Category Archives: A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

Paducah, KY | New bookstore, record shop opens in Paducah; Confluence offers books, music and community: On Friday, a new business called Confluence Paducah—Records & Bookery opened on Broadway Street in downtown Paducah. Owners Blake and Ashley Wilson say they want Confluence to offer more sober nightlife options in Paducah and create a welcoming space where people can gather and socialize. “There’s not a lot of great places to hang out, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, if you’re not a drinker and you don’t want to be surrounded by alcohol,” Blake said. “We want to be a place that brings people together where people meet, and also we sell books and records, and we have a few other things like stickers and crystals.”

Seattle, WA | The Head and The Heart at Easy Street Records on West Seattle Summer Fest Eve 2026: To celebrate the new vinyl release of a 15-year-old recording, The Head and The Heart appeared at Easy Street Records on Thursday night during West Seattle Summer Fest Eve. The “Live at Neumo’s” record is an Easy Street exclusive, and purchase was required for admission to the in-store show during which three of the band’s members performed, with the others joining them for Q&A afterward. That was moderated by Easy Street proprietor Matt Vaughan, who introduced the band and talked about how they started as a “consignment band.”

Birmingham, UK | Inside Birmingham’s new independent record shop that fans are very excited about: 3 Phase Records, on Loveday Street, has listening stations, specialist merchandise, sought-after classics and new releases. Birmingham has a new independent record shop—and vinyl fans are getting very excited about it. Having built a successful online business, Brummie DJ and entrepreneur Tom Berry decided to launch a permanent bricks-and-mortar store, offering more than 5,000 records across two floors. It’s in the heart of the city’s historic Gun Quarter, on Loveday Street, and it’s called 3 Phase Records. On the opening day, it attracted music enthusiasts from across the UK, with some even travelling from the Isle of Wight after catching the first ferry of the morning to visit.

Edmonton, AL | Alberta-based record store opening a new Edmonton location soon: A new record store is in the works in Edmonton, with a spot based in Red Deer branching into Alberta’s capital city. Rock On Records, which currently has a store in Red Deer and is described as “central Alberta’s largest selection of vinyl and band merchandise,” revealed earlier this week that it is opening a second location in YEG. The store will be located at 10820 82nd Ave., with an opening date of sometime in early August currently being eyed. With an opening date just around the corner, who doesn’t love a new record store to check out during the heart of summer in Edmonton? We are certainly looking forward to it.

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UK | Manifesto for Cultural High Streets—Support Record Shops: Support Record Shops—Support Your Community. The UK’s record shops are one of the heroes of our highstreets. They are cultural community hubs which provide an economic catalyst to local regeneration. The vinyl resurgence together with the increasing number of record shops on our high streets, has seen record shops increase their market share by nearly a third in five years. Record shops have shown passion and resilience to weather the frequent storms of the past few years: Brexit losses, Covid debt, hikes in employment and business costs, all while growing their importance as local employers and grassroots music spaces. Record shops have been the home to the vinyl revival for the last 20 years, adding value to the UK economy, supporting homegrown talent and bringing communities together at a time when this was most needed.

Hagerstown, MD | Browse More Than 20,000 Records At Maryland’s Largest Record Store: If you love music, Hub City Vinyl in Hagerstown, Maryland is a place you absolutely need to visit. With more than 20,000 records spanning every genre imaginable, it holds the title of Maryland’s largest record store. Located at 28 E Baltimore St, this one-of-a-kind shop combines a massive vinyl collection with live music events, vintage finds, and a welcoming community vibe. Whether you’re a lifelong collector or just curious about the world of vinyl, Hub City Vinyl has something special waiting for you. …The collection covers an incredible range of genres—rock, jazz, soul, country, classical, and plenty more. New releases sit alongside rare vintage pressings, giving shoppers of all tastes something exciting to discover. Every visit feels like a treasure hunt.

Newark, DE | Wonderland Records owner planning live music venue in downtown Newark: Two decades after the demise of the Stone Balloon, live music may soon be returning to Newark. This week, Wonderland Records owner Demitri Theodoropoulos announced plans to open a dedicated live music venue in the downtown area. The announcement comes as the city is advancing legislation that would legalize such businesses. “This is for the community and for the musicians, because there are so many good bands coming up in this area, and they’re driven underground in these basement shows,” Theodoropoulos said. Called Stella’s—named for Theodoropoulos’s black lab/border collie mix—the venue aims to open in late fall.

SG | Everyone has Spotify. So why are Singapore’s record stores packed? …Singapore’s vinyl scene reflects the broader resurgence across Asia-Pacific, where the market was worth an estimated US$518 million in 2024. But while the numbers tell one story, the revival is perhaps best seen on the ground. Spend a weekend afternoon in Haji Lane or Joo Chiat, browse a flea market, or wander into one of the country’s independent record stores, and you’ll find people happily flipping through crates of vinyl, admiring album artwork, and chatting with fellow collectors. Singapore has quietly become, as Curated Records founder Tremon Lim puts it, “one of the vinyl-hunting stop-bys for travellers.”

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Wexford, IE | Brothers open record store in County Wexford: Music lovers and vinyl collectors have a new destination to explore with the opening of Hobby Horse Records, a newly-opened used record shop… Brothers Joe and Jim Busher have turned a lifelong passion for music into a business, bringing a dedicated second-hand record shop back to County Wexford at a time when interest in vinyl continues to grow. For Joe and Jim, the shop is the culmination of decades spent collecting records and searching through crates in record stores across Ireland and beyond. …People can show up to their store within the Eclectic Avenue premises in Wexford town, browse, and seek out exactly what they’re after. For Joe, he believes nothing compares to the experience of browsing records in person.

Miami, FL | This Miami record store helps you recycle old vinyl records: Sweat Records is among 11 independent record stores participating in a new vinyl take-back pilot program launched by Warner Music Group. The vinyl industry has experienced a historic boom in the last few years, with sales breaking $1 billion for the first time since 1983. Nationwide initiatives like Record Store Day, younger generations’ fascination with physical media, and growing digital fatigue have created fertile ground for an industry that once survived thanks to hardcore, punk, and cult rock records to flourish once again with pop and mainstream releases. But what happens to all those old records with deep scratches, dents, or warping that make them unplayable? …Warner Music Group and Sweat Records are hoping to answer that question.

Redwood City, CA | ‘The Record Man’ founder Gary Saxon in Redwood City dies at 82: A Redwood City community is preparing to honor the legacy of a local business icon who spent decades curating one of the Bay Area’s most expansive music collections. Gary Saxon, affectionately known to generations of music lovers as “The Record Man,” died last month at the age of 82. This month, the store plans to host a community celebration of life on Saturday, providing an opportunity for friends and patrons to share stories, eat food, and listen to music. Saxon opened the specialty shop in 1988, quickly gaining a cult following driven by his quirky commercials and an uncompromising catchphrase: “If you can’t find it at the Record Man, it doesn’t exist.”

Franklinville, NJ | Beloved N.J. mall-era music store gets new life as vinyl albums, CDs make a comeback: For many New Jersey shoppers who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s, a trip to the mall often meant a stop at Wall to Wall Sound & Video, where rows of records, cassette tapes and later CDs offered hours of browsing and discovery. More than three decades after the regional chain disappeared following a 1990 bankruptcy filing, the Wall to Wall name has returned—this time as an independent, single-location store in Franklinville. The new store caters to both nostalgic collectors and a growing wave of younger customers embracing physical media. Owners Eric and Meredith Wilkinson reopened Wall to Wall Sound & Video in 2024 after acquiring the rights to the trademark.

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Alexandria, VA | Alexandria record store devastated by floods finds new location: A popular record store in Alexandria, Virginia, that saw much of its merchandise destroyed by flooding in January, has found a new home after nearly six months. The good news for customers is that it is just blocks away from their previous location. Crooked Beat’s new home is on the same street, Mt. Vernon Avenue, in the Del Rey neighborhood of Alexandria. “It just feels great that we’re going to be in this neighborhood, and our customers are very, very happy,” said Bill Daly, the store’s owner. The previous store saw several devastating floods in January that destroyed hundreds of records, some decades old. “Over $107,000 in damages, and we got zero compensation,” Daly said.

Toronto, CA | Where a city learns to listen to a record shop: Twenty-five years on, Sonic Boom has become part of Toronto’s listening memory. Walk into Sonic Boom on Spadina with 10 minutes to spare and the store will probably take more than 10 minutes from you. That is part of what it does, and it does it without ceremony. You come through the door with a loose plan, maybe a new release, maybe a used copy you have been half-looking for, maybe only a need to fill the space before the next appointment. The room starts to alter the terms almost at once. You drift downstairs. You turn left when you meant to keep straight. You stop in front of a section you rarely visit and pull out a record you had no thought of buying until your hand found it.

London, UK | Faces of Fifty: 50 years of Rough Trade. As Rough Trade celebrates its 50th anniversary, we’re looking back at five decades of independent music, vinyl culture and the community that has made our record stores what they are today. From London to Bristol, Nottingham, Berlin and New York, music lovers share the memories that have kept them coming back. Fifty years is a long time for anything to survive. For an independent record store, it borders on the miraculous. Rough Trade opened its doors in 1976 on Kensington Park Road, and the world of music has changed almost beyond recognition since then. Formats have died and been reborn. Streaming has changed how we listen. Entire genres have come and gone, returned and evolved. But through every shift and evolution, the people kept coming back. We didn’t make it to fifty years alone. You got us here.

Coeur d’Alene, ID | After 4 decades in Cd’A, Long Ear’s last day marked by memories, ‘Last Christmas.’ When the doors of the Long Ear closed for the final time at 6 p.m. Friday, when the last sale had been rung up and the last customer had wandered away, Terry and Deon Borchard stood together. They looked at each other, decades of emotion on their faces, and hugged. A friend rushed over with a camera to capture the moment. “You guys are gold,” she said. After 41 years of operating the record store in Coeur d’Alene, and 53 years total including time in Bear Lake, Calif., it was over. The rollercoaster day included tears, laughter and hugs. And so many memories. “Happy, sad, relieved,” Terry Borchard said when asked how he was feeling.

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Taylorville, IL | Sydney Lynn’s Book And Vinyl Shop Celebrates Big 5 Anniversary: Sydney Lynn’s Little Book Shop & Vinyl in Taylorville is getting ready to celebrate a major milestone next month. The downtown business will host its Big 5 Anniversary Bash on Saturday, August 1st, with festivities running from 9 AM until 6 PM at 109 West Main Cross on the Taylorville Square. The celebration will feature day-long sales, free swag, gift certificate giveaways, and chances to win prizes by spinning the prize wheel. Live music is also planned throughout the day. Brady Joe Patton takes the stage at 10 AM, followed by Either/Or at 12:30 PM, and Unchained at 3 PM. Shoppers can also take advantage of anniversary discounts across the store.

SG | The best record stores in Singapore: Expand your vinyl collection with box sets, limited editions and 7′ singles from these record stores. While catching a live music performance is great, indulging in a home listening party with specially curated playlists makes an ethereal experience—well, coming from us, anyway. If you prefer kicking it old school, trailing the detailed sounds of vinyl scratching against the needle of your turntable and those eargasmic sounds emitting from the speakers, it’s about time you expand your record collection. Read on for these amazing record stores and get browsing, dear crate-diggers.

Alexandria, VA | New record store, run by Neighborhood Restaurant Group, to open on Mount Vernon Avenue this summer: Neighborhood Restaurant Group plans to open a record store at 2016 Mount Vernon Ave. in Del Ray this August, the company announced Tuesday, filling a gap left when Crooked Beat Records closed its longtime location earlier this year. NRG founder Michael Babin said in an email to customers that Evening Star Café chef Nathan Anda and NRG beverage director Greg Engert will join him in opening the shop, which the group is targeting for a mid-August debut. Babin described the project as a long-held ambition shared by the trio, who have previously opened vinyl bars including the B-Side in Merrifield and Junebug in New Orleans’ Warehouse District.

Paso Robles, CA | Popular vinyl bar moves from SLO to Paso Robles. Take a look inside its new home: A popular vinyl bar has moved to a new location in San Luis Obispo County, where it can have the “freedom” to blast its records from resident DJs. Jan’s Place opened its new doors in Paso Robles on June 1, and closed its old doors in SLO on June 27. The vinyl bar said goodbye to its home of two-and-a-half years in the SLO Railroad District, next to My Thai restaurant and across the street from Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe. The reason for the switch of locations? The noise, co-owner Jeff Root told The Tribune. “In San Luis, I was always being like, ‘Hey, can you guys keep it down, we’ve got neighbors,'” he said. “We don’t have neighbors here. We’re not in residential neighborhoods. The biggest thing is that I’m way more relaxed in this space…”

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UK | Physical sales growth accelerates in first half of 2026 as vinyl closes in on CD: Physical music sales growth has accelerated during the first half of 2026, Music Week can reveal. According to Music Week analysis of BPI figures based on Official Charts Company data, vinyl sales are driving that performance—and the format is closing in on CD for supremacy in terms of volume. Based on the current trajectory, vinyl should become the leading format later this year. After 19 years of decline, album sales across all physical formats grew for a second consecutive year in 2025, maintaining 2024’s 1.4% growth level to come in at 17.6m units. During the first half of 2026, physical albums sales increased further by 3.7% year-on-year (8,125,574 units).

Pomona, CA | ‘Right place, right moment’: DBZ Books ‘N’ Records opens in Pomona. DBZ Books ‘N’ Records celebrated its grand opening last week with a ribbon cutting and free concert at the former YMCA building, recently refurbished and rebranded as The Union, at 350 N. Garey Ave., Pomona. The event also included free drinks from Gud2Go Cafe, a skateboard giveaway from Pawnshop Skate Co., and a raffle. Plans for the new Pomona location came about suddenly, shortly after owner Dilver Lizama toured the architecturally significant 1922 YMCA structure. “We thought, ‘Oh my God, this is a beautiful building,’” Lizama said. “There’s so much going on here. We could definitely bring a little bit of DBZ into Pomona. It felt like the right place, right moment.”

Austin, TX | Antone’s Pilots Vinyl Recycling Program: Antone’s Record Shop is joining Warner Music Group and independent record stores across the nation in a pilot vinyl recycling program. Last month, a manufacturing study by WMG, GZ Media, and Abbey Road Studios found that recycled vinyl can be successfully reprocessed into high-quality new pressings, opening the door to reduce physical media’s carbon footprint and provide a new future for bargain bin duds and damaged records. Austinites can return damaged or unplayable vinyl records to Antone’s collection bin for evaluation by the program’s recovery partner, Virterras Materials.

Okotoks, AL | Tipper Records reopening this Saturday (7/4) after relocating from Okotoks: The former Okotoks-based Tipper Records is back in business. The vintage vinyl store will host its grand opening at 47 Legacy View S.E. on Saturday, July 4, beginning at 11 a.m. Previously located on McRae Street in Okotoks, the store was forced to relocate due to unforeseen circumstances. In May, owner Jaica Tipper announced the business had found a new home, which is now ready to welcome customers. “I’ve been missing all of my regulars and I’m excited that it’s not too far from Okotoks,” says Tipper. She says many of her longtime customers have already told her they plan to attend the grand opening. “A lot of them were like, ‘I will be there right at opening lined up outside,’ so it should be good to see everybody and I’m excited for that,” she says.

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London, UK | Less doomscrolling and more ‘vinyl revival’ for Gen Z: A collection suggests a sustained commitment to physical media, and this is the exact trend that Gen Z are bringing back. ‘Vinyl revival’ has come out of hibernation since 2007 and is now mainstream again, calling all music lovers to ditch streaming and savour music in its natural form. They’re no longer just aesthetic, collectable disks pinned up on walls next to posters of rockstars from Seattle. Most of us will remember what vinyl is from our parents, grandparents, or cool older siblings, so it goes without saying that the longing for nostalgia plays a massive part in conjuring those memories. It’s a unique experience. You remember what you were wearing and who you were with when you picked out your favourite album from the vinyl market or Rough Trade—an excitement no streaming platform can offer.

Alexandria, VA | Del Ray getting second record store, replacing play café this August: Del Ray is seeing a vinyl boom as another record store is coming to Del Ray this August, one block from the new location of Crooked Beat Records on Mount Vernon Avenue. Michael Babin, principal at the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, confirmed to ALXnow that the company is closing Mulberry Lane Play Café at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue and replacing it with a record store. The news comes as Crooked Beat Records recently announced that it is also aiming for an August opening at 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue. “Obviously we think that having more record stores is a great thing,” Babin said. “It makes the whole neighborhood, and certainly those two blocks make a heck of a destination for anybody who cares about music and vinyl records. It’s fantastic.”

Boston, MA | Best Boston Record Store 2026: Village Vinyl & Hi-Fi. Since its move to Coolidge Corner seven years ago, this bustling music emporium has become a crucial part of the Brookline neighborhood’s artsy currency. The shop’s expert selection of new and used albums, CDs, and cassettes pleases casual fans and crate-diggers alike, while the welcoming atmosphere kicks snooty record-store-clerk clichés to Harvard Street’s curb. Newcomers to the 21st century’s perpetual vinyl revival can also rest easy: The shop’s offerings of record players, speakers, and other stereo equipment are as well curated as the bins.

Easton, PA | Indie record store in Lehigh Valley among 11 in U.S. joining Warner Music Group vinyl project: The local store participating is Spin Me Round, a popular destination for the Lehigh Valley’s audiophiles in the Palmer Park Mall outside of Easton. Virterras Materials, the recovery partner, will aggregate and evaluate the collected materials to assess participation rates, material quality, transportation needs and potential recovery. The initiative addresses a gap in the vinyl industry. While vinyl sales have grown significantly over the past decade, there has been limited exploration of what happens to records when they reach the end of their useful life, according to the news release.

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Alexandria, VA | Crooked Beat Records announces new Del Ray location, just steps from incoming NRG record store: Beloved vinyl shop will reopen at 2101B Mount Vernon Ave. in August, across the street from Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s planned shop. Crooked Beat Records is returning to Del Ray. The beloved independent vinyl shop announced Tuesday it will reopen at 2101B Mount Vernon Ave., just 128 feet from the record store that Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced the same day it plans to open this summer—setting the stage for what could become a vinyl destination block on Mount Vernon Avenue. In a video posted to social media Tuesday afternoon, owner Bill Daly said a longtime supporter of the shop—a customer of nearly three decades—purchased a building and closed on it Tuesday, with Crooked Beat set to rent the space from her. “She just wanted Crooked Beat to keep going. And we are really appreciative of that.”

St. Petersburg, FL | Planet Retro Records owner Rob Sexton dies: “The guy cared very much for his community, his bands and his friends.” Rob Sexton, a longtime bay area musician and the owner of St. Petersburg’s Planet Retro Records, died Saturday of complications following a stroke. He was 55. A native of the Tampa suburb Clair-Mel, Sexton was widely known as the drummer in numerous punk and hardcore bands, going back to the 1980s. …Sexton was known not to suffer fools gladly. As the face behind the Planet Retro counter, “He could come across as a curmudgeon,” said Sexton’s longtime friend Keith Ulrey, owner of Tampa’s Microgroove Records. “But the guy cared very much for his community, his bands and his friends. He would do anything for anybody, really. He just didn’t put up with any sh–.”

Limerick, IE | Independent Limerick record shop appeals for support amid closure threat: The record store in Limerick city centre has been open for almost two years. Downbeat Records Limerick has appealed for support, sharing that they are under threat of closure. Frankie O’Mahony of Downbeat Records said online that they are asking locals to support them, as they may not make it to the store’s second birthday. “Anyone who knows me knows I hate getting on here like this, so you know it must be serious,” said O’Mahony. “Last month was really bad for us, and you know it’s great to see the sun hitting and all that. But it means that people are around Limerick less and less. “We don’t sell so much online, so we kind of need the Limerick community to come through. If next month is similar to last month, we’re gonna struggle to pay the rent. I would say the shop might not make it to its second birthday.”

Austin, TX | Austin record store joins pilot for recycling damaged vinyl records: Austinites going through the disappointment of discovering a damaged vinyl record in their collection can at least avoid sending it to the landfill. A new initiative is turning 11 independent record stores across the United States, including Antone’s Record Shop in Austin, into vinyl take-back points for potential recycling. The pilot is a collaboration between the record stores, Warner Music Group (WMG), and Virterras Materials, a recycling technology business that specializes in “challenging” materials like plastics and rubber. It will run from “the end of June through September,” a press release says, and all participants have to do is drop off damaged records—any kind or condition is accepted. The program is still in an exploratory phase; the partners don’t know the best way to organize the collection yet, and they are vague about what the records might become.

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Mumbai, IN | Record stores, DJs & venue owners say new generation is embracing vinyl: Not out of nostalgia, but for a different relationship with music. When Abdul Razzak opened Royal Music Collection in Mumbai’s Fort area in 1979, vinyl records were the dominant way Indians listened to music. Then came cassettes, CDs and streaming, pushing records to the margins. Nearly five decades later, many of the customers walking into his shop belong to a generation that never grew up with vinyl at all. “I’ve been running this store since 1979, and I’ve seen the entire journey of vinyl in India,” says Razzak. “Vinyl records were popular for decades, but around 1990, production largely stopped. Then, around 2010, we started seeing a revival.”

Tacoma, WA | Tacoma Country Musician Opens Antique Row Record Store: Visitors of Tacoma’s Antique Row now have a new store to peruse: Armchair Boogie Record Shop, a preowned vinyl business offering something for everyone. The shop’s owner, Matt Kimball, is a longtime Tacoman and musician who moonlights as the frontman of the self-titled four-piece country band The Kimball Superstars. As someone already entwined with the local music scene—and having worked at another area record store for more than a decade—Kimball noticed the downtown area was lacking a space dedicated to vinyl and vinyl collecting. “Downtown Tacoma has not had a record store for some time,” Kimball said over email. “I spend a lot of time down here (in downtown Tacoma) already at the vintage and antique stores. There’s a lot of foot traffic, and the architecture is beautiful.”

St. Paul, MN | How Urban Lights, one of the country’s last Black-owned record stores, changed with the times: Tucked away in the Midway neighborhood in St. Paul is a community treasure many have come to love and respect. Urban Lights is one of 35 Black-owned record stores in the country and one of the only ones left in the Twin Cities. The cultural institution has survived when other independent stores were forced to close their doors. Owner Timothy Wilson has seen some of the industry’s giants visit the St. Paul record store in its 32 years. “We’ve had everyone from Beyoncé walk through the door when she was with the original Destiny’s Child,” said Wilson. “The Fugees, Wyclef, Naughty by Nature, Run-DMC. The list goes on and on.”

Phoenix, AZ | This new Phoenix record store is more than just a place to buy vinyl: The Record Gallery is the latest addition to the Valley vinyl scene. When Damian Amoros opened The Record Gallery in April, he wasn’t just launching a place to score used vinyl. He was reinventing his life. After quitting a desk job at Banner Health he’d worked for decades, the 49-year-old artist threw himself into opening a place to sell records, highlight local artists and give Arizona DJs and musicians a place to perform. “This is definitely more than just a record store,” Amoros says. “It’s a place to showcase all these artists in Arizona, show some community love and bring people together.” The Record Gallery does all of those things. The 1,200-square-foot shop on the first floor of The Artery building near Indian School Road and Seventh Street boasts local art on the walls, a dozen bins packed with LPs and gigs every weekend.

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Indie Record Stores And WMG Launch Nationwide Pilot To Explore Recovery Pathways For Vinyl Records: A collection of independent record stores across the United States, together with Warner Music Group (WMG), today announced the launch of a vinyl take-back pilot designed to better understand how damaged or unwanted records can be collected, consolidated, and directed toward potential material recovery pathways. Throughout the program, participating record stores will serve as collection points where consumers can return damaged or unplayable vinyl records regardless of artist, label, or condition. Collected materials will be aggregated and evaluated through recovery partner, Virterras Materials.

London, UK | London is getting a new record store, and it’s inside a music venue: Record shopping and a DJ set for afters. Bar and music venue Old Street Records will get its own record store next month. It may already sound like a record shop, but London’s Old Street Records is calling on vinyl seller Cigarette Records to supply the wares for its in-house record shop. You can see what’s in store from 18th July, when the store opens. It will offer around 5000 discs on day one, with plans to double the catalogue in time, with a collection that covers “disco, funk, soul, reggae, house, garage, jungle, rock and beyond.” “Everything I do comes back to one idea: music with feeling. Record shops are about discovery, conversation and community as much as they are about the records themselves. This collaboration with Old Street Records just makes sense,” says Owain Jones, Cigarette Records founder.

New York, NY | New Record Store Set To Open On Amsterdam Avenue: The store will carry both new and used records, with an emphasis on jazz, funk, soul, classic rock, new wave and indie music. A longtime Upper West Side record collector is leaving finance behind to open a neighborhood record store this summer. Owner and Upper West Sider Hunter Brammer plans to open Sweet Peanut Records on Amsterdam Avenue and West 82nd Street in mid-July. “I’ve always sort of had this dream of opening my own shop,” Brammer told Patch. The shop is named for Brammer’s chocolate Labrador. “When the space came up on Amsterdam, it just felt like good timing.” Brammer has spent more than a decade collecting records while working in finance, buying collections at auctions and selling vinyl online through Discogs and eBay. Over time, his apartment filled with thousands of albums. “I keep joking that my wife needed me to open a shop just to get them all out of the apartment,” he said.

Edinburgh, UK | The Skinny’s Guide to Edinburgh’s Record Shops: From A to V, here are ten of Edinburgh’s independent record shops worth visiting while you’re in town. Assai Records: With shops across Scotland, you’ll find all the best new releases here, plus regular in-store and out-store gigs, featuring some massive names. Avalanche Records: A constant in the city since the early 80s, at Avalanche Records you’ll find a massive selection of band tees, new and second-hand vinyl and CDs. Backbeat Records: Backbeat Records opened in 1981 and is packed to the rafters with second-hand vinyl and CDs. Not advised for the casual music consumer…

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New York, NY | Sweet Peanut Records to Hit Play on Vinyl Culture on the Upper West Side: The record store will look to bridge the gap between serious collectors and casual vinyl fans. For the first time in decades, the needle is about to drop on a new independent record store in the Upper West Side. Owner Hunter Brammer, a former finance professional, is preparing to launch Sweet Peanut Records at 463 Amsterdam Ave in mid-July. Brammer recently told What Now New York that the neighborhood’s response to the upcoming shop has been immediate and enthusiastic. “I think there’s such a rich musical history in the neighborhood [the Upper West Side] and a record store hasn’t opened around here in decades,” he said. “A lot of people have sort of stopped me on the street to say how excited they are that something’s opening up.”

Sulphur Springs, WV | Young cousins turn love of vinyl into White Sulphur Springs record store: Cousins Josie Hedrick, 17, and Karson Whanger, 14, have been hanging out most of their lives. When Whanger started getting into vinyl records after seeing them on TikTok a few years ago, Hedrick’s interest was piqued. “It’s about bringing back physical media,” Hedrick said. “Cassette tapes, CDs — something not on your phone that you can sit down and listen to without getting interrupted by text messages.” …Now, with help from Whanger’s parents, the cousins have opened Spin City Records in White Sulphur Springs. Whanger collects records and has been to around 200 record stores on travels with his parents, including stores in New York City and Philadelphia. He said the idea to open a store came to him while sitting at Applebee’s.

Half Moon Bay, CA | Dead Wax Records opens on Main Street: Inside the storefront at Zaballa Square, crates of records, organized with genre cards, line the tables. More records hang neatly on the walls, boasting their colorful cover art. Off to the right, a tall table stands ready for guests to gather and converse. In the back of the store, two leather armchairs sit under even more records from Buffalo Springfield to Beyoncé. Tying it all together is the comforting aroma of “Coastal Noir,” the shop’s original candle scent. The three owners of Dead Wax Records, Jeremy Clover, Sarah Clover and Angela Ekberg, officially opened the doors on Wednesday at 330 Main St. For them, this store has been a long time coming.

Cork, IE | New vinyl record store for Cork as Golden Discs open in Douglas: The ‘physical media’ comeback continues with a famous brand name. The vinyl and music culture specialists Golden Discs are set to expand their presence in Cork—with a new store in Douglas due to open later this summer. The store in the Douglas Village shopping centre will be offering everything from classic, collectors and new music on vinyl to clothing, merchandising and DVDs. Recent years have seen a resurgence in so-called ‘physical media’ with more and more people wanting to own albums, movies and more on disc or DVD, rather than just pay a subscription to access these online.

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Victoria, AU | New Report Outlines The Full Depth Of Victoria’s Vinyl Ecosystem: “Victoria’s direct-to-consumer vinyl economy exists because artists and labels choose to build it, one pressing run at a time,” the report notes. Six months after an in-depth report named Melbourne the vinyl capital of the world, the second part of these findings has been released, showing the full depth of Victoria’s vinyl ecosystem. It was back in December that For The Record was released, placing the state’s vinyl ecosystem under the microscope, and looking at figures relating to how vinyl goes from the pressing plant to the retail shelf. The results showed that Melbourne’s 5.9 record stores per 100,000 residents exceeded Tokyo (2.3), London (4.9), and Berlin (2.9), and that Victoria’s store count grew 18% since 2023, while national vinyl sales increased 5.6% to $44.5 million.

Record Labels Are Pressing New Vinyl From Old Records and Blind Tests Already Exposed What the Marketing Won’t Admit: The defect only surfaces on certain genres, and your favorites might be one of them. When seven expert listeners at Abbey Road Studios evaluated recycled vinyl pressings in a blind test, the 100% recycled variant finished last. Panelists reported more crackle, more clicks, more background noise. And the defects weren’t evenly distributed across the test record. Side A, pressed with acoustic post-rock spanning a wide dynamic range and quiet passages, exposed pressing artifacts that Side B’s louder, compressed rock concealed. Recycled vinyl might be inaudible on a pop album mastered to hit hard. On a record that breathes, the surface noise breathes with it.

Bang & Olufsen revives vintage turntable in exclusive Beosystem 3000C release: Bang & Olufsen has introduced a new limited-edition audio package that blends one of its classic turntable designs with modern wireless speaker technology, creating a system aimed at vinyl enthusiasts who want contemporary streaming features alongside analogue playback. Called the Beosystem 3000c Dune Grey Edition, the setup combines a restored Beogram 3000 Series turntable with a pair of Beolab 8 speakers. The launch forms part of Bang & Olufsen’s ongoing Recreated Classics programme, which focuses on bringing historic products back to life through refurbishment and integration with current-generation technologies. The centrepiece of the package is an original Beogram 3000 turntable from the mid-1980s.

Two Japanese Hi-Fi Icons Just Introduced a Stunning Pair of Audiophile Headphones: The brands say the headphones will “captivate guitar enthusiasts and enjoyers of high-quality, portable audio.” Audio-Technica introduced the ATH-WP900 back in 2020. The beautifully designed, over-ear headphones are a joint collaboration with Fujigen, the iconic Japanese guitar brand, as their earcups are made of the same maple hardwood that it exclusively uses to build its guitars. Audio-Technica still currently sells the ATH-WP900 for $699. Fast forward to the present, and the two Japanese audio makers are collaborating again on a special edition version of those same headphones. The all-new ATH-WP900SE has a new look and promises improved sound (as well as a significantly increased price).

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Milwaukie, OR | Milwaukie record shop asks for help identifying burglar after $5,000 in records and cash stolen: B-Side Record & Vintage posted a photo of the burglar on social media that was taken from a surveillance camera and captured the theft in progress. The owners of B-Side Record & Vintage, a Milwaukie record shop, are asking for help identifying a burglar who broke into their store and stole approximately $5,000 worth of records and cash. B-Side Record & Vintage posted a photo of the burglar on social media that was taken from a surveillance camera and captured the theft in progress. The person appears to be wearing a black hoodie, a black baseball cap and a red bandana covering part of their face.

Denver, CO | Wax Trax is opening a “real store” at Stanley Marketplace: The new branch will be the mini-chain’s fifth location. Pete Stidman has learned firsthand that the Mile High City has a serious addiction to vinyl since taking over Wax Trax Records, a mini-chain that’s in the midst of expanding its kiosk at Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace to what he refers to as a “real store” set to debut next month. “I do think Denver is unique in terms of how many records people buy and how many people love to buy records,” he says. “I chalk that up to shops like Wax Trax and Twist & Shout being here all along and never leaving. People have a tradition that they’re passing along to their kids of buying records.” Wax Trax certainly has a rich history.

Jacksonville, FL | Vinyl is back in style: 5 record stores in Jacksonville worth visiting. Making a cassette mixtape for your high school sweetheart to rocking a portable Walkman down the street were the early days of engaging with top hits. Today, the main way to listen to the latest chart-toppers is through streaming services. Recently, there has been a shift in mainstream pop culture aesthetic by embracing the past, from clothes to TV shows, including “vintage” ways of listening to music. Modern artists are starting to gain inspiration from legacy artists before them, and older music itself is also resurfacing. Specifically, vinyl records are one of the biggest music-listening forms that are on the surge, making what once was the past, the present. …Here are a few local record shops worth checking out.

US | 14 Vintage Images of Seventies Record Shops: Before everyone could access all the music in the world at their fingertips, discovering your taste in music meant spending time in one of the coolest places in the world. Record shops in the seventies were more than just stores; they were hangouts and cultural hubs where people flipped through vinyl sleeves, asked for song recommendations, and spent entire afternoons surrounded by music. Rows of album covers, people listening to albums together, and browsing customers reveal a slower, more hands-on way of engaging with music. Each photo reflects a time when finding a new favorite record meant wandering the aisles and talking with staff. Let’s take a look at 20 vintage images of seventies record shops.

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Ypsilanti, MI | Local record shop Wyrd Byrd strengthens music-loving community in Ypsilanti: Since opening in October 2022, Wyrd Byrd has grown from just a record store to a community space dedicated to uplifting music lovers. Wyrd Byrd is an independently owned record store in Downtown Ypsilanti. The store, located at 9 S. Washington St., is open 12 to 4 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and open from 12 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. “I always wanted to have a record store. It’s just something, for some reason, since I was a kid, I always wanted to do. As I got a little older I got more into books, role-playing games, that sort of thing. So the idea kind of turned into all of these things. I get sort of obsessed about a lot of different things,” said store owner Shawn Gates.

Denver, CO | A new Wax Trax Records is opening in Stanley Marketplace: A 1,000-square-foot storefront will replace the record shop’s experimental pop-up kiosk. Wax Trax Records will open a 1,000-square-foot storefront in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, where it has run a kiosk in the hallway since 2024. The new space—the fourth permanent Wax Trax in the metro—will allow the record store to expand its offerings and create a hub for vinyl, occasional live music and community. Wax Trax will move from its kiosk into a nearby storefront previously occupied by the local streetwear company Abstract. That store, meanwhile, has moved to a different space at Stanley Marketplace. The store’s owners decided to sign the lease after the company’s best Record Store Day sales ever.

Milwaukie, OR | Police investigating record, vintage store burglary in Milwaukie: Police are searching for FOX 12’s Most Wanted after a burglary at a family-owned record and vintage store was caught on camera early Monday morning. “Broken glass, and inventory pieces, and empty trays, it’s a horrible feeling,” said co-owner Rebecca Stavenjord. A burglary was caught on camera at B-Side Records and Vintage in Milwaukie early Monday morning. “He was in and out in less than 10 minutes, and now we’re cleaning it all up,” said Stavenjord. Stavenjord said the burglar broke a door, stole cameras, jewelry, and cash that could cost the business more than $5,000.

Auckland, NZ | Business owners on Auckland’s K’ Rd feeling the pinch amid closures: Business owners in one of Auckland’s most colourful spots are feeling the pinch as some institutions are forced to close. Karangahape Rd has long been a vibrant counterculture pit stop with a mix of shops, eateries and music venues. But in the last two days, two businesses in the area have announced they’re shutting down. On Thursday, live music venue Neck of the Woods took to social media to announce it would be closing next week after 11 years. “Like a lot of music venues, we’ve been struggling since Covid, and this year has just gotten harder. We see sold out shows and think a club is doing well, but we live or die by our bar sales. That’s fine when the economy is up, but unsustainable in the current climate and as people are drinking and spending less,” the venue said.

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Manchester, UK | Altrincham record store owner says shop ‘isn’t dead, only sleeping’ as update given on closure: The beloved independent vinyl shop on Regent Road has closed its doors. The owner of a Greater Manchester record store has confirmed its closure, prompting a huge outpouring of sadness. One of Altrincham’s best-loved independent businesses, Tasty Records is closing its doors after eight years of trading. Ben Molesworth, owner of the store Regent Road in the town centre, confirmed the news via social media, describing the decision as ‘complicated.’ In the update, he said the store “deserves more than [he] can give it.”

Auckland, NZ | ‘Unpleasant, perfect storm’: Akl record store to close after tough trading years. A well-established Auckland record store is closing down, with its managing director saying a confluence of factors had created an “unpleasant, perfect storm” for the business. Matthew Davis and co-director Ben Howe opened their brick-and-mortar shop Flying Out on Pitt St in 2015, building off the rapid success of an online music store they launched 18 months earlier. But the popular haunt for music-lovers and collectors had reached its end, Davis announced this morning, telling customers it was “the hardest thing we’ve ever had to write.”

Yamaguchi Prefecture, JP | Japanese Shop Lists 80,000 Vinyl Records for 8 Million JPY, “Pick-Up Only” Sparks Wild Debate: “Who Can Even Move That?!” A legendary listing has popped up on a Japanese auction site, sending shockwaves through the collecting community. Nandemoya, a second-hand shop in Yamaguchi Prefecture, is selling a mind-boggling collection of 80,000 vinyl records and CDs as a single lot for a cool 8 million JPY (approximately $51,000 USD). The catch? It’s “pick-up only.” This insane deal immediately sent ripples across Japanese X (formerly Twitter). The buzz started when a user posted about the 8 million JPY listing, highlighting that the entire shop’s inventory—nearly 80,000 vinyl records, CDs, and other collectibles—was up for grabs in one go, but only for self-pickup.

Minneapolis, MN | Minneapolis salon mixes rock and roll with haircuts: Inside HiFi Hair and Records. HiFi Hair and Records sits on the edge of downtown Minneapolis, marked by a leopard print awning and a vibe that’s all about community through music. “I tried to model it after a barbershop,” said Jonny Clifford, owner of the salon. Clifford opened the shop in 2011, inspired by his father who introduced him to music and was battling terminal cancer at the time. The salon brings together the hum of blow dryers and the sounds of rock and roll, with Clifford saying, “Music is the uniter. Most everyone who is alive today grew up on rock and roll.” He added a record store the following year, letting customers browse new and used vinyl and CDs while waiting for their appointment. “I jokingly refer to it as the coolest waiting room in the city…”

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