2023! We're done here, people.
Okay, that’s a wrap. 12 months, 12 records stores(ish). This little jaunt spanned six states (I am granting D.C. statehood for our purposes here) and included one traveling record show. Stores visited: January: Crooked Beat Records February: Academy LPs March: Byrdland April: VoltageRecords May: Record Riot June: Electric Buddhas July: Tumbleweeds August: Red Onion Records September: SOM Records October: Village Revival Records November: Smash Records December: Celebrated Summer That first one I went to, Crooked Beat, is the closest to my home. And they are moving even closer. Its current neighborhood is tearing down a block to rebuild it into something fancier. Luckily, Crooked Beat has found a new home. Shops like this don't always get to live on. They need your business and mine. I'm done writing about this stuff, but I will keep seeking these places out. Oh, and hot tip: checking out the local record store while traveling is a pretty swell...