‘Tis the season! Record Store Day is sneaking up on us, which makes this the perfect time to introduce you all to a few of the local record stores that you may not have swung by yet. We spoke to a few of the cool cats who help run them about what makes their store so great. These stores are a part of our music community; not only are they places to find great albums you’ve been looking for, but they also carry local artists that are just waiting for you to hear them. Check them out on April 19th for Record Store Day itself, or whenever you have time. They have a lot of offer year round.
Providence, Rhode Island
History
Olympic Records opened in July of 2011. Born out of a love for records and music and an out of control personal record collection, my wife Erika and I decided to go for it and open a store. Providence’s East Side hadn’t had a record store that carried new music since Tom’s Tracks closed in early 2008 and that was a hole that I hoped we could fill. As luck would have it I drove by the Wickenden Street location and within a month had signed a lease. It really came together super quickly. A handful of friends and I turned what was a former personal trainer type gym into a record store in a month and a half and the store has been open 7 days a week going on three years now. Customer service has always been a high priority and I really enjoy hunting down things or special ordering records customers have been looking for.
Selection
New or Used I try to bring in the best quality records that I can find. You won’t find any dollar bins full of scratched up classics or mint condition filler, I try to curate what I put out on the floor leaning more towards the oddball and off the beaten path stuff within any one genre of music. I only sell vinyl (LPs and 45’s) and a small amount of local cassettes. All used vinyl is inspected, machine cleaned, and bagged before hitting the bins. The focus of Olympic Record’s new vinyl is on Indie Rock, Local Music, and anything else interesting that I come across or customers recommend to me. I hope to create a clean comfortable environment for people and their friends to shop and hang out in. I have two pinball machines and chairs and books for people who might not have a record player yet or can’t browse as long as their friends.
Location
The shop is seconds from I-95 with ample parking out front, easy on easy off. Olympic records is located at 580 Wickenden Street, Providence RI and is open Mon-Sat 10-7 and Sunday 10-1. Buy / Sell / Trade / Want Lists Accepted. Cats, Dogs, kids and ?’s are OK by me.
Somerville, MA
History
I opened the store in 2011. I used to shop at all the other local shops, and they all seemed busy enough, and there was no store in Somerville, so I thought I could get one going. I always wanted to.
Selection
Somerville Grooves sells vinyl, new releases as well as used, and a small selection of CDs. The store, in Union Square Somerville, opened in 2011. Selection includes lots of vintage rock and soul — popular and obscure — as well as jazz, classical, reggae, country, dance/disco, pop and rock-and-roll oldies, and more. Lots of LPs for under $1, as well as plenty of premium stuff.
Location
26 Union Square, Somerville
Thanks so much to the shop owners for taking the time to talk to us! Check out their facebook pages for their hours, swing by and say hi, and maybe find some hidden treasures. Stay tuned for the second installment to take a look inside two more of our local record store gems.