Saturday, April 23 is Record Store Day, and to celebrate, we’re highlighting Cincinnati’s top three record stores as voted by Cincinnatians in the CityBeat 2022 Best Of Cincinnati® readers poll.
No. 1 - Everybody’s Records
Everybody’s Records is a classic record shop in Pleasant Ridge. June 1, 1978, was the exact date Marilyn Kirby opened the doors at 6106 Montgomery Road as a used records outlet. The store eventually expanded to take over four storefronts on its block and has become an indispensable resource for record-heads in the area, carrying local music (many Cincinnati musicians have also worked the register at Everybody's over the years), the latest releases, rarities, T-shirts, a still-bountiful collection of used and new vinyl and much more. Staff members pride themselves on running a record store for everyone, offering every genre, from rap to indie to country to gospel. Everybody’s Records, 6106 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, everybodysrecords.com.
No. 2 - Shake It Records
Shake It has done a lot to put Cincinnati on music-driven map. Co-founded and co-owned by brothers Jim and Darren Blase, Shake It first opened its doors in Northside in 1999; two years later — on, of all dates, Sept. 11, 2001 — the store moved into its current location at 4156 Hamilton Ave. Shake It — which, along with used and new vinyl and CDs, also stocks an eclectic mix of books, magazines, T-shirts and various tchotchkes and other esoterica — began as a record label, and the current store is home to a permanent exhibit dedicated to the region’s music scene. On Record Store Day, Shake It and Rhinegiest are teaming up for a day of good music, good beer and giving back. Rhinegiest will be serving up its IPA Slow Jam, and $1 from every pint sold will be donated to MyCincinnati Youth Orchestra. Shake It Records, 4156 Hamilton Ave., Northside, shakeitrecords.com.
No. 3 - Torn Light Records
Torn Light Records’ offering of oddities spans an impressively diverse range of tastes and formats. You are best heading into the store without a specific purchase in mind — perusing shelves stocked with obscure cassette tapes and shoeboxes of ’90s Emo records is enough to pique any music nerd’s curiosity. Whether you find a Black Metal demo with an impossible-to-read title, an old LP dedicated to recordings of heartbeats, an angsty teenager’s homemade poetry chapbook or an HP Lovecraft paperback, you’ll always leave with something unexpected. Head over to Torn Light on Record Store Day from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. to check out hundreds of limited titled and more than 500 newly available records. Torn Light Records, 356 Ludlow Ave., Clifton, tornlightrecords.com.
While CityBeat readers really know what they’re talking about, Greater Cincinnati has additional record stores that we love, including Plaid Room Records in Loveland, Jet Age Records in Newport and Another Part of the Forest in Over-the-Rhine. But there are endless options for great vinyl spots in Cincinnati. Visit recordstoreday.com to see which ones are participating in Record Store Day on April 23, as well as the list of limited-edition albums that many shops will have.
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