And although the absolute greatest thing about Record Store Day is that it shows some love to the independent record stores and the people who celebrate them, it’s also about the special releases - the limited edition albums that you can only get on Record Store Day. Now there are stores participating in Record Store Day on every continent except Antarctica. Record Store Day began in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees who wanted to celebrate the vibrant and unique culture of the 1000 or so independent record stores in the US and the many thousands more internationally. Record Store Day is a great time to visit your local record store, meet fellow like-minded denizens of the beanbag and basement, and walk out with an armful of bargains. And with Record Store Day on Saturday April 19, it seems like the ideal time to reflect on this most groovy (pardon the pun - no, y’know what? Let’s celebrate the pun) music delivery system. There’s just a special magic about removing a record from its jacket, carefully placing it on your turntable, dropping the needle and taking in the album cover art (preferably while seated in a beanbag and illuminated by a blacklight). Whether it’s guitars based on designs from the 1950s or vinyl records (which had been around since the late 1980s but which many feel reached a golden age in the 60s and 70s), we’re sticklers for tradition, not only because it feels comfortable and tactile, but because it still sounds great. And sure, that’s what it’s like if you’re using a very high-end sound system with a lossless medium.īut what we listen to music on bares an interesting parallel to what we actually play it on: A decade and a half into the 21st century we’re still using gear that matured in the 20th century. You would think that with decades of development, we’d be listening to music in a digital form so advanced that it would feel like the musicians are right there in the room with you.