London, UK | New record shop Perfect Lives opens in South London: The New Cross shop will focus “on the cult, occult and the strange,” according to owners Bruno and Daniel. A new record shop has opened in South London. Located in New Cross, Perfect Lives will focus “on the cult, occult and the strange,” according to owners Bruno and Daniel, who host an NTS show of the same name. “We wouldn’t say we have a genre in particular, but we have a lot of private press, underground and hard to find records,” they told Resident Advisor. “The same goes for books and paper generally. If a record or book makes you say ‘why does this exist?’ or ‘why would someone release this?’ then it’s in the racks or on the shelves.” The space, which opened on November 1st, was formerly an antique shop and pop-up gallery. As well as records, it also stocks books and ephemera, and the owners hope to host concerts there soon.
Carlsbad, CA | Discover Classic Vinyl at Love Bus Records: Record shops are an important part of every community. Music-lovers can find their favorite songs, bond over music with others and discover new artists. Love Bus Records is a place where music connoisseurs can do all of that. “I was in corporate America,” said Mike McDonald, owner of Love Bus Records, “and I got to a certain point that it wasn’t fulfilling, and I thought, ‘life is short, do something that you care about.’” McDonald opened Love Bus Records in 2020 as a small shop specializing in vinyl, which has only grown larger since then. Before he started selling records, McDonald built a small community library in front of his house. “I had thousands of books that I was not going to read again. So I built this little library out here,” McDonald said. According to McDonald, when the city saw it, they built nine other libraries like his.
Portland, OR | 2nd Avenue Records forced to leave building after 42 years, another blow to downtown Portland, city’s music history. If you stepped into 2nd Avenue Records on Thursday, you might have thought it was still peak Portland, that golden period, a decade in the past now, when 20-somethings from around the country were pouring into the city and the New York Times regularly raved about its cool factor. Posters for oddball and classic bands littered the walls over rows and rows of bins holding vinyl records. …The shop has been in the historic Governor Building in downtown Portland for 42 years and has diligently maintained its aura as a place to discover new music and what’s going on in the culture, despite the music industry’s wholesale move online in recent decades. But a shock decision by the store’s landlord to empty the building has left the shop – and the other businesses in the building – scrambling to figure out their next moves.
Salt Lake City, UT | The Best Record Shops in SLC for Music Enthusiasts: Each shop holds their own stories and memories for you to enjoy. So, as Penny Lane said in “Almost Famous,” “If you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.” Looking for a record to add to your collection? Or a unique album that no one’s heard of? Well, Salt Lake City has quite a few record shops for all the music enthusiasts out there. Here are a few of the best record shops around town. Diabolical Records: When they opened their doors 11 years ago, they didn’t do any advertising. Instead, they held concerts for small bands inside the shop to get people to come together and enjoy something they’d never heard before. Although they had to stop the concerts because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has remained the heart of the store. “Our passion and the reason we have the store is so that we can bring in small artists and to introduce people to new and interesting music,” said founder Adam Tye…
Seattle, WA | Bread Truck Records sells music on the go: Ride along in the most popular bread truck in town…which doesn’t actually sell bread. There’s a bread truck that delivers what some music fans believe is more is more important than food, family or breathing. Bread Truck Records delivers vinyl. “You just come up through the hobby,” owner Alan Chalfont said. “You find cooler records and it ends up becoming an obsession for some of us.” Inside the Seattle Armory at the Northwest Record Show hundreds of music lovers flip though 50 tables of record bins looking for vinyl treasure. But our story is parked right outside where Chalfont sells records from inside a refurbished Snap-On Tool truck. Some are worth hundreds of dollars. “This record is absolutely beautiful,” Chalfont said. “One of the most sought after in regular record collecting. It’s a mono first edition of the Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds.'”
Maplewood, NJ | Vinyl lovers flock to Maplewood Record Fair at The Woodland: Elusive Sounds presented the Maplewood Record Fair at the Woodland recently. There were more than 40 tables filled with new and used vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, 8-tracks, toys, comics, vintage clothes, stereo equipment, musical instruments, rare books and magazines, classic video games and more. There was also vegan and vegetarian food available. The venue was mobbed with record collectors. Many vendors raved that they were doing great selling products. Vendors included Elusive Sounds, WFMU DJ Diane Kamikaze, Tim Lastfogel, Melanie Streko of Hellmistress Records, Brad Barton Comic Books, LoKey Society, Crash Doll Vintage, and much more. The Maplewood Record Fair was started by Charles Maggio and Jennifer Klein back in May of 2019. They did another in November 2019, then Covid hit. After the pandemic, they started up again in Spring 2021 and now have the fairs twice a year.
Philadelphia, PA | VinylCon returns to Philly to unite analog music and record lovers: The event at the 23rd Street Armory in Center City is expected to bring around 100,000 records from over 70 vendors. The Philadelphia music scene will converge in Center City for the city’s largest vinyl record fair. VinylCon! is set to feature over 100,000 records from at least 70 vendors when it takes over the 23rd Street Armory from Nov. 23-24. This is the second time the event will be in Philly after a successful debut in April. Tickets cost $10 on Saturday, Nov. 23, during which the convention will be open from 12-5 p.m. Early entry tickets for $27.50 allow holders to get a two-hour head start on the floor starting at 10 a.m. General admission on Sunday, Nov. 24 is free but still requires online registration. The con was founded in Denver, Colorado in 2021 by Philly native and record collector Kobi Waldfogel. After three years of growing the trade show, Waldfogel brought it to his hometown and attracted over 2,000 attendees—a number he expects to exceed in November.
Vancouver, CA | Analog Vinyl Record Fair returns to Steel & Oak in New West: Steel & Oak Brewing Co. host vinyl record fair—a welcoming space where casual conversations spark over music. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. is inviting music lovers, vinyl collectors, and craft beer enthusiasts to a two-day celebration of sound and community. The New West-based craft brewery is hosting its annual Analog Vinyl Record Fair on Saturday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 1. This year’s fair will be held at Steel & Oak in New Westminster, where the brewery will create a cozy indoor space for guests to connect over music and discover unique records from a wide range of genres. …“The atmosphere is laid-back yet vibrant, with live DJs providing an exciting soundtrack to the event.” Since it began in 2016, the Analog Vinyl Record Fair has sought to bring together the local music and vinyl community for a one-of-a-kind experience.
IN | India’s Vinyl Revival Finds Its Groove: Melting plastic pellets into chunky discs then squashed flat, a worker presses records in what claims to be the first vinyl plant to open in India in decades. Warm music with a nostalgic crackle fills the room—a Bollywood tune from a popular Hindi movie. The revival of retro records among Indian music fans mirrors a global trend that has seen vinyl sales explode from the United States to Britain and Brazil. Pillai, 58, entered the music industry as “vinyl was just going out.” He spent the last few years importing records from Europe for his music label clients. But he took the decision to open his own plant—cutting import taxes and shipping times—to focus on Indian artists and market tastes from Bollywood to indie pop after recording “growing interest.” Retailers including Walmart have embraced the retro format, and megastars including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Harry Styles have sent pressing plants around the world into overdrive.
