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What’s your favorite independent record store in Greater Boston?
Now that vinyl has come roaring back, where do you go to pick up the golden oldies and the latest spins?
The record is back! Who’d a thunk it?
After all, it wasn’t that long ago that vinyl records, that staple of music reproduction for most of the 20th century, seemed dead and buried. Record-pressing plants sat fallow as cassettes and then shiny new CDs took their place in the music-buying consciousness, followed by the digital download revolution of the early 2000s.
But an interesting thing happened as the advent of streaming made the concept of “owning” music even more ephemeral: Society got together and decided it would like to have some music it could hold in its hands, thank you very much. And vinyl records — with their outsized, artwork-laden covers and a pesky habit of having to be flipped over at least once during listening — started their comeback.
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And now, fueled by an amalgam of curious teens, hipster millennials, and nostalgic Gen-X’ers, vinyl records have become once again the most popular physical format for music distribution, outselling CDs last year for the first time since 1987. And all of that outselling means there needs to be a place to sell them.
MORE ON RECORD STORES:
Enter, or should we say re-enter, record stores. Specifically, independent record shops: While the days of spending hours wandering through mammoth stores like Tower Records on Newbury Street or Strawberries in Harvard Square may be behind us, plenty of small places remain active, or have opened in recent years. And inside those individually-owned vinyl havens, music fans continue to gather for crate-digging, camaraderie, and a good, old-fashioned debate or two.
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Whether it’s the venerable outlets like Nuggets in Kenmore Square (est. 1978) or Cheapo Records in Central Square (est. 1954), or newer spots like Good Taste Records in the North End, which opened last year, every independent record store has its own unique personality and feel. But which one is best at tickling your vinyl fancy?
Below, you’ll find a poll where you can vote on your favorite independent record store — we counted more than 30 in Greater Boston alone! And don’t worry if you don’t see your local shop listed: You can still tell us about your fave, and we’ll be sure to include it among the other entries in our upcoming guide to record stores in the region, just in time for Record Store Day.
Fill out the survey or e-mail us at [email protected], and your response may be used in an upcoming Boston.com article and/or its social media channels.
This poll is now closed. Check back Friday, April 21, on Boston.com to see the results!
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