Record Store Day returns April 18. A day to celebrate vinyl, record stores and the crate diggers who love them. What started as a grassroots initiative by independent stores in the early 2000s has evolved into a kind of marketing mania in which rabid collectors wait in line to buy limited quantities of exclusive RSD-only items. Not every record store is into that. Most Boston area shops downplay the mania and just take an extra moment to appreciate what it’s all about: the music.
Hat tip to Vinyl Index at Bow Market for turning that “extra moment” into an all-day party.
Cheapo Records
538 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge
The Central Square store has all the ambiance you want from a crate digger’s paradise in a neighborhood that loves music, plus a stock of vintage apparel out front on sunny days. For the real bargains, look through the dollar bins in the vestibule. Otherwise, head inside for a mix of new and used records across genres.
Planet Records
144 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
Keep walking past the tiki bar on Auburn Street (you know the one) and you’ll arrive at Planet Records. The store packs a lot of appeal into a shotgun-style space with the classic “island” floorplan. A deep vinyl stock is complemented by a CD selection, plus a modest array of DVD and tapes. The helpful staff will answer all your questions, but the contents of the bargain “mystery bags” must remain secret until after purchase.
Armageddon Shop
12 Eliot St. B, Harvard Square, Cambridge
Peter Thiel’s favorite record store? I promise you won’t get any lectures about “the Antichrist” in this basement shop. Just lots and lots of metal and punk. That’s its specialty. Other genres are stocked and sorted haphazardly, but that means there are gems in the bunch that fainter hearts won’t have the fortitude to find. Seek and ye shall hit a winner. Enjoy a colorful collection of music-adjacent merch, books, mags and videos too.
Newbury Comics
The Garage, 36 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
Hardly the connoisseur’s pick, yet what longtime local doesn’t have sentimental memories about youthful sojourns to this New England staple? The record selection is “blue chip” artists only. You’re not going to find bargains. And the general inventory these days is dominated mostly by Funko dolls. That might not be your bag, but the agent Dale Cooper doll would look awfully cute on anyone’s bookshelf.
Big Dig Records
2325 Massachusetts Ave., North Cambridge
A classic all-arounder record shop with fair prices, helpful staff, easy to navigate layout and assorted antiquarian knickknacks that catch your eye. The record shop’s collection is searchable and sortable online at its website. Which is why I know that Kenny Burrell’s self-titled 1956 LP is its most expensive item at a cool $1,099.99. Wowza! I promise you that’s an outlier and you’ll discover some deals.
Vinyl Index
1 Bow Market Way No. 25, Union Square, Somerville
No one leans into Record Store Day like Vinyl Index. Come for the records, stay for the party, featuring a tidal wave of DJs. Bow Market regular Soulelujah spins records in the courtyard, joined by the Salem Funk Crew and DJ Frank White with an all-45 set. Allegra Thomas and a_ronioius spin inside the store. And the adjacent event space Upstairs at Bow bounces all day, featuring Angel Javier & La Diáspora Combo, Mint Pillow, Mister Jason & T-Scraps, LDER, Rilla Force, DJ Palm Butta, Pierre Amour, Jorahzo, 1800ShortKing and Charles.AVP. Who needs Coachella? RSVP here.
Stereo Jack’s Records
736 Broadway, Ball Square, Somerville
You’ll find this shop about halfway between Powder House and Ball squares, where it relocated after being pushed out of the Porter Square area by rising rents. The original owner retired during the transition, but new ownership soldiered on with the original name and most of the inventory. Stereo Jack’s has got you covered with a savvily curated selection. With a friendly and knowledgeable staff, it’s one of the best local spots to while away the afternoon talking vinyl.
About The Author
