Sugar Land: Texas-based record store ZT Records opened its fourth location in the First Colony Mall this spring. ZT Records, which began in Frisco in 2011, offers records, CDs, cassette tapes and posters as well as record buying and trading services at the Sugar Land store, Community Impact reported. Aside from the new Sugar Land store and its original location in Frisco, the two other locations are in Arlington and The Woodlands, Community Impact reported. “We are excited to be in the Sugar Land community,” owner Phil Ramirez said in an email. “I felt like there was an unmet need with vinyl and CDs in this area and can’t wait to see how everybody enjoys their summer in discovering music on physical media.”
Marina, CA | A new record shop opens in Marina, doubling up as a venue and more (like an e-bike rental). Vinyl record stores are making a comeback as multi-purpose rooms in the entertainment world. Monterey County’s latest opened at an unassuming location in Marina on May 16. But S.A.G.E. Collective owner Eric Huerta and Harmonie Vibes owner Delic Tillman (who goes by his DJ name Samory Touray) get that it’s more than just records bringing people in. “We want to showcase the locals,” Huerta says. Tillman adds, “Our overall vision is to create community.” One side of the two-in-one business houses S.A.G.E. Collective, a craft and vintage seller created by Huerta and his wife and kids, hence the titular acronym: Samantha, Andrew and Georgia. The other side houses Harmonie Vibes, a similar vintage market that was popping up every third Sunday at The Power Plant Coffee in Moss Landing; it also includes e-bike rentals. Inside, it’s a loungey space with a couch, records, sage and incense.
12 Store Aisles from the ’70s and ’80s That Were Weirdly Magical to Walk Through: The Record Store Listening Booths. Nothing compared to the hushed reverence of stepping into a record store’s listening booth, closing that flimsy door, and slipping on those shared headphones that had heard a thousand musical revelations before yours. The booth itself was barely bigger than a phone booth, with worn carpet and walls covered in thumbtack holes from decades of album artwork displays. You’d clutch that pristine vinyl album like a sacred text, knowing you had maybe ten minutes to decide if this was worth your allowance money or lawn-mowing earnings. Camoin Associates happily reports that records, and by extension record stores, are enjoying a comeback amidst this age of technology.
Long Beach, CA | This Long Beach vinyl bar wants patrons to grab records and play them as they sip a beer or glass of wine: Where Dakin Auret grew up, in Durban, South Africa, people still buy vinyl records to listen to house music. “The farmers in the middle of nowhere are listening to house,” Auret said. “Construction workers are listening to house. All the beach bars, all the venues, all play house.” Auret now sells vinyl out of the store he opened last year, Foot Work Records, in Long Beach’s East Village. Through his shop, he hopes to pass along his passion for house music, which he said is “the most universal music.” “It pulls from jazz and hip hop and reggae. There’s all these sort of elements and it uses real instruments,” Auret said. “So it’s pulling from all these different styles, and then it’s packaged in a way that’s accessible to everyone.” Foot Work was recently approved to sell beer, wine, sake and champagne, and it’s relaunching as a 21-and-over vinyl listening bar.
Bang & Olufsen’s 1985 turntable re-release is limited to just 100 units and I only wish I could afford one: Meet the new Beosystem 3000c, born of the Beogram 3000. Want to invest in a new hi-fi system in a more eco-friendly way? Bang & Olufsen’s got it covered. Meet the Beosystem 3000c, a music system that reintroduces the Beogram 3000 turntable from 1985. And for 2025, it has been recreated and paired with contemporary Beolab 8 stereo speakers in a coordinated ‘Artisan Walnut’ finish. And it’s far from B&O’s first planet-conscious rodeo. This is the third release in Bang & Olufsen’s Recreated Classics series, an initiative dedicated to reviving the firm’s most iconic products through reacquisition, restoration and reengineering. It’s something B&O has long been championing under its ‘cradle to cradle’ approach (read: everything that goes into a product should be both removable and reusable), as noted extensively in the company’s modular Beosound Theater soundbar.
Newton, BC | Vintage audio vendors to gather at Surrey ‘garage sale.’ Need an old turntable or receiver repaired at Innovative Audio in Newton? Get in line. A Surrey store parking lot will again be abuzz with vintage audio on Sunday, June 8. Innovative Audio’s annual “garage sale” in Newton will involve vendors selling gear and records at 13255 78 Ave. During an event billed as B.C.’s largest vintage audio and record garage sale, dealers can set up no charge, and admission is free for attendees, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. “It’s over 15 years, getting closer to 20 now of doing this,” said Mark Smith, store employee. “It’s anything audio-related,” he added. “We get between 35 and 50 vendors. It’s on a Sunday so we’ve got the lot to ourselves, nobody here, and they all set up. People come and go, check it out. It’s steady with people taking stuff to their cars, coming back. I’ve noticed a lot more record-buyers in recent years.”
Philadelphia, PA | The Free Library’s new Vinyl Record Listening Club mixes old- and new-school vibes: Music lovers take turns sharing tracks from classic albums like Anita Baker’s ‘Rapture’ and modern hits like Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter.’ Physical media lives again. What was once old becomes new, a cycle that’s always been a part of the cultural landscape. Forget AI-generated Spotify playlists. The Free Library of Philadelphia is taking a throwback approach to providing fresh fun for music lovers with the debut of its Vinyl Record Listening Club. During its first session, held Wednesday night at the Parkway Central Library, nearly 30 people came together to discuss some of their favorite records. For two hours, they took turns playing tracks from the albums they had brought with them. These people, whose ages varied widely, provided a broad spectrum of music.
John Barry’s ‘Goldfinger’ Score to Be Reissued on Vinyl in June: Even if the producers of James Bond haven’t yet decided (or perhaps just announced) their plans for the future of the film series, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate its past. On June 1, La-La Land Records will release the soundtrack to “Goldfinger” on what will be the most complete version ever of John Barry’s score on vinyl. Shrewdly focusing on one of the franchise’s most popular entries, the record label will follow it with a series of physical releases in the months to come. La-La Land began reissuing many of Barry’s Bond scores on CD in the last year, including deluxe editions of “Goldfinger,” “The Man With the Golden Gun” and “Moonraker.” In addition to remastered sound, the latter two releases feature exclusive, never-before-released cues. Yet after decades in which “Goldfinger” was issued in the U.S. and internationally with different track listings, the label has collected all of the cues on one record for the very first time.
Common Record ‘Be’ Getting 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition: Hip-hop star Common will release the 20th anniversary special edition of his classic album ‘Be’ on August 22nd. Academy® Award, Emmy®, and 3x Grammy®-winning artist, actor, author and activist Common celebrates two decades of his classic album, Be, with the release of a special digital deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition out now on all streaming platforms via UMe. The collection notably boasts previously unavailable remixes of “The Corner” featuring Mos Def and Scarface and “Go!” featuring Joy Denalane, plus eleven instrumental tracks all previously unavailable on DSPs. Be—20th Anniversary Edition will also be reissued on a translucent yellow marble blend 2LP. This limited-edition vinyl includes the original track list on LP 1 and the album’s instrumentals on LP 2.
Follow The Vinyl District on Facebook HERE, Instagram HERE, Threads HERE, Bluesky HERE, and X/Twitter HERE.
