KELSEY WALKER

There’s nothing quite like walking into a record store–the papery smell of old vinyl sleeves worn down by the decades; the sight of the shiny plastic coverings of brand new, never before touched or listened to albums, begging to be opened and brought to life. Luckily, for music aficionados, the vinyl record has seen a resounding revival. One of the key players in the distance that vinyl has gone as well as the resurgence taking place in recent years is the local, independent record store. Without these establishments taking the time to curate and collect selections of these used-to-be relics, vinyl may have died out indefinitely.

What began in 2007 as a simple idea to bring the nearly 1,400 independently owned U.S. record stores together, Record Store Day has become a holiday marked off on every music collectors’ calendar. The date exists to celebrate and spread the word about record stores’ unique culture, bringing staff, customers and artists together. The 10-year anniversary falls on April 22, and you can expect to find a number of specially released vinyl, CDs and other products to be dropping exclusively at a record store near you.

AFK Books & Records will be opening doors bright and early at 6 a.m. when they’ll be handing out numbered line placeholders. The first 100 people will get custom Record Store Day/AFK tote bags. Sales won’t begin until 8 a.m., but “first picks” and giveaways are expected to start as early as 7:15 a.m. For any Record Store Day item purchased, customers can get an additional 25 percent off any pre-enjoyed item in the store. They’ll even have breakfast and coffee courtesy of HK on the Bay from 6-8:30 a.m.

So, go support your local record store! Whether you’re an experienced collector or a bargain junkie, Record Store Day is an event you don’t want to skip out on.