Record Store Day— the worldwide celebration of retail’s version of mini-music museums — happens this Sat., April 18, and with just a few hours left before vinyl enthusiasts take over shops looking for limited edition offerings (and hopefully buying lots of local product), Tampa Bay has landed on a national Top 10 list of cities that support music on wax.
Compiled collaboratively by worldwide search-and-discovery mobile application Foursquare (4SQ) and real estate search engine Redfin, the “Top 10 Cities Keeping Vinyl Music Alive” listed Tampa/St. Petersburg at No. 6 — above heavyweights like New York, Philly and Austin, but below municipalities of Portland, Chapel Hill, Vegas, Omaha, and Milwaukee.
“We’re a team of culture fans and urban explorers just like our community of users. We love to identify what’s new and interesting around our neighborhood, our city, and the globe — and to share it with others,” Sarah Spagnolo, 4SQ’s Editor at Large, told CL.
She lauded St. Pete’s Daddy Kool records as the top-ranked shop in the area (Mojo Books & Music and Microgroove came in second and third, respectively), and commented about her own favorite shop — Generation Records in Manhattan — making the list. “[It’s] just seven blocks from Foursquare's SoHo headquarters," she added.
For the report, 4SQ evaluated 60 major metropolitan areas, and the cities were ranked in order of those that have the most record shops per capita. They then pinpointed the top shops in each of the locations using their rating system, which factors in likes, dislikes, popularity, loyalty, and local expertise info gathered through the app. Redfin then calculated how many new LPs — at $20 a pop — you could buy with the same amount of cash it would take to buy a median-priced home in that area (2,835 records for our neck of the woods, where the median price of a home is $56,700 according to the study).
Have a look at the full list of cities and their best shops below. Tell us where you like to buy records in the comments.
TOP CITIES FOR RECORD SHOP LOVERS AND TOP RATED STORE
01. Portland, Oregon (Music Millenium)
02. Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina (CD Alley)
03. Las Vegas/Paradise, Nevada (Zia Record Exchange)
04. Omaha, Nebraska (Homer’s Music)
05. Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Exclusive Company)
06. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida (Daddy Kool Records)
07. Madison, Wisconsin (Strictly Discs)
08. New York, New York (Generation Records)
09. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Main Street Music)
10. Austin, Texas (Waterloo Records)
(*using 4SQ data)