{"id":213672,"date":"2026-04-29T04:39:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/213672\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T04:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:39:22","slug":"record-store-day-nyc-2026-report-early-lines-across-brooklyn-queens-swift-grateful-dead-top-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/213672\/","title":{"rendered":"Record Store Day NYC 2026 Report: Early Lines Across Brooklyn & Queens, Swift & Grateful Dead Top\u00a0Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across the United\u202fStates some of the music industry\u2019s\u00a0legacy indie stores have been reporting their best day ever thanks to this year\u2019s Record Store Day (RSD 2026) release line-up. As usual, Retail Track implemented the annual RSD store crawl on Saturday (April 18), visiting 10 stores that day to witness first-hand how RSD was performing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But unlike past years when Retail Track started\u202ffurther afield\u00a0\u2014\u00a0in Poughkeepsie one year, in Patchogue another, and\u00a0once in\u00a0South Jersey\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and\u00a0stop by stores on the way back to New York City, this year the Crawl consisted\u202fof visiting stores in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the road trip culminating, as it usually does, at Rough Trade in Rockefeller Center for its annual Indie Plaza event.<\/p>\n

Retail Track began the day a little before 7:30 a.m.\u00a0in my hometown of Astoria, Queens, with a visit to Pancakes Records on Steinway Street.\u00a0There were already 60 people in line before the store\u2019s scheduled 8 a.m. opening, including Kyle, who arrived\u00a0first at 1 a.m. He said he was hoping to buy Laufey<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0A Matter Of\u00a0Time: Live at Madison Square Garden and Pink Pantheress<\/a>\u2019\u00a0Girl Like Me.\u00a0Second\u00a0in line was Jose, who got there at 2:30 a.m., whose coveted\u202frecord list included Paramore<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0All We Know Is Falling (Deluxe), Carly Rae Jepsen<\/a>\u2019s\u00a07-inch\u00a0\u201cDisco Darling\u201d and Dijon<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0How Do You Feel About Getting Married.<\/p>\n

Retail Track\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0wait for Pancakes Records to open. Instead, he hopped into his jalopy at 7:40 a.m.\u00a0and took off for Vinyl Veritas\u00a0\u2014 which opened\u00a0its flagship location in 2024 \u2014\u202fto see how long the\u00a0Brooklyn store\u2019s line was ahead of its scheduled\u00a08 a.m.\u00a0opening. It was the only other store on the Crawl list scheduled to open that early,\u00a0and \u2014\u00a0with Google Maps promising it was only nine miles and 19 minutes away\u00a0\u2014\u00a0there was just enough time. However, an overturned\u202fcar on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) stymied\u202fthat plan and Betsy III \u2014 Retail Track\u2019s\u00a02000 Buick LeSabre \u2014\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0turn onto Front Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dumbo until 8:30 a.m. Nevertheless, there was still a line of customers about 50 people long, suggesting\u00a0the queue was even longer when the store opened.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rather than get my ass kicked\u00a0by trying to jump the line, Retail Track figured\u00a0it was safer to interview Vinyl Veritas owner Will Grandberg,\u00a0via phone later. He reported two people were in line the midnight before RSD, with a third arriving at 3:45 a.m. on Saturday.\u00a0By the time he got to the store at 5 a.m., he says there were about a dozen people waiting.<\/p>\n

The store hosts two locations in the same building, including a street-level store on\u00a0Front Street, and another on the seventh floor. On the seventh floor, customers received refreshments and discount offers (as well as a few giveaways) while four DJs continued\u00a0to spin throughout the day\u2014\u00a0all livestreamed on Vinyl Veritas\u2019 Instagram account.\u00a0Grandberg declared\u00a0it their best day ever since\u00a0opening their\u00a0doors in January 2024, with the Grateful Dead<\/a> set being their top-seller for the day. Although, Grandberg shared,\u00a0he wished\u202fthe store had more inventory of Carly Rae Jepsen\u2019s \u201cDisco Darling\u201d single.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Vinyl
\n Vinyl Veritas <\/p>\n

Retail Track then made his way to 5th Avenue Records in Park Slope, which\u00a0the internet claims\u00a0is open\u00a0at 10 a.m.\u00a0on Saturday, but by 9:05 a.m., there wasn\u2019t any line. Since there was a parking spot out front and\u00a0the next group of stores on the crawl list\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0open until 10 a.m., Retail Track decided\u202fto investigate. Across the street was Smith\u2019s Tavern, a splendid dive establishment which was already open and had an impressive 10 customers. Since Retail Track was driving, it seemed\u00a0wise to forego asking for the usual can of PBR or Budweiser, and instead requested\u202fa Diet Coke, which subsequently turned out to be the worst Diet Coke ever. Regardless, Retail Track persisted\u202fin his informational quest,\u00a0and queries to the customers and bartender yielded\u202finformation that the store had been closed\u202ffor some\u00a0time. But, customers said,\u00a0every once in a while, the store\u00a0would\u00a0seemingly\u00a0open for a day or two\u00a0before once again shuttering\u00a0for weeks on end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next up, Retail Track drove to nearby Psychic Records, also in Park Slope, and, by 9:30 a.m.,\u00a0saw a line of about 15 people waiting ahead of the store\u2019s 11 a.m. opening. Henry was first in\u00a0line, and\u00a0was looking to buy the Stax\u00a0B-sides\u00a0record and Ray Charles Live set. Peyton was second in line\u00a0\u2014\u00a0even though, she claimed to have been the first to arrive at 7 a.m. However, she\u00a0says she had gone across the street for a coffee, thus losing her spot to Henry. But not to worry, her desired RSD titles were different than Henry\u2019s as she was looking for Taylor Swift<\/a> and Steely Dan<\/a> records and some jazz records for her dad. Peyton\u00a0told\u00a0Retail\u00a0Track\u00a0she chose to shop at Psychic for RSD because researched and heard people don\u2019t line up at the store as early as they do\u00a0at other\u00a0participating\u00a0places.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Retail Track left before the store\u00a0opened,\u00a0but spoke to Psychic Records owner Chris Lentz via phone\u00a0on Sunday, who said his store\u2019s big seller was Sonic Youth<\/a>\u2019s Diamond Seas. He also said that he sold many copies of the Springsteen album and a few Pink Floyd albums. Lentz also admitted\u202fthat he wished he had more copies of the RSD pop records like Charli xcx<\/a> and Jepsen. Overall, he says the store has a wide customer base,\u00a0so he carries\u00a0everything for\u00a0Taylor Swift to Throbbing Gristle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the last stop in the Park Slope segment of the RSD crawl, Retail Track headed\u202fto Sterling Records, arriving at 9:58 a.m. According to the internet,\u00a0the store usually opens at 10 a.m.\u00a0on Saturday. But,\u00a0in celebration of the RSD festivities, the store opened\u00a0earlier than expected, at 9:15 a.m. Sterling Records owner Gary Giddens reported\u202fto Retail Track that there were\u00a0about 30 people in line when he opened\u202fthe store. A perusal of the inventory showed\u202fthat at a little after 10 a.m., the store still had plenty of copies of The Cure<\/a>, Pink\u00a0Floyd<\/a> and Jeff Buckley<\/a> RSD releases,\u00a0but Sterling noted he could have used more of the Bruce Springsteen Live From Asbury Park 2024 boxset.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Retail Track left, Giddens\u00a0called to report the Buckley and Pink Floyd and Cure titles\u00a0had\u00a0sold out by noon. Other titles that did well were Olivia Dean<\/a>\u2019s \u201cBBC Radio 1 Live Lounge,\u201d the\u00a0KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack\u00a0and Ariana Grande\/Cynthia Erivo Wicked: One Wonderful Night (Live)\u00a0titles, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sterling Records was a fairly new\u00a0two-year old store. Giddens,\u00a0who is 69,\u00a0told Retail Track\u00a0he got the urge to open a record store. \u201cI have never been a very smart person but wanted\u202fto do something that makes me happy,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cAnd I am friends with Vince Clarke\u00a0(Depeche Mode, Yahoo, and Erasure) and was talking to him and said aloud that I wanted to open a record store; and Clarke said \u2018I\u2019m in.\u2019\u201d Clarke serves as an investor for the store.<\/p>\n

Retail Track opted\u00a0to browse Sterling Records for his own purchases, taking home\u00a0the\u00a0Lunachicks\u2019 We Can Be Worster, Stax Killer B\u2019s, The Westbound Sound: Single Minded and the non-RSD title, Cramps\u2019 Bad Music\u00a0For\u00a0Bad People.<\/p>\n

Since it was still early and most other stores on Retail Track\u2019s crawl list weren\u2019t opening until noon, a trek to VP Records in Jamaica Queens, which opened at 10 a.m., seemed\u202flike the next logical store to visit. VP Records Retail is a unit of\u00a0Jamaican-born record label and music company. The company was founded by husband and wife Vincent \u201cRandy\u201d and Pat Chin.<\/p>\n

The store\u2019s website\u00a0claims\u00a0that\u00a0VP Records is\u00a0the largest indie reggae label in the world. Throughout the years,\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0put out releases\u00a0from artists including Yellowman, Lee Scratch Perry, Gregory Isaacs, Buju Banton, Maxi Priest, Beenie Man, Shaggy\u00a0and\u00a0Sly & Robbie. Like the label, the store on Jamaica Avenue is mainly dedicated\u202fto dance hall,\u00a0reggae and\u00a0all\u00a0its sub-genres, but the store\u00a0also\u00a0carries a mix of\u00a0R&B and soul.<\/p>\n

When Retail Track arrived\u202fat\u00a0VP Records at 11 a.m., there was a beehive of activity in the parking lot next to the store.\u00a0Store manager Rashan Mykoo reported that the RSD Festivities would begin at noon, with merch tables and four DJs scheduled\u202fto entertain during the day.\u00a0Recording\u00a0artist\u00a0I Wayne was also due to make an appearance to help sell merchandise, sign autographs, and take photos with fans. The vinyl showcase featured \u201clegendary sound system King Addies, alongside Massive B, DJ Proud, and DJ Anthony, with hosting duties\u00a0were led\u202fby Killa Boo and sound powered by Next Level Sound,\u201d according to a\u00a0subsequent\u00a0press release. After I Wayne performed, Buju Banton<\/a> surprised guests with an appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresenting the sound systems each year has been a great way to connect with the community and today will be well remembered,\u201d\u00a0Chris Chin,\u00a0CEO of VP Records,\u00a0said in a statement.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Record
\n Rebel Rouser <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, inside the store, featured RSD titles included\u202fthe Bruno Mars \u201cCollaboration,\u201d Elton John \u201cThe Remixes,\u201d the Ariana Grande\/Cynthia Erivo Wicked: One Wonderful Light (Live), The Soundtrack, the Taylor Swift \u201cElizabeth Taylor\u201d 7-inch single; and Ziggy Marley\u2019s Brightside. Besides official RSD titles, the store\u2019s own highlighted\u202fselections were Jackie Mittoo\u2019s \u201cThe Myestro \u2014 In Cold Blood,\u201d Congo Ashanty\u2019s \u201cCongo,\u201d Ziggy Marley albums and Randy\u2019s 50th Anniversary Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, the latter compilation titles named for the company\u2019s late\u00a0co-founder,\u00a0Mr. Chin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the store still had\u00a0the\u00a0Bruno Mars title in stock when Retail Track arrived, Mykoo said every copy of the Taylor Swift single had been bought up by a woman\u00a0who had arrived\u00a0in time for the store\u2019s opening. As it was, Retail Track scored the RSD title Skeeter\u00a0Davis\u2019\u00a0\u201cThe End of The World: Navy Hoedown Sessions,\u201d quipping the store\u2019s buyer must have purchased the\u00a0title by mistake. Instead of sticking around for the party to begin next door in the parking lot, Retail Track headed\u202fback to Brooklyn\u00a0for the next RSD stop on his list, but first he went to grab some sustenance,\u00a0i.e.\u00a0lunch.<\/p>\n

By 1 p.m.,\u00a0Retail Track pulled up to Octopus Records\u00a0for the Bushwick leg of his\u00a0crawl.\u00a0Store owner\u00a0Nigel Filson reported he had about 20 people waiting when he opened at 11 a.m.,\u00a0with the first bunch of arrivals rewarded with cupcakes. The big sellers during the day at that point had been the Pink Pantheress and Charlie xcx titles, while store associate Celine Mancuri noted that Cam\u2019ron\u2019s \u201cKiller Season\u201d was also popular. Filson also acknowledged\u202fthat some customers were asking for the Taylor Swift record, \u201cWhich I didn\u2019t carry.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Octopus Records, Retail Track scored RSD titles Power\u00a0Pop! American Power Pop for the Now Generation: 1977-1981, Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair\u2019s Words of Wisdom and Hope and the Misfits Famous Monsters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next up was the nearby Rebel Rouser,\u00a0which\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0participate\u00a0in Record Store Day because, in the words of sales associate William Martin,\u00a0\u201cWe\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0do corporate discs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel Rouser\u00a0primarily carries\u00a0used\u202frecords and is in a long shed\u202fin an alley off Broadway, in Bushwick, about a mile from the Williamsburg Bridge. It has\u00a0a huge selection\u00a0of punk, glam rock, power pop, new wave, garage rock and old soul music, both albums and 7-inch singles, as well as many old classic rock magazines and fan zines. The only new product it carries\u00a0are largely\u00a0local indie band releases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur idea of record store day is loading up on local indie bands and selling vinyl LPs at 25% off,\u201d Marten said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Rebel Rouser Retail Track bought\u202fThe Charly Black Music Sampler, two Millie Jackson albums:\u00a0E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion)\u00a0and\u00a0Get It Out\u2019cha System, Candi Staton\u2019s eponymously named album, Little Anthony and the Imperials\u2019\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m on the Outside (Looking In)\u201d\u00a0and Johnny Thunder\u2019s\u00a0\u201cLoop De Loop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, Retail Track arrived\u202fat what would be the last Brooklyn record store stop of the day at Superior Elevation Records, also\u00a0located\u00a0in Bushwick. The used record store caters to the DJ and the dance music crowd, carrying electronica, house,\u00a0disco\u00a0and soul music;\u00a0sales associate Alex\u00a0Feldherr\u00a0says the store\u00a0and even has a school for DJs. Despite the store not participating in Record Store Day, Feldherr\u00a0shared\u00a0that business on\u00a0the day was good. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because\u00a0\u201cwe get everybody who is tired\u202fof waiting on\u00a0lines,\u201d he\u00a0told Retail Track.\u00a0At Superior Elevation Retail Track bought two Laura Lee albums, Women\u2019s Love Rights and her eponymously named album; and\u00a0an album from\u00a0100 Proof (Aged\u202fIn\u00a0Soul).\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around the same time, elsewhere in Brooklyn, Billboard\u2019s executive digital editor, east coast, Joe Lynch\u00a0served\u00a0as\u00a0a Retail Track deputy\u202ffor the day and visited\u202fthe Record Grouch and the Academy Records Annex, both in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After\u00a0participating\u00a0in Record Store Day celebrations for several years, Record Grouch in Greenpoint chose to opt\u202fout of the vinyl holiday\u00a0the last few years. But even without a trove of exclusives on offer, the highly curated\u202fstore of reasonably priced\u202frarities and obscurities was packed\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday afternoon. Walking past an 8.5 x 11-inch piece of paper proudly\u00a0proclaiming,\u00a0\u201cTHIS IS NOT A RECORD STORE DAY CELEBRATION,\u201d patrons browsed\u202fthe stacks while an assortment of local and indie artists performed\u202fin the small space. The Retail Track Brooklyn deputy caught a punishing but impressive experimental set from Outdoor Horse Shrine (one of five artists playing Record Grouch that day) while picking up used copies of Jobriath\u2019s second album, the soundtrack to Forbidden Zone by Oingo Boingo and a single by ANOHNI and the Johnsons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moving toward Williamsburg,\u00a0but still in Greenpoint, the Academy Records Annex was also doing banger business despite opting out of the official celebration. Patrons munched\u202fon free Peter Pan donuts while browsing the store\u2019s extensive, eclectic collection of new and used\u202fvinyl (and if you wanted\u202fto enjoy the fabulous weather, 40-some boxes of music were out on the curb). Academy Records owner Cory Feierman says he stopped\u202fparticipating\u00a0three years ago\u00a0\u2014\u00a0not just because it was becoming too corporate,\u00a0but for business reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI might make $20,000 in a day, but I spent $13,000 to get there, and I\u2019m left with a bunch of product that won\u2019t move,\u201d he tells Retail Track\u2019s Brooklyn deputy. In his eyes, the early years of RSD included \u201cwarranted\u201d reissues of rarities, but the recent glut of RSD exclusives are much less interesting to him and his shoppers. Retail Track picked\u202fup a clear-vinyl copy of Rosal\u00eda\u2019s Lux (which he notes is about as mainstream as the store\u2019s product gets) as well as used\u202fcopies of Isaac Hayes\u2019 Shaft soundtrack plus Eartha Kitt\u2019s 1955 album Down to Eartha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pancake
\n Pancake Records in Astoria <\/p>\n

For the last stop of the day before heading into Manhattan for the annual Rough Trade Indie Plaza RSD celebration, Retail Track returned\u00a0to his hometown of Astoria to re-visit Pancake Records and see how it was doing since opening, arriving there\u00a0at 3:30 p.m. (Before joining Billboard, Retail Tracked worked in three record stores on the same block\u00a0on Steinway Street\u2014\u00a0Words \u2019n\u2019 Music, Record Scene\/Record Spectacular and Sound City\u00a0\u2014\u00a0in the 1970\u2019s and 1980s.)<\/p>\n

Pancakes Records co-owner\u00a0Tanya Gorbunova reported\u202fthat the big sellers were John Frusciante\u2019s \u201cTo Only Record Water\u00a0For\u00a0Ten Days;\u201d Ethel Cain\u2019s Inbred, and Hemlock Springs going\u2026going\u2026GONE! Meanwhile she said the Springsteen and Pink Floyd titles were slow movers on RSD,\u00a0but she wasn\u2019t worried about the latter,\u00a0\u201cbecause Pink Floyd fans are known for sleeping in.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0RSD, the store was offering customers a selection of\u00a0CDs for only\u00a050 cents, as well as\u00a010% off\u00a0used records. Overall, she said the store\u2019s customer base\u00a0was\u00a0a cross between the \u201cpop echo\u00a0chamber,\u00a0but\u00a0still have people looking for niche stuff.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the last purchase of the day, at Pancakes Records,\u00a0Retail Track scored Robert Plant\u2019s Savin Grace All\u00a0that\u00a0Glitters with Suzi Dian.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alas, the day\u00a0unfortunately\u00a0ended\u202fwithout Retail Track scoring\u00a0the\u00a0four RSD titles\u00a0was\u00a0still\u00a0looking for: Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, Bob Brady and the Con Chords, Bruce Kulick\u2019s Transformer,\u00a0and\u00a0T. Rex\u2019s\u00a0Songs from \u2018Marc.\u2019<\/p>\n

Joe Lynch provided\u202fassistance\u00a0in preparing this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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