Long lineups at independent Ontario retailers stores for Record Store Day

Vinyl is back in a big way and if the annual turnouts for Record Store Day are any indication, so is the love for the independent record stores.

The 18th annual celebration of independent record stores and vinyl records happened Saturday and hundreds of collectors lined up – two diehards even set up shop outside the store with sleeping bags the night before – to get their hands on rare and new titles, with some only available that day.

Andre Lessard at Another Spin Records on Bond Street in downtown Oshawa said Saturday’s event even topped Record Store Day in 2024, which he described as “our craziest ever,” with vinyl fans lined up around the block at before 5 a.m. to be first in the store for the 10 a.m. opening.

2025 did that day one better, with a couple of dedicated record lovers “camping out at 8 at night.”

“It was fantastic – double the year before,” Lessard said after the crowds had thinned out two hours after opening.

Some of the hot sellers Saturday included the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack, a new album from rising pop star Gracie Abrams (who opened for Taylor Swift on the ‘Eras’ tour) and a record from Icelandic star Laufey.

“They were all gone in the first ten minutes,” Lessard said.

The event also gave customers a chance to win rare vinyl from Chappell Roan, Swift and the Tragically Hip.

Business was also brisk at Kops Records, just around the corner on King Street, with long lines snaking around the store just after the 11 a.m. opening.

“It’s been great, said Kops manager Will McGuirk, who was calling the event ‘Taylor Swift Appreciation Day,’ with plenty of titles to satisfy the Swifties, as well as other hard-to-find records. “We appreciate all the support from our customers.”

Record Store Day is a semi-annual event first held in 2008 to “celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store” and bring together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores from around the world.

The resurgence of vinyl records has boosted the popularity of the event every year since its inception, making it a fun day for record collectors and the world’s largest music event, with popular bands releasing full LPs from their past, with many of the albums offered with a new features and a higher quality vinyl that mirrors the type on the original releases.

As well, a number of records are pressed specifically for the event and are only distributed to shops participating in the event.

Now and Then (Oshawa), Sunrise (Pickering), Zap’s Record in Cobourg and Another Spin locations in Oshawa, Bowmanville, Ajax and Whitby also participated in the event from Durham Region and parts east.

Kops Records in Oshawa