Portland, OR | Record Store Rundown: Dig Vinyl. Putting the best kept secret vinyl bargain bin of Sellwood on blast. The City of Portland, like much of the Pacific Northwest, has a deep relationship with vinyl and record collecting in general, so much so that to understand this city, it’s crucial to understand its record stores… Since 2017, Scott Thayer has tucked away Dig Vinyl in a couple different nooks of various sizes in a lovely little cranny of the Sellwood neighborhood off Southeast 13th Ave. Geared toward music of all sorts, including a rather surprising selection of CD and a very impressive rotation of jazz of all sorts, Dig Vinyl quite humbly a highlight record store of Portland.
Denver, CO | Fifty Years in, Wax Trax Is Opening Another Location in Denver: Owner Pete Stidman is successfully expanding the Wax Trax brand. Pete Stidman, owner of Wax Trax Records, is upbeat about opening a new branch of the iconic Denver music outlet next month at 3641 West 32nd Street, in the bustling Highlands neighborhood. But he admits that his excitement is accompanied by a touch of anxiety. “Do I sometimes have trouble getting to sleep at night?” he asks. “Honestly, yes. It’s a risk. But everything in business is a risk.” Fortunately for him, Wax Trax has beaten the odds for a half-century; it was founded in 1975. Countless national chains have vanished over its lifespan to date, but Wax Trax remains a local legend, as well as a must-stop for album addicts across the country. And Stidman is betting this streak will continue despite the decline of brick-and-mortar shopping across nearly every product category.
Hamilton, ON | Popular Hamilton record shop is opening a second location: Vinyl lovers, rejoice: a popular Hamilton record shop is spinning into a second location in the city. Revolution Records is well known through its original location at 166 Ottawa Street North in the Crown Point neighbourhood, where it offers a well-curated selection of new and used vinyl in a wide variety of genres from rock to pop to movie soundtracks and more. Now, local record collectors who live further west in Hamilton will be able to more easily visit Revolution Records as the shop plans to open a second location in Downtown Dundas at 31 King Street East. This particular storefront is no stranger to record stores: it was the home of Dundas staple Records on Wheels for four decades before that shop permanently closed in 2024. It’s exciting to see 31 King Street East continue its life as a record store with Revolution Records in, and further details of this location’s launch will be shared in the coming weeks!
Berkeley, CA | Amoeba Music to build apartments above store, preserving iconic mural: Amoeba Music, the Southside physical media store, will construct an apartment complex on top of the existing record store.A mural commemorating the establishment of People’s Park, which sits on Amoeba’s wall facing Haste Street, will be preserved during and after the construction, according to Mark Rhoades, the consultant leading the proposal. Rhoades said the new apartment complex will provide about 70 units of mainly student-focused housing in the Southside neighborhood. After construction, the Amoeba music store will reopen with the eight-story addition, according to a rendering from the project’s architecture firm. “I think very broadly in Berkeley, everybody knows about that mural,” Rhoades said. “We’re taking a very cautious approach with that mural.”
Macon, GA | Vertigo Vinyl: Macon record store goes viral for its vinyl. From exclusive collaborations with music artists, to the colorful creativity behind the zoetropes. The vinyl vortexes largely brought to life from within the brick and mortar Macon-based record store, is as much of an art form as is the music itself. Noah Silver opened his business three years ago as a college freshman at Mercer University. Since then, Vertigo Vinyl, located within Mercer Village, has gained viral popularity. The shop offers everything from new releases available for pre-order to rare exclusive editions from music artists, capturing the attention of music enthusiasts online. The store’s online success is also attributed to Silver’s engaging TikTok videos, which showcase the shop and highlight customer orders. “We have 700,000 followers on Instagram; we have 450,000 followers on TikTok.,” he said.
Brighton, UK | Sophie Ellis-Bextor to perform in city as part of ‘record store tour.’ Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be stopping at one of the city’s venues while touring for her new album. The Murder on the Dancefloor singer will be performing at Chalk in Brighton on September 15 as part of a record store tour. The singer announced a series of in-store signings and performances across the UK the week of her 8th studio album release, Perimenopop, on September 12. Perimenopop is a “positive record that is a playful celebration of where Sophie is at in her life, knowing exactly who she is and embracing the joy and empowerment that brings.” Featuring previously released tracks Freedom of the Night, Relentless Love and Vertigo, the album sees her “confidently return to her iconic dance-pop sound.” She collaborated with MNEK and Jon Shave (Charli XCX, Sugababes) on recent single Taste.
Austin, TX | Keep music physical! Keep physical music stores! I haven’t gone to Austin very often in the last few years, maybe once or twice a year I would make the 100 mile round trip, until recently. But ever since tRump started round two of his Destruction of America tour, I have found a reason in going there to attend several protests. The Labor Day rally brought me up there yesterday. Part of my trips there involve my version of the Austin “experience.” That is, in addition to the march/ rally, I go to a few of my favorite places and do my favorite things. Like having a burger and root beer float at Sandy’s and then making the drive up Congress avenue and seeing the capital dome and the crowd growing from blocks away. Before or after this I make a side trip to one of the world’s best record stores still left, Waterloo Records.
Technics modernises its direct drive turntable with a contemporary design and Bluetooth streaming: The SL-40CBT has Bluetooth, a built-in phono stage and three new finishes. Technics has taken the lid off a brand new turntable at IFA 2025. The new Technics SL-40CBT combines the Japanese brand’s proprietary direct drive turntable design with a fresh contemporary design and convenient features, aimed at “today’s vinyl enthusiasts.” The SL-40CBT’s direct drive design features its customary iron core-less motor that helps with rotation stability and accuracy, a technology that is also found in the brand’s more premium models, such as the five-star SL-1300G. It comes with an S-shaped aluminium tonearm that promises “ultra precise vinyl groove tracking” and comes fitted with an Audio-Technica AT-VM95C cartridge, which is chosen for its “sonic finesse” and wide compatibility with most moving magnet phono stages.
Sharp Announces Vinyl Revival And Returns To The Turntable Market After Lengthy Break: After a long break, Sharp has announced that it is returning to the vinyl turntable market. The 110-year-old brand is celebrating its comeback to the record player market by presenting the new and fully automatic Sharp RP-TT100, which it unveiled at IFA 2025, in Berlin. The stylish and fully automatic turntable comes with extensive features—such as Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity—and Sharp is marking its re-entry into the wonderful world of vinyl by pricing the turntable attractively. In recent years, vinyl has seen a massive upsurge in popularity. Not only has the vinyl revival been spurred on by a strong sense of nostalgia, but the format has attracted a whole new generation of music lovers that is attracted to the tactile and analog format of LPs and singles.
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