Turn on the turntable, lower the arm, flip the record over to side 2.
It’s a tradition that has returned to the music scene in force, driven by record buffs who weren’t born when the CD took over the stereo 40 years ago.
What the older generation called albums or LPs is now known as vinyl, and it’s the best-selling format out there, having outsold CDs since 2021.
Michael Papa, owner of Merle’s Record Rack in Orange, which turned 60 last year, said records, and music in general, are a unifying force.
“There’s no politics involved and it crosses all barriers,” he said. “You feel 18 again when you pick up the Guns N’ Roses album and you’re 50 years old.”
The younger crowd is buying records to replace streaming music on their smartphones, Papa said, while their parents, when they aren’t filling out their CD collection, are buying LPs they once owned and gave away or were tossed out by their mothers.
“They really enjoy the vibe of the business and the feel of a real record store and something tangible they can leave with,” he said. “They’re not tethered to a computer or a streaming device.”
And while new releases are popular among young listeners — nearly all albums are released on vinyl now — they’re also buying classic rock, like their parents. Everyone still loves the Beatles.
“They still sell,” Papa said. “Elvis still sells, and Sinatra — never going to go away.”
Claiming the largest LP collection in the state, Papa said the age range is wide. “The heart of it, the bread and butter of it, is probably 25 to 50,” he said. “They want Jimi Hendrix; they want the Grateful Dead, the Pink Floyds, the Zeppelins. … They’re not asking for Britney Spears.”
Merle’s, named for 1962 owner Merle Shaw and once a chain that stretched to Weymouth, Mass., also sells stereo equipment: speakers, turntables, amplifiers.
“Everybody’s getting back into this, but whenever somebody’s record player breaks, what do they do?” Papa said.
“I didn’t have a turntable for a long time,” said Pat Libero, 53, of North Haven, who was browsing in Merle’s. “Now that I’ve got one I’m trying to re-create some of the past.” He said buying the record player was “one of those pandemic purchases. It’s just so much fun.”
Libero said having good stereo equipment completes the experience. He said he plans to buy vintage equipment from classic manufacturers such as Matsui and McIntosh.
“The sound is amazing. It’s just a different feel. It’s just richer,” he said. “It’s just the whole ritual of picking out the vinyl, turning on the turntable and dropping the needle. It’s just so cool. It’s like being a kid again.”
Matt Buccaro of Guilford, 53, brought in records to sell. “My grandfather used to collect vinyl so I inherited a huge collection of his, so I went through them all to see which ones I could sell,” he said.
“It breaks my heart to throw them out.” But he’s planning to downsize and doesn’t have the room for them all. Papa had bad news, though. Most of the LPs were common and he offered $20 in store credit.
“Once I get eight copies of Barry Manilow I don’t need any more,” Papa said.
“It’s been going great. The vinyl thing’s been going for a while now,” said Brian Gerosa of Gerosa Records in Brookfield. “Every year it’s been better and better.” He said things picked up with Record Store Day, an annual event held since 2007 to promote independent record stores. This year it will be held April 22.
Gerosa said COVID definitely hurt his business. “We were completely closed for six months,” he said. “I took that time to reestablish my internet presence and reorganize a lot of things. Since we reopened, it’s been stronger than ever.”
He said he sees 15- and 16-year-olds too.
“The people that are buying them are getting younger and younger,” Gerosa said. “They’re just so anxious to be part of this thing that’s going on. They just want to have a record.” Some don’t even have turntables yet, he said.
“It’s become a part of pop culture again the way it was in the past,” Gerosa said. It brings in all ages, including the “guy who’s 25 — he never even had a CD,” he said. “They love everything about it.”
Gerosa also buys records. “The phone rings off the hook. We buy records every single day,” he said. It keeps his inventory fresh and ever-changing.
Ian Schlein, owner of Records, the Good Kind in Vernon, thinks the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in vinyl’s resurgence. “There wasn’t much to do. Records are a good thing to do when you’re stuck in the house.”
While sales had slowed in 2020, leading Schlein to think the boom might be ending, “2021 was the best year we ever had,” he said.
He sells mostly used records — classic rock “is always popular” — and doesn’t get too many new releases. One phenomenon he sees is fans “buying back records they regret having sold.”
“Some people are like, I threw my records away and now I’m buying them back,” Schlein said.
In fact, those who hung on to their old 12-inch albums and can’t or don’t play them anymore are in a good spot. “The average record is worth more now than it was 15 years ago,” he said, as long as it’s in good condition.
While rock is popular, “metal is worth way more than ever and there’s not enough out there,” Schlein said. He said he pays about a third of what he sells the records for.
Josh Carlson, co-owner of Redscroll Records in Wallingford, said he’s doing “pretty well. It’s not ever going to be back to what it was, but it’s a pretty niche thing. It’s been decent.” He sells new LPs and used records “generally back to the early ’60s.”
“Our business just grows year after year,” Carlson said.
At Exile on Main Street in Branford, co-owner Paula Kretkiewicz said “all ages, teenagers to 70-year-olds” are buying records, including rock, rap and jazz. She said she sells about half LPs and half CDs.
Vinyl “just started really picking up the past three or four years,” she said. “Just about everybody’s putting out vinyl.”
Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
