Local Record Stores Talk Vinyl

TWIN PORTS — From the sound quality to the artistry vinyl records have made their comeback.

Large department stores often carry some of the most popular records.

But more unique selections are best found at your local record store.

Vinyl records have made their way back into mainstream media.

Local shops River City Records and Globe News are catering to the craze.

“A lot of younger folks I see are kind of getting into it, asking a lot of questions about players, what they need for accessories. What’s the difference between a 45 and a 33 so it’s really cool to watch the market kind of blow up and expand, especially to a younger audience, because it ensures longevity in what we’re doing here.” said Jon Fritsche, Owner of Globe News in Superior.

“You don’t need to have a super elaborate, expensive setup, you can start simple, whether it’s one of the little travel turntables, or, I don’t know, an older turntable with some headphones. You don’t have to throw 1000s of dollars at a system right away. You don’t have to buy 800 records right off the bat. You can just slowly develop your collection” shared Dury Nelson, Manager of River City Records and Books in Duluth.

When the digitalization became standard with CDs and then the rise of MP3’s, vinyl records were seen as old fashioned.

But now, they are making their way back into the zeitgeist.

“Physical media is kind of making a comeback, and what was old is now new.” said Fritsche.

“Physical media is definitely coming back. A lot of it has to do with streaming. You have the convenience, but sometimes you don’t have as much variety. You run into connection issues, and sometimes the sound quality just isn’t up to par. with vinyl, you have a physical copy, you have the artwork in front of you, and you own it.” said Nelson.

Owning it is the key here.

Streaming services can decide to pull your favorite media from their libraries at any time.

Physical media stays around, and vinyl’s are one of the few analogue audio sources still widely available.

“I think vinyl in general, just has, like, the best sound. You know, there’s just something nostalgic about kind of the needle noise, the crackling and the occasional, you know, pause between songs, you just don’t get that high quality sound, I think, that you do when you listen to something digitally.” shared Fritsche.

Beyond that, the collectability of vinyl also comes into play.

“With newer artists getting into it now, there are all these different pigments. You can have colored vinyl, transparent vinyl. You get the elaborate box sets with posters and photos, lyric sheets, and I don’t know there’s a lot more, just heart and soul into it that, I don’t know, as an artist, I really like.” said Nelson.

As for the local offerings…

“So generally, we cater to more like rock, more newer releases and like punk metal. We try to keep an eclectic mix in store, but we have everything from like opera, the hip hop to just, I dunno, Grateful Dead, a little bit of everything in between.” said Nelson.

“I focus a lot more on the vintage side of things, not so much the newer albums that you’ll find at like the box stores, you know, I like to go out and find the stuff that people’s aunt uncles, Grandma Grandpas have sitting around, find the good stuff that, you know, those, those diamond in the rough kind of vinyl’s.” said Fritsche