This year’s Record Store Day on Saturday, April 22, will inject hundreds of limited-edition vinyl releases into brick-and-mortar retailers around the world. If the last 15 years are any indication, they will instantly sell out, further encouraging the collector-culture that has long steered the world of vinyl LPs.
And yet, this year will continue the trend of vinyl’s mainstream resurgence, catering to fans of not only The Dismemberment Plan but Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton and U2.
That’s another shot of good news for metro-area music retailers such as Twist & Shout, Wax Trax Records and Black & Read, who have survived the digital-streaming revolution to celebrate the return to LP-buying that last year reached $1.2 billion in revenue. Vinyl, incredibly, beat out CD sales for the first time since 1987.
“There’s no question that the Taylor Swift release, ‘folklore: the long pond studio sessions,’ is going to be one of the biggest things for us this year,” Twist & Shout owner Patrick Brown told The Denver Post. “Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires are this year’s RSD Ambassadors and I’m expecting their collaborative EP ‘The Sound Emporium’ and her solo EP ‘Live at Columbia Studio A’ to be big for us too.”
Amid the Grateful Dead and Miles Davis exclusives, Brown also was contacted by Debora Iyall, lead singer of the post-punk/new wave band Romeo Void; she’ll be in town to sign copies of their RSD release, “Live From The Mabuhay Gardens November 14, 1980.”
“(It) predates the release of their first album and is definitely a punkier affair than the hit singles they’re best-known for,” Brown said. “She’s been really cool and we’re excited to be the only place in the country that will have signed copies of that album!”
Arvada’s Black & Read will have coffee, donuts and water for people in line as well as goodie bags from 4130 Mgmt., co-owner Derek Rolvsbakken said. There will also be ticket giveaways for the Oriental Theater, HQ, Globe Hall, Lost Lake and AEG Presents shows.
“The biggest draw will be two pairs of physical old school tickets for the sold out ‘The Cure’ concert!” he said. “Everybody loves free concert tickets.”
Angelo’s, the 33-year-old Colorado record-store chain, will also have coffee, doughnuts, burritos, giveaways and even a DJ at its 1959 S. Broadway location, according to owner and founder Angelo Coiro.
Alisha Sweeney, host and local music director at Colorado Public Radio’s Indie 102.3, said Record Store Day is like Black Friday for vinyl lovers.
“It really is the best day for collectors to get out and feel seen,” she said. “We are all out for the same purpose — music and its always fun to interact with others in line to talk about music. There’s nothing more special than that.”
In that spirit, we asked three metro area record store owners, and one music expert, to rank their Top 10 favorite albums on vinyl or, sparing them that arduous task, their favorite Record Store Day releases (it proved too daunting for a few others we asked to contribute to this article).
Check out their respective websites and social media pages for more information and hours, since lines will start long before the stores open on April 22.
Patrick Brown, owner, Twist & Shout Records
Ornette Coleman – Dancing In Your Head
Miles Davis – A Tribute to Jack Johnson
Brian Eno – Another Green World
Franco & OK Jazz – Francophonic Vol. 1: 1953 – 1980
Arto Lindsay – Mundo Civilizado
Lou Reed – The Blue Mask
Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.
Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic
Television – Marquee Moon
X-Ray Spex – Germfree Adolescents
Pete Stidman, owner/GM, Wax Trax Records
Can – Tago Mago
Don Cherry – Brown Rice
Arthur Verocai – (self titled)
Nas – Illmatic
Billy Woods – Aethiopes
Neu – Neu!
The Revolutionaries – Drum Sounds Vol. 1
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
Chrome – Half Machine Lip Moves
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Talk About the Weather
Angelo Coiro, founder, Angelo’s CDs and Vinyl
5 Favorite of All Time
Kansas – Point of Know Return
Iron Maiden – Killers
Deep Purple – Made in Japan
Emerson Lake & Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery
Jean Luc Ponty – Enigmatic Ocean
5 RSD titles I like a lot
Judas Priest – Rocka Rolla
Frank Marino – Real Live
The Sweet – Platinum Rare
Steve Hackett – Tokyo Tapes
Tangerine Dream – Alpha Centauri
Derek Rolvsbakken, co-owner, Black & Read
“We tried. It’s a rough call. … However (we) agree that the two records that are the most different on vinyl are ‘Aja’ by Steely Dan and ‘Electric Warrior’ by T. Rex.”
Michael Baca, music manager, Black & Read
Slayer – Season in the Abyss
Iron Maiden – Powerslave
Steely Dan – Gaucho
The Strokes – Is This It
Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill
D.R.I. – Thrash Zone
Ill Bill – Septagram
The Cure – Head on the Door
Adam Green – Jacket Full of Danger
Alisha Sweeney, host and local music director, Indie 102.3
Top Record Store Day releases
Built To Spill – Ripple (2011)
Mastodon/Feist – A Commotion/Black Tongue 7″ (2012)
Can’s Ege Bamyasi Played by Stephen Malkmus and Friends (2013)
LCD Soundsystem – The Long Goodbye (LCD Soundsystem Live At Madison Square Garden) (2014)
DEVO/The Flaming Lips – Side By Side Series (2014)
Ezra Furman – Songs By Others (2016)
Like A Drunk In A Midnight Choir… (Record Store Day Celebrates The Music Of Leonard Cohen) (2017)
Kevin Morby + Waxahatchee – Farewell Transmission/Dark Don’t Hide It 7″ (2019)Mac
DeMarco/Shamir – Beat Happening Covers (2019)
Jonathan Richman – Having A Party With Jonathan Richman (2021)The Replacements –
Unsuitable for Airplay: The Lost KFAI Concert (2022)
