Leeds, UK | Best Record Shops in Leeds: Leeds is home to some stunning record shops. As Record Store Day approaches, we took a look at some of the best shops the city has to offer. Leeds is obviously a city that cares deeply about music. Off the top of your head, the city has lots of ties to music, including Leeds Festival, Slamdunk, and Live At Leeds. Kaiser Chiefs are from Leeds, as are Dinosaur Pile-Up, Alt-J, Soft Cell, and Hot Since 82. The links to music are numerous. But what helped many of these artists to get off the ground is the local record shops. After the chaos the pandemic caused, it’s vital we get out there and support our local shops to help keep them afloat. It’s the least they deserve after helping countless individuals find new music, discover new genres, and find communities that share their passions. So here are the best record shops in Leeds and the genres they specialise in.
Oshkosh, WI | Exclusive Co. closing will leave a hole in Oshkosh’s music scene. Here’s what we know. Derek Mulloy’s love for Exclusive Co. started around 30 years ago, back when he, as a teen, discovered the store was a source for the independent music and hip-hop he loved. He bought his first Wreckz-n-Effect tape there, and one by MC Hammer. His friends worked there, and he even made some friends just by browsing the aisles. “It was an awesome store, and it was awesome to grow up with that kind of store,” he said. In the early 2000s, when he started his career as a musician under the name “Derrill Pounds,” the independent record store was the first place that sold his music. Mulloy said his CDs are still in stock. “That’s a pretty cool feeling to go to the store and flip through the racks, see your name in there,” Mulloy said. Unfortunately, Mulloy won’t be able to do so for much longer. The Exclusive Co. announced last week that it would close all six locations following the death of its founder James “Mr. G” Giombetti in November.
Birmingham, UK | Best Record Shops in Birmingham: Join us as we look at the best record shops in Birmingham, including the oldest shop in England and the shop where you can get your vinyl, coffee, cake, and wine fix all under one roof! Did you know Birmingham is home to the oldest record shop in England? If you didn’t, you can’t be to blame – it’s a pretty huge city. And that might be part of why you might be struggling to find record shops in Birmingham that are worth a visit. So what’s your poison? Reggae, techno, rock, industrial? Something else entirely? No matter what you’re into, there’s a record shop in Birmingham that’ll be perfect for your tastes. Here are the best record shops in Birmingham.
Warwick, RI | Doomed Records attests to the revival of vinyl: Pawtuxet Village will gain a new shop this week. Inside Lucy Juicy, just on the Cranston side of the river on Broad Street, sits Doomed Records, a shop opening Sunday, April 10. Eric Browning, a Scituate resident, is trying his hand at running a local record store. His shop, while mostly hard metal oriented, has many genres of records there, from indie, to rock and everything in between. While most of the new records are metal, his pre-owned collection is far more varied, from Miles Davis to the Rolling Stones. The shop includes a thrift section, with a five-for-ten-dollar deal, which, according to Browning, is perfect for someone to find something they may not have considered listening to otherwise. According to Browning, setting up the shop was, “time consuming but not complex… the City Hall in Cranston made it easy.” His shop is in a unique position, being inside of a vegan smoothie shop, but this was also to his benefit. Knowing the owners of Lucy Juicy allowed him to get the space to open the place.
Isle of Wight, UK | Dig out your favourite album cover or create your own for Record Store Day exhibition at Ventnor Exchange: If you’re an owner of vinyl albums, try and put some time aside this weekend (it’s a long one after all) to dig through and find your favourite album cover. Not only will you have the joy of listening to some of your most-loved music on vinyl whilst doing it, but your favourite cover can then be included in an exhibition at Ventnor Exchange for Record Store Day (23rd April). Describe why you love it. All you need to do is include a small description of why you love that particular album/cover artwork, and then drop that (not forgetting the cover) off to Ventnor Exchange, High Street, Ventnor from Tuesday 19th April or contact workinp@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up. Art Vinyl frames. The albums will be displayed in specially-created Art Vinyl frames in the gallery space at the Exchange and we reckon it’ll not only look amazing against the blue walls, but the variety will be fascinating to see once all assembled.
Northampton, UK | How Northampton record shops enticed a Gen Z teen who grew up in the Spotify era: “Let’s remember the authenticity vinyl holds over each of our past generations.” The ‘vintage’ record scene, or vinyl scene, is strong in Northampton, which is great for those who grew up consuming their music via record players. But what do town centre record shops have to offer for Gen Z teens who know only of listening to new albums via the touch of a button of their phones? Northamptonshire teen Shanaya Thomas visited Spun Out and Spiral Archive and, in her own words, this is what she thought…Spun Out, Gold Street I visited the heart of Northampton and entered a shop by the name of Spun Out. This shop carries its authenticity through having “rare new releases and new editions of the most underground and urban music of various genres” – as truthfully described by the owner. This vinyl shop has been open since 2000 and has kept the importance of vinyl’s alive ever since, for people of all ages.
Los Angeles, CA | Tower Records scratched in supreme fashion: The big, red letters spelling “Tower Records” splashed across the long, yellow sign at the company’s former Sunset Strip location are a familiar sight, not just to residents of West Hollywood but to pop culture fans the world over. Once located at the corner of Horn Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, the store’s heyday is long past. The music retailer closed when Tower Records filed bankruptcy in 2006. The iconic, original sign was painted over, and several businesses shuffled in and out of the building. “When all those other shops took over the property, they damaged some walls,” Alison Martino, who runs the Vintage Los Angeles social media pages, said. “The building is really in bad shape. The original building that was built was like $31,000.” In 2015, Colin Hanks produced the documentary “All Things Must Pass,” delving into the history of Tower Records and the rise-and-fall of music retailers. For the film, the sign was painted back, restoring a history that dated back to the location’s opening in 1971.
Nanaimo, BC | All sales vinyl at Nanaimo Record Show: Show happens Saturday, April 16, at Bowen Park auditorium. Excitement is spinning up for the return of the Nanaimo Record Show. The event, which is making its return to the city’s annual event calendar, is on track to draw at least 30 vendors from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. There will be thousands of vinyl records for hundreds of collectors to get their hands on fresh titles to add to their libraries. Show founders Jack Tieleman and Dave Read say vinyl record popularity has gone through the roof, especially during the past two years of the pandemic. “People are really interested in records,” Tieleman said. “There’s all-new collectors. Kids are collecting records and it’s a wide range of ages of people that are into records. I had one fellow come by and he’s like, ‘I need hair metal. That’s what my dad played when I was a kid.’ So, he’s looking for Poison and Mötley Crüe and records like that.” Tieleman operates a small record shop home business, and Read has also watched online sales skyrocket since 2020. But people miss the experience of searching through records in a store, he said.
Perrysburg, OH | Vinylthon 2022 set for April 22: On April 22, Randomosity, a vinyl radio show, is going live for Vinylthon 2022. From 2-6 p.m., the show that brought vinyl back to the Toledo radio airwaves will be turning back the clock for the nationwide celebration across different college campuses and broadcasting from the campus of Owens Community College on Owens Community College Radio. The station be playing nothing but vinyl records, both new and old. Exclusive in-studio performances, interviews, and so much more will be taking place. The link is here. It’s also on demand on Spotify, IHEARTRADIO, YouTube, Podbean and Audible on Amazon.
