St. Louis, MO | Best Record Store: Planet Score. St. Louis is loaded with extraordinary record stores. Picking the best can boil down to what exactly you’re looking for — be it based on your favorite genre or the format you love to devour your favorite albums on. While it isn’t as immense as the record stores of legend, Planet Score (7421 Manchester Road; 314-282-0777) has established itself as worthy of joining the ranks of St. Louis music retail history over the last six years. The shop’s used and new LP selection is well rounded no matter what genre you’re flipping through. During non-COVID times, it’s an excellent destination for Record Store Day. The owners are always ready to help suggest what may become your next obsession, and for any Guided by Voices fans, Planet Score has you more than covered!
Valencia, SP | The oldest record store in Spain is transferred: In a secluded street in the center of Valencia, a few meters from the gigantic FNAC premises, the Oldies record store still stands, against all odds. Some people… In a secluded street in the center of Valencia, a few meters from the gigantic FNAC premises, the Oldies record store still stands, against all odds. Some would say that entering it is immersing oneself in that old smell that inevitably refers to the past. But they, Vicente Fabuel and José Salvador, would judge that smell as that of a certain sexual act, the one in which the relationship with music is lived by caressing a vinyl. That smell and that touch, that fetishism, explain today that the oldest record store in Spain is looking for a new owner. Someone to take over for a “healthy” business that is far from in the doldrums, but needs a new personal boost. …To avoid the final closure, they have proposed to transfer the business to whoever wants to pay 175,000 euros and is willing to “come home late” after work.
Salt Lake City, UT | Randy Stinson, Owner of Randy’s Record Shop In Salt Lake City, Is Retiring: A small record store in Salt Lake City that sells vinyls and has managed to survive 40 years despite records long ago being eclipsed by CDs and streaming music is starting a new chapter as the owner hands the business over to his son. Owner and founder Randy Stinson, 76, is retiring after four successful decades and will let his son run the store, Randy’s Record Shop, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Stinson opened the store in 1978 with just $3,000 and his personal inventory of about 60,000 records. He said it gave him focus after he served in Vietnam, and helped him overcome heavy drinking and smoking habits. In the 1980s, he feared he would have to close the store as CDs started being sold everywhere and interest in records waned. But, the store experienced a revival in the 2000s when vinyl records started making a comeback and has held steady since.
RS Recommends: These Bluetooth Turntables Make It Easier to Play Your Collection: Your playlists aren’t the only thing you can stream on your Bluetooth speaker. These turntables let you play your collection all over the house. Let’s get one thing out of the way: the latest Bluetooth turntables might not be for everyone. Though Bluetooth record players can help cut down on the amount of cords needed to play your vinyl collection, many audiophiles might recommend going with a more traditional turntable setup for the ultimate high-fidelity sound experience. But for someone who wants a convenient and easy way to spin their records right away, there are a ton of affordable, great-sounding Bluetooth turntables worth considering. Better yet, they make it simple to hear your vinyl records anywhere around your home. Popular audio brands, from Audio-Technica to Sony, have released Bluetooth turntables for connecting your player to a separate speaker or device. And while they come with convenient Bluetooth connectivity, they still often give you the option to curate your vinyl system with speakers and other gear. Here’s your full guide.
Atlanta, GA | Atlanta Braves organist celebrates 1000th game performance with new vinyl record: Who’s the most consistently performing team member of the Atlanta Braves? It could be the organist, Matthew Kaminski, who just celebrated his one-thousandth game. In commemoration of the milestone, he released a new vinyl recording called “L.A. Connection,” an album of music for jazz organ accompanied by some serious heavy-hitters in the California jazz scene. Kaminksi joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share some impressions from his new collection of music, and tales from the best seat in the stadium. Not confined just to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” Kaminski’s a connoisseur of the classic jazz organ sound. “Jazz organ was really popularized by Jimmy Smith in the late ‘50s, ‘60s, and the sound of it kind of comes from church… but in jazz, it could go a lot of different ways,” said Kaminski. “What Jimmy Smith did, was he brought a little bit of Charlie Parker and a little bit of soul jazz, like Art Blakey, into playing jazz on the organ, and that’s the sound I grew to love.”
