The biannual event, which takes place in April and November, began in 2008 and has expanded to include independent record stores around the world, offering hundreds of rare and limited titles. Local shops of every size along the Front Range taking part, giving you a chance to grab exclusive releases, take part in special giveaways and compare notes with fellow obsessives from Longmont to Littleton. But if you see something on the list of this year's releases that you really, really want, prepare to rise early: Camping out on the sidewalk the night before to nab the best spots in line is not unheard of.
Below are the best places to grab a vinyl on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 12:
Getting to the front of the line on Record Store Day often requires camping overnight.
Courtesy of Twist and Shout
Twist and Shout
2508 East Colfax
8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A trip to Twist and Shout is always the best: In addition to seemingly endless rows of vinyl, the longtime Colfax collector destination carries a massive amount of CDs, movies, Funko Pops, books, clothing and more. A neighbor to the Tattered Cover and the Sie Film Center, Twist's reputation for a peerless Record Store Day goes back to when book and record stores and theaters stayed open until 9 p.m. or even later. If you were leaving a movie at the Sie in the middle of the night and saw an unusual assortment of people camping in lawn chairs outside of the Twist doors, you knew why.
The knowledge and professionalism of longtime staffer-turned-owner Pat Brown and his crew are legendary. For a great example, take a look at this year's helpful informational video, which details line procedures, the complex's free parking garage, and the entire day from top to bottom. This is definitely one of the most reliable places to hunt (and sell or trade) vinyl in Denver, on Record Store Day, or any other.
Angelo's CDs and Vinyl
1959 South Broadway
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
16725 East Iliff, Aurora
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Angelo's CDs and Vinyl is celebrating an impressive milestone this year along with its RSD festivities: It's been in the music-retail business for 35 years, long known in the area at various locations for maintaining a large stock of CDs and other media in addition to vinyl. Both of its current shops (one on South Broadway in Denver, the other in Aurora on East Iliff) are opening at a bleary-eyed 6 a.m. on Saturday, with giveaways (for tickets, turntables, and tee's), first-come, first-serve RSD releases and local DJ's spinning vinyl all day.
Wax Trax Records
638 East 13th Ave.
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar
200 South Broadway
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wax Trax Records on East 13th Avenue happens to be Colorado's oldest record store, but more than that, it represents an important piece of Denver's larger connection to underground music history. Started by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, it was a key stop for the music-loving duo, made just before they founded the influential '80s record label of the same name. Wax Trax!, the label, simmered and crunched in Chicago clubs and teenage bedrooms around the world with releases by obscure and industrial legends, including Ministry, Coil, KMFDM and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. Saturday's attendees won't just be hunting this year's holy grails — they'll be raising a cup to Nash and Flesher's lifelong dream of providing hard-to-find music for people like them. What's more "Record Store Day" than that?
Wax Trax has been sprouting exciting new branches in recent years, with a new Broadway Bazaar location (still lots of vinyl, but also vintage and home decor), which received a Best of Denver award, as well as a pop-up kiosk at Stanley Marketplace. RSD releases will be available at two of the three Wax Trax spots, each with its own focus and musical guests. Those in line early on 13th Street will receive free donut bites and coffee from breakfast joint Jelly while supplies last; on Broadway, shoppers will get a later start and a more curated offering of the day's releases. In the tunes department, 13th Street will see Hip-hopper Rex Winnfield perform a yet-to-be-released new EP at 2 p.m., followed by the band Pink Lady Monster at 3 p.m. Down at Broadway Bazaar, producer, DJ and musician Neon Brown will drop an all-vinyl DJ set at 1 p.m.
Black and Read
6655 Wadsworth Blvd.
9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Arvada fixture Black and Read is the last "old guard" shop on the list, having been around for more than thirty years. It's known as much for books, toys and a great tabletop game selection as for its wide-ranging selection of vinyl. On Saturday, it will have a pile of RSD releases, including this year's coveted Snoopy and Dogfish Head posters. There will also be a giveaway with some seriously tasty stuff for the discerning music fan, including two tickets to the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show at the Mission Ballroom in July, a Victrola record player and more. The store also promises that ample coffee, doughnuts and bottled water will be available to keep its patient customers hydrated and energized.
Drop to Pop Records and Curio
2185 North Broadway
10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Drop to Pop is one of many newcomers cropping up on the local scene lately, which is always an exciting prospect for true vinyl fans: You can never have enough room for crates to dig in. Drop to Pop is also one of several local stores on Saturday that aren't offering official RSD releases — but don't take it off your list of stops, because it will still be rocking on Saturday, celebrating its second anniversary with a can't-miss ripper of a hardcore show featuring Denver bands Polish and Fatalist. The store is perfect for it, with that cramped, records-up-the wall-and-all-over-everything vibe that's a joy to browse in. Saturday's show is free and starts promptly at 8 p.m. As the flyer puts it: "Show up late: miss out!" Hey — some of us have to get up in the morning.
Invincible Vinyl
99 Kalamath Street
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Invincible Vinyl is another local "doing its own thing" on Saturday — the flyer on Instagram says "Record Store Deal Day" — by doing its best to top and tempt you away from the official RSD happenings with massive discounts and one-time-only sales. Those deals include more than 100 new records available at wholesale cost, "white sticker items" hidden throughout the store at $2 and $5 dollar discounts, $1 classical records, a further half off on the already marked down "please love me" discount record section and more. If you like to dig, save money and get weird with it, this could be the place you need in your life. Invincible also gives free stickers for every purchase: Who doesn't love that?
Sold Out Vinyl Records
3751 South Broadway, Englewood
6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sold Out Vinyl is another new business, as well as another Best of Denver winner — but it's all over Record Store Day like a veteran. With more than 300 titles expected (everything on this year's list, with extras of those likely to be top releases), the freshly minted Sold Out is anticipating its biggest event yet. More orders mean more chances for customers to get what they want, and for those unable to make it to Saturday's event, the online sale of left-over items starts exactly one day later, at 6 a.m. on Sunday, April 13. Add to that a combination of an extra-early start time and a free parking lot, and it means you have a great chance at getting your hands on all that crazy RSD goodness.
Recycled Records
1067 South Hover Street C, Longmont
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Recycled Records is one for all the crate-diggers a little further up the front range, who will be feeling left out on Saturday if they don't get to flip through sleeves with itchy fingers. Good news: There's no need to make the trek down to Denver, because this Longmont vinyl vault has you covered. Like its counterparts, Recycled Records is offering all the usual RSD staples and bells and whistles: exclusive drops, raffle giveaways for vinyl, merch and gift certificates and top-quality tunes courtesy of the staff all day long.
Paradise Found Records and Music
1646 Pearl Street, Boulder
7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Paradise Found — formerly known as Bart's Record Shop — is a great Boulder option. Not only will it be knee-deep in RSD releases, the raffle prizes include an Audio Technica Turntable, tickets to the Bluebird Music Festival, the Grateful Dead Europe '72 box set, LP crates, gift cards, tee shirts and more, but for serious prizes, serious money must be spent: tickets to the giveaway will be traded for each $100 spent on RSD releases.
Vinyl Valhalla
9729 West Coal Mine Ave Unit X, Littleton
8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Family-owned Vinyl Valhalla is proud to deliver priceless slabs of wax to the vinyl true believers from Littleton and beyond. On Saturday, it will have records from all three of the release categories (Exclusives, RSD First and Small Run/Regional), as well as giveaways for RSD merchandise. In keeping with the shop's homey vibe, there will also be coffee for those in line and a free breakfast burrito for the first fifty customers through the door. It has a few guard rails up for the event: Only one copy of each title will be permitted per purchase (although you may wait in line again for a shot at another copy), and the store's maximum capacity will be ten customers at a time.
