Colorado Spring, CO | Downtown Colorado Springs sees new businesses open as others leave and close: Easy’s Record Store opens on Tejon Street. Several new business storefronts have been announced by the Downtown Partnership in Colorado Springs, alongside the closure or relocation of other businesses in the area. Several popular businesses in Colorado Springs closed, including Jax Fish House and Oskar Blues, signaling a transition for downtown. At the same time, a variety of shops opened in the area, including Easy’s Record Store, which held its launch event Thursday. …“Ryan and I both grew up in record stores and vintage shops, and in the ’90s you kind of hung out there too, and so I think that’s really where our mindset is for this space, is like a place that you can come poke around…”
Miami, FL | Beatles for sale! Miami record shop selling rare record for $5K: The cover, depicting the band covered in raw meat and decapitated baby dolls, shocked audiences upon release in 1966. For Beatles fans, it’s the stuff of legend: a rare 1966 album cover depicting John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, still mop-topped but well into their psychedelic era, covered in bloody, raw meat and decapitated baby dolls. No, you’re not tripping on acid-laced tea. This really happened. Known as the “butcher cover,” this edition of the band’s “Yesterday and Today” album elicited shock—and confusion—from fans upon release. Only 750,000 copies were printed before Capitol Records recalled the album, replaced the cover, and plastered over existing copies with a more innocuous image of the band standing around a travel trunk, McCartney sitting inside.
Stillwater, OK | Nine bands, one stage, seven Months: ‘The Showcase’ debuts: Velvet Fudge opened its doors in February 2026. Since then, it has seen vinyls come and go from bins and shelves as customers search for what to add to their collection next. But what’s really special about Velvet Fudge, and what makes it more than just a hole-in-the-wall record shop on Lewis Street, is the venue space. Connected to the record shop is an unassuming concrete room. Bobby Wintle, who owned the space when it was ‘The Bait Shop,’ referred to it as a “DIY punk venue.” The Showcase occurred on March 27. It featured nine bands, all of which were performing on the same evening and stage. It was a come-and-go show, lasting from approximately 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., and is Velvet Fudge’s largest event to date.
Utsunomiya City, JP | Snokey Record in Japan’s Utsunomiya City Offers Vinyl That Is Meant to Be Part of People’s Lives Through Music: Located on the second floor of a small building right next to Orion-dori street, the bustling downtown area in the city of Utsunomiya, Snokey Record is meant to be a part of people’s lives through music. Rock, jazz, Latin music—the shop’s shelves are packed with a variety of different records, mostly Western music, including many obscure titles. The owner, Masaaki Takezawa, 55, sources the inventory himself, and the collection numbers roughly 10,000 albums. As Takezawa drops the needle onto a record from behind the counter, the enthusiastic vocals of American soul singer Phil Flowers filled the room. It was a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” The sound was pleasing to the ear, and you would find yourself naturally drawn in.
Like Black Flag, Bad Brains changed everything. They took punk rock and sped it up, setting land speed records that wouldn’t even be broken by Hüsker Dü’s 1982 Bonneville Salt Flats fast live album, Land Speed Record.
The LPs from Blue Note’s classic era are aptly described as an embarrassment of riches. Along with loads of amazing music, there is, of course, the surrounding context, and engaging with the fruits of the imprint’s labors offers a truly enlightening historical narrative. Naturally, it’s only part of jazz’s larger story. Still, it’s also a highly valuable component, since Blue Note is an example in which respect for the music trumped purely capitalist desire.
Sale, UK | From the ashes of a legend, the cosy Sale record shop keeping the spirit of a vinyl haven alive: When the decision to close Tasty Records in Altrincham was made earlier this year, music fans were devastated. At the time of its closure, owner Ben Molesworth said the store deserved ‘more than’ he could give after eight years. And upon announcing the decision to shut down, he also offered out the store’s remaining stock for sale, which spanned across genres from rock to reggaeton. It was former Tasty manager Jess Campbell who took on the treasure trove of hundreds of 7″ singles and 12″ albums. For Jess and her partner Billy Goodwin, the purchase accelerated their dreams of opening their own store together—
Doral, FL | Miami record shop Crazy Vinyl Record launches its own label: The Doral vinyl shop just pressed a limited 7-inch single from South Florida reggae-dub band RasPunk under its new imprint. Miami’s local vinyl industry shows no signs of slowing down, with not only new record stores opening across the Magic City, but some also expanding their businesses and launching labels. At least that’s the case with Crazy Vinyl Record. Founded by Marcos Mirabal, Crazy Vinyl Record opened in January, offering new and used vinyl, with a selection leaning into soul, funk, jazz, Latin, salsa, disco, hip-hop, and rare grooves, plus a healthy dose of classic rock and contemporary releases. “…This release means a lot to Crazy Vinyl Record because it represents what we always want to offer our customers and community: supporting independent artists, bringing people together, and turning music into 
Since then, they’ve continued to release strong album after strong album, despite personnel changes, including the defections of both the multi-talented Jason Isbell and Shonna Tucker, she of the amazing voice. And have I mentioned they have impeccable taste in covers? Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Kiss, Tom T. Hall—why, they even cover Warren Zevon’s fiery “Play It All Night Long” and beat him, no sweat, piss, jizz, or blood about it, at his own game.
There were no flames at the crash site—the band’s seemingly cursed plane ran out of fuel, which is why it ended up busted into pieces in the mud outside tiny Gillsburg, Mississippi, in the first place—but it didn’t matter. The flames were foreshadowing, as was Van Zant’s “morbid” (his word) “That Smell,” the eeriest song about death ever written by the band’s death-obsessed frontman and de facto dictator, who died in that Mississippi swamp along with guitarist Steve Gaines, Steve’s sister and backing vocalist Cassie, and several others.
Doylestown, PA | Doylestown Record Store is the Perfect Spot to Find Your Next Favorite Vinyl: With the popularity of vinyl records soaring among younger generations, Siren Records in Doylestown is the perfect place to find some new tunes, writes Claire Allard for Family Destinations Guide. If you’re looking for CDs, vinyl records, cassettes, or DVDs, the store has a vast collection spanning every genre of music, both in new condition and slightly used. A step through the brick building’s front doors reveals a musical treasure trove, luring in customers to explore the endless crates and shelves’ worth of items. …Whether you’re interested in folk, reggae, funk, soul, country, pop, hip-hop, jazz, or electronic music, 
Nashville, TN | Runout Record Shop Gets Ready to Open in West Nashville: Talking with Michael and Kate Lovett about their new vision for the former Alison’s Record Shop space. …Through the record-store grapevine, the couple heard that Alison’s Record Shop in West Nashville was up for sale. The Lovetts have lived in the neighborhood since 2012 and drove by the place twice a day — and they saw their chance. “This is really a homecoming, and a dream come true for me,” Michael says. Over Labor Day weekend, the Lovetts took a break from sifting through 23,000 vinyl records that were part of Alison’s inventory to talk about their plans for Runout Record Shop. Even from the store’s name, you can tell the Lovetts’ love of music: The smooth place on a vinyl record, between the grooves and the paper label, is called the “runout.” As Kate notes, it is fun to say: “
