In the last few years, we have seen the demise of the large box record stores such as Tower Records, Virgin Mega Store, Sam Goody and a few others that I can’t remember. Why have they disappeared? I have my theories, but for the most part I feel that it is due to the quality of the product that is being produced for a very large price tag. Most of the time we are searching for one particular track from an album (for lack of a better word to use). Why should we have to buy a CD at $20 when the track can be bought online for less than $1.

The other main reason why record stores have been disappearing is that CD sales have gone down. Back when CDs came into the market in the 1980s, CDs were thought to be the replacement to the vinyl record.  Why is this? It is possible that the sound of a CD is too cold and impersonal. Although it seems impossible that CDs will disappear, they have become a less demanded item by the listening public.

There is a new breed of record stores emerging across the country, but they’re not for purchasing the newest releases. They’re coming into existence primarily for the indie sales and vintage releases which aficionados are seeking. They are ”curated” rather than stocked and if there is something that someone is looking for, the store owner will seek it out. It will be interesting to see what happens with this trend over the next few years as the youth continue to discover the music from previous decades hidden on LPs and other non-digital media.

Our digital and technology driven world will continue, but I think that there will be a regression to want to be able to touch as see music history as well as have that person-to-person conversation about quality music.

If we think back before the days of MP3 players and the Internet, the only place we could get the newest recordings from an artist were brick and mortar record stores like Virgin, Tower or Sam Goody. Based on my most current research, all three seem to be now gone. The only remnants of these giants are their online stores.

I remember growing up in the eighties and going to one of the major record stores and looking at all the endless racks that were filled with just about every artist that was current. And….there  was a choice between the vinyl, CD or cassette. Eventually the cassettes died as portable CD players around and then came MP3 players. The rest is history. It is now sad to see what actually is stocked on the shelves at stores and those who work there are not even familiar with some of the artists that are requested by us seasoned die hard CD aficionados.

It truly is a shame to see the traditional record stores go by the way side of online. But, it is also sad to acknowledge that the acceptance of less fidelity is getting higher. We have lost the art of being able to truly listen to music and appreciate it in a non-personal player. Along with the sound, the ability to study the album inserts and cover art is also going away. Some of the excitement of buying a new album was in the digesting of the album notes and other documentation that came along with the album, regardless of the format.

I truly feel that an unjust movement in the music industry has transpired over the past decade. Not only have we lost giant businesses, but have lost the ability to appreciate the art for what it is in the larger sense of the matter. The unjust to live music has also sanctioned this demise of the music industry. I hope that at one point we do experience a renaissance in the old traditional sense of experiencing music and the various art forms which were once associated with the release of a new album.