Record Resurgence, In Boston and Beyond

 

Graphic created by Carys Hirawady

Living in a digital era completely transforms the way music can be experienced. Because of services like Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and more, we have the ability to access almost any song we could ever want in a matter of seconds. Gone are the days where the only way to listen to one song required you to sit through an entire side of a record — now we have the power to mix and match, to type specific lyrics or keywords into the search bar that instantly plays the nameless song we can’t get out of our heads.  If listening to music is so incredibly accessible to us now, why do we find ourselves retreating to records? 

The first record was created in 1877, undergoing countless transformations to get to the colorful vinyl we see today. Record shops have popped up all over the country, if not the world. Physical records experienced a resurgence around 2006, and sales have been thriving since.  There’s something so different and special about listening to music on a record player: getting to actually touch the music with your hands, placing down the record, waiting for the needle to drop, and hearing the song start to play so deep and so clear that it feels like there’s a live show right inside your soul. It’s a magical experience that simply can’t be replicated by hitting some buttons on your phone or laptop. 

27.8 million LPs sold in 2020, which is 9 million more sales than in 2019 and more than 30 times the number of sales in 2006 when the comeback began. The spike in 2020 could be credited to the popularity of vinyl collecting amongst younger generations, but it could also be because people were searching for any physical experience or sense of normalcy during the pandemic. Ordering your favorite album on vinyl online gave you something to look forward to while stuck at home; once it arrived, you were able to create your own moment with the music, appreciating the vibrational depth and energy it reverberated in the absence of live concerts. 

John Damroth, the owner of Planet Records in Cambridge, observed the sudden spike in the popularity of records and turntables occurred when stores like Urban Outfitters and Target started selling store-exclusive packaging and colors. They each have walls of records, ranging from trendy artists like Tame Impala and Lana Del Rey to some of the classics like The Beatles or Pink Floyd. Because stores typically geared for a younger demographic began to sell them, records became “the thing.

The “art hoe” aesthetic of 2015 and 2016 did nothing but encourage young people to start buying records soon enough, virtually every teenager’s room contained Mac Demarco albums and a Crosley record player. Damroth definitely noticed a change in the clientele of Planet Records, saying that it shifted from older people looking for old classical records to college kids looking for modern artists. 

It’s not just Planet Records experiencing this jump — record stores across the Greater Boston area are hopping with youngsters, most notably being Cheapo Records in Cambridge. Cheapo is arguably the most popular record store around, (at least the most popular with Emerson students). They’ve been open since 1954, offering a huge range of records from old to new as well as CDs, cassette tapes, posters, clothing, and much more. The small space is always packed corner to corner with people digging through bins of vinyl. The staff, especially the owner Allen, is ready to help with any questions you might have. 

Younger generations seem to have an affinity for “vintage” and “retro” things, and records fall right into that category. We also might be influenced by our parents or any older people in our lives. Personally, my dad was in the true punk scene in the 1980s. He has dozens of albums from those days; the ones I remember him playing the most are The Germs, Minor Threat, Misfits, and Crass. They were all stacked in a pile next to our TV stand because we didn’t have a record player for years. I was about 11 or 12 when we got a red record player that we shared, and his punk tunes rang through the whole house. His collection, and immense love for music, inspired mine. 

My personal record collection has grown so much in the last few years, especially if you include all of the amazing originals that got passed onto me. Even though digital music has become so accessible to us, finding records is pretty easy too. Whether it’s from an online seller, a local music shop, or even your neighborhood Target, you can easily get your hands on quality vinyl. I found two of my favorite records, an original 1971 Pearl by Janis Joplin and an original 1971 LA Woman by The Doors, at an antique mall in a random back room that I didn’t even know existed. When you’re saving music digitally you can just search for it and hit save, but half of the fun of record shopping is that you never know what you’re going to find. You could be flipping through albums for hours before you find an absolute gem that makes all your time worth it. Collecting records is such an amazing experience that allows the listener to feel so much more connected to the music or artist. It gives you a moment to sit and breathe with the songs while you look over the lyric sheet. And who doesn’t love physically seeing the accumulation of their album taste lined up next to each other?!

Wondering what to do with your next free Saturday? Check out the record shops in the Greater Boston area that we love:

  • Planet Records: 144 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138

  • Cheapo Records: 538 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

  • Looney Tunes: 16 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134

  • Blue Bag Records: 2325 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02140

  • In Your Ears Records: 957 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

  • Nuggets: 486 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

  • Stereo Jack’s: 1686 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

  • Newbury Comics: Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 1 N Market St #366, Boston, MA 02109 and 348 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02115

  • Wanna Hear It Records: 7 Main St, Watertown, MA 02472

  • Deep Thoughts JP: 138b South St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

  • Somerville Grooves: 26 Union Square, Somerville, MA 02143

  • Taurus Records: 1282 Blue Hill Avenue, Mattapan, MA 02126

  • Vinyl Index: 1 Bow Mkt Wy Unit 25, Somerville, MA 02143

 
Hayden Scoplitterecord shops, Boston, Vinyl