Rochester, MN | Customers line up for record store day: We all have heard of Black Friday sales, but have you heard of Record Store Day sale? It’s a day when independent record stores sell popular and rare vinyl records. “It’s a biannual event that’s for independent record stores, new releases, special low number pressings of colored vinyl. It’s just kind of the big day for record collectors,” Rochester Records Owner Hussien “Huss” Esmailadeh said. “…Huss here has been awesome because he has everything very streamlined at Rochester Records. Black Friday’s pretty fun. So they just open up the doors, take a ticket and we come here and get to select from the exclusive titles that they have and the different just limited editions, different colored vinyl. It’s kinda like a candy store for us kids,” Rochester Records customer Brad Strain said.
Wilmington, NC | Holiday shoppers rush to a Wilmington store for Record Store Day on Black Friday: One local record store participated in Record Store Day on Black Friday. Dozens of shoppers who love their music on vinyl made their way to Record Bar, looking for deals. The biannual event gives independent stores an opportunity to have exclusive music titles to sell. Record Bar co-owner Tony Stroud said the store saw big lines, with records by Aerosmith, Billie Eilish, and The Life Aquatic Soundtrack being best sellers. “You know the support locally has been phenomenal. It was raining when we opened this morning, we still had a line outside. We had the sidewalk sale inside this morning, made things a little crazy, but once the weather broke away we were able to put folks out here shopping. They’ve had a big time all day,” said Tony Stroud, Record Bar co-owner.
Charlotte, NC | Manifest Discs to close Charlotte store after two decades of selling music and movies: One of the oldest and most popular music stores in Charlotte is shutting down. Manifest Discs did not provide a specific closure date, but announced “everything must go” in a liquidation sale starting 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 26. The store is at 6239 South Boulevard in south Charlotte. “After twenty plus years, Manifest Charlotte is closing,” the store posted Nov. 24 on Instagram and Facebook. “We would like to thank all of our loyal customers who have supported our store for so many years.”
Chicago, IL | Round Trip Records opens its brick-and-mortar shop after almost two years of pandemic delays: Chicago has a brand-new record store: Round Trip Records in North Park! Co-owner Paul Nixon says the shop has been in the works since November 2019, when he left his longtime gig at Laurie’s Planet of Sound. Shortly he and Round Trip co-owner David Baker started selling records online and at the Chicagoland Record & CD Collectors Show in Hillside. “We were looking for an office, and we found this retail space,” Nixon says. “We decided that it would be a fun thing to be involved with the community.” In January 2020 they signed a lease on a 500-square-foot storefront at 3455 W. Foster, but the pandemic changed their plans—they finally opened the shop on November 20. Round Trip’s inventory is mostly 12-inch vinyl, but it also sells books, VHS tapes, CDs, and seven-inches. Nixon and Baker stock jazz, avant-garde music, 60s and 70s psych, 80s and 90s alternative, and more, and future selections will reflect what their customers turn out to prefer.
Liverpool, UK | Phase One gets set to reopen after 8-week refurbishment: On the 9th Dec 2021, Phase One officially re-opens its doors after an almost 8 week refurbishment. The complex at 40 Seel St will house its now familiar Record Store, the evolution of The Jacaranda’s record store on Slater St, birthplace of The Beatles, with a drinking space behind that focuses on a more mature drinking environment than you might find elsewhere on Seel St. However, this is not a venue to rest on those kinds of laurels. It has bona fide credibility of its own. In May 2018, Graham Stanley and his team, threw together a little pop up on Seel St that would expand on the much-loved record store above The Jacaranda. It was only supposed to last for 6 months before the real work began, but the world had different plans.
Washington, DC | Spin Time Records is D.C.’s neighborhood record shop no matter where you are: Jon Lottman was raised on Capitol Hill at a time when mom-and-pop record stores dotted enough of the nearby streets that he grew up thinking of them as “a neighborhood amenity.” Decades later, there are none to be found. “But someone’s gonna open a record store here someday,” the 51-year-old says, “and I want it to be me.” So this summer, Lottman launched Spin Time Records, an online record shop that peddles new releases and fresh reissues from D.C. area artists almost exclusively. Lottman says that he’s always been drawn to highly curated specialty shops because they exude an almost “monumental character, like a gallery, or a museum, or a library. So you’re not just selling stuff. You’re offering access and exposure to something that has value, culturally. And that’s whether people are just coming to look or to take the pieces off the walls.”
Manila, PH | Coffee & Vinyl: 3 record shops that serve all the feels: Imagine, sitting inside a café and sipping a brewed coffee while listening to the songs from vinyl records. Indeed, good music should come with a great coffee (or beer!). Even though we already have the digital platforms to download and stream the kind of music we like, listening to records is still a one-of-a-kind experience. If you are a music enthusiast, coffee person, or maybe someone who’s just looking for solace amid the hustle and bustle, then why don’t you check out the places rounded up in this list? Satchimi From their interior and design, you’ll get the vibes of old shops from the ‘90s. The brick and wooden style structure and warm lights will give you a cozy and relaxing ambiance. Then, you’ll be fascinated by shelf displays of their most prized records. Perfect for those digging from classic pieces to the latest releases.
Bang & Olufsen hosts immersive audio pop-up: A Scandi oasis with workshops, tasting experiences and live music. Bang & Olufsen is hosting an immersive audio pop-up designed to give visitors a sense of escapism. Open for four weeks from 26 November, the Scandi-inspired oasis promises to be a haven from the outside world. Visitors to the Shoreditch experience will go on a journey through various zones, each one demonstrating Bang & Olufsen’s blend of sound, craft and design. In a calm, lowly lit demonstration room, visitors can enjoy dedicated listening. On selected dates the room will turn into a Pitchblack Playback experience, where all distractions are removed including the light, allowing the Bang & Olufsen acoustics to become the central focus. A DJ booth and record store area have been filled with a selection of curated vinyl. Customers can browse albums and enjoy their favourite tracks on a Beogram 4000c turntable.
Reading, UK | ‘World’s worst ever’ record collection handed in to second hand shop – but there was something positive about it: The “worst record collection ever” has been handed over to a second-hand shop — but to put a positive spin on things, it did hide £200 in cash. The vinyl, dating from the 1970s and ’80s, includes albums by much maligned singers such as Shakin’ Stevens, Leo Sayer, David Cassidy, Barry Manilow — and TV’s Felicity Kendal. But the sleeve of one of the often-ridiculed Top of the Pops LPs — compilations recorded by session musicians — contained four old £50 notes, which ceased to be legal tender in 1996. Asking prices on eBay for such notes can be as much as £200 each. Peter Sirrell, who runs Music Man records and instrument shop in Reading, Berks, said of the donor: “He claimed they were his mother’s. I said it was the worst collection I’d ever seen and he sort of grinned. There were 25 or 30.” Peter, 57, agreed to take them to a charity shop and made sure the records were in the correct sleeves. He added: “When I switched round one of the Top of the Pops ones I saw one of the old £50 notes come out.
