In rotation: 8/18/26

Detroit, MI | Inside Weirdsville Records, the Mt. Clemens shop that keeps music spinning: Some arrive on a mission, searching for a specific pressing, while others flip through crate after crate just to see what they’ll find. Behind the counter, owners Davey and Lisa Taylor are quick to strike up a conversation, making Weirdsville Records feel more like a local hangout than a record store. In a world where nearly every song is instantly available through Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services, Weirdsville Records has kept physical media alive for people who still enjoy the ritual of listening to a record. The store in downtown Mount Clemens sells LPs, 45s, books and other pop-culture memorabilia, but records remain its heartbeat.

Dade City, FL | From Collectors to Shop Owners: Grandaddy Records & Vintage Expands to Dade City. For Sydney Brown and Tyler Mauriello, opening a record store of their own once seemed like a far-off dream. Now, just a few years later, the couple has turned that dream into reality with two storefronts, Grandaddy Records & Vintage in Brooksville and a new location in Dade City. Mauriello, a lifelong record collector who previously sold records online, introduced Brown to the hobby. With Mauriello’s background in collecting records and Brown’s passion for vintage clothing, the two combined their interests to create Grandaddy Records & Vintage. Brown and Mauriello opened their first shop in downtown Brooksville in February 2025 after a storefront became available. But their inventory grew so quickly that they soon filled an entire storage unit and began looking for more space.

Lubbock, TX | Just shy of 50 years, Ralph’s Records is still spinning: When you walk into the record store on 82nd Street and Indiana Avenue, various forms of media from different decades make the building a blast from the past for its customers. Ralph DeWitt has been in the Lubbock area selling records since 1979, with his first being a rented space at a flea market on 25th Street and Avenue K. “So that was the first time I had a Ralph’s Records sign out… But my first real store was at 10th and University in 1980. So yeah, we’re starting our 47th year and now I’ve been here so long that not only is the store legendary, it’s like I am too,” he said. Stores popped up in different places like Oklahoma City and Amarillo alongside another four different locations in Lubbock.

Baltimore, MD | On the Record: How Baltimore Brought Its Unique Vibes to Cities Across the East Coast. The city’s mobile record store pop-up traveled to events and festivals throughout the summer. Visit Baltimore made its way across the Mid-Atlantic this summer, bringing the city’s stories directly to audiences at festivals and events. Through late July, Smalltimore 2.0: B-Side Records, a 24-foot mobile visitor center pop-up designed as a walk-in record shop, made stops in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York. It debuted at The Stoop Storytelling x Visit Baltimore Event at the Baltimore Museum of Industry in May. …At each stop, visitors were able to step inside and dig through crates of 30 custom-designed vinyl album covers spotlighting Baltimore and its culture, all of which were sorted across four genres: Staff Picks, Deep Cuts, Breakout Hits, and Iconic.

Suffolk, UK | Independent vinyl record shop to open its doors: An independent vinyl record shop has opened its doors in Suffolk. Deben Vinyl, located in Woodbridge, soft-launched on Saturday, August 8. It is owned by Giles Todd, who opened the shop near the River Deben and next to Tide Mill. The shop, which focuses on various genres including rock, jazz, soul, and reggae, offers a mix of new releases, pre-owned vinyl, and collectible music memorabilia. The shop is built “around a love of music, nostalgia and culture.” Deben Vinyl aims to provide a space for both seasoned collectors and those rediscovering physical music, hoping to be a haven of “discovery” for all visitors.

Parma, OH | Parma’s The Current Year Creates A Community Hub Around Physical Media: The record store is one part of a growing community around music media collecting in the streaming age. The Current Year owners Michael and Marie Stutz serve a growing community of collectors moving away from music streaming. “People are realizing the scam of streaming,” Michael says. “Nobody wants to rent their environment.” Starting with records when it opened in late 2020, The Current Year gradually branched out into other musical formats: cassettes, 8-track tapes, reel-to-reel tapes, zip drives and even floppy disks. “We keep expanding,” says store co-owner Michael Stutz. “We keep adding as we get more into it.”

This listening bar experience made me question whether the trend has gone too far: Have hi-fi bars forgotten their roots? I’m always on the hunt for ways to find new music, but I have found myself listening to the same few albums on repeat these last few weeks. Maybe it’s because the ease of streaming has made me complacent, or that the endless options at my fingertips are simply too overwhelming. …Listening bars, or hi-fi bars, are dedicated spaces designed for enjoying curated music (usually on vinyl) on a high-quality sound system while relaxing with a drink in your hand. …On my most recent visit, however, I started to wonder whether we’d drifted away from the original definition. Most obviously, few seemed to be paying attention to the music, and at certain points I couldn’t even hear the track over the noise of the room.

New York, NY | How Tokyo Record Bar is innovating its menu and inspiring guests with their vinyl jukebox: “…I learned the importance of precision, portioning, and creativity in a prefix menu,” Valdés said. “At Tokyo Record Bar, it serves as a welcoming and communal kitchen where there is freedom of creativity and opportunity to collaborate, all in a non-uptight setting.” Its carefree spirit and freedom are reflected in its atmosphere, unlike those of some upscale restaurants in New York City. The layout downstairs opens guests up to the vinyl omakase jukebox, where they can write down the next song to play, sitting open-faced with the chef team at their open kitchen.

Los Angeles, CA | LA’s ‘last’ video store is still inspiring Hollywood directors and shunning streaming: An E.T. mannequin sporting a straw Dodgers fedora peers out at Santa Monica Boulevard. Tens of thousands of plastic cases hold now-archaic DVDs and VHS tapes on labeled shelves. A black sign outside the iconic alien’s home calls it “the last movie store,” right below the place’s true name in orange-and-black type: “CineFile.” The video store has been a Blockbuster-esque gathering spot for inspired directors, actors, and even music icons since its inception in 1999. Michael Jackson famously visited the store donning a Hulk mask to conceal his identity, spending hours looking for movies with his friend, director Brett Ratner. Ratner said Jackson even threatened to buy the place when he couldn’t find any of his friend’s movies.

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