Post Mortem: Record Store Day 2025
My Vinyl Thoughts. Really.
Record Store Day 2025: Music NM/Business VG+
Like most commerce-driven events with a big press windup, the 18th annual Record Store Day was preceded by the usual mix of chatter, list leaks, and intergenerational sniping. Enthusiasts and trainspotters picked their battles online—exclusive editions, major label cash grabs, the very soul of RSD. The aggrieved shouted over the grateful, and vice versa. The rest of us just wanted to flip through bins and maybe score something good. Or just hang out with like-minded souls.
Now that the dust—and the rain—has settled, how did Record Store Day 2025 actually fare?
“If You Don’t Like What’s Being Said…”
There’s a moment in Mad Men Season 3 where Don Draper (in peak cryptic-oracle-executive mode) says, “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” Record Store Day 2025 didn’t exactly change the conversation, but there was a palpable shift in tone. The first spins on the event are rolling in, with the overall sentiment that RSD ‘25 was “a splendid pressing, albeit with some surface noise.” Reports from retailers and shoppers alike are that this year felt less frenzied. Quieter in overall volume but deeper in resonance. Still plenty of lines, but less friction, and a lot more genuine joy
The Business Beat: Sales, Storms & Strategy
Foot traffic was lighter in certain areas, with some retailers reporting sales down as much as 30% compared to 2024’s record-breaking numbers. Before the anti-major label crowd prepares their torches and pitchforks to plot revenge for that “We Built This City” picture disc ruining Record Store Day, store owners pointed out two primary factors for this year’s softening: logistical headaches, and consumer economic hesitation.
The weather didn’t help in many places. Here in the Northeast, we got hit with spring storms that kept some folks away. Unless, of course, you were strategically brilliant (or lucky) to choose a place like Rough Trade NYC, where they handed out ponchos and free snacks like a chilly Coachella. Other shops, like For the Record in Greenpoint, opened early with coffee and pastries. The real MVPs, though, were the stores that turned RSD into a full-on cultural moment. Live music. Thoughtful curation. Human connection. Those shops aren’t just giving a lesson in record retail. They’re delivering a great TED talk on vinyl hospitality. Smart moves, all of them.
The rain wasn’t the only friction that kept shops quieter this past weekend. Easter’s early arrival bumped RSD up a week, causing it to crash into a power trio of Passover, US tax filing deadlines, and the spring’s first big round of college visits. If that wasn’t enough to throw off schedules and spending habits, the recent wave of economic uncertainty didn’t help either. Though I didn’t see anyone trying to trade a rare Kate Bush Hounds of Love gatefold for a carton of eggs, it wouldn’t have surprised me. Music has no special resistance to inflation anxiety.
That said, high-profile releases from Taylor Swift (a 7” featuring Post Malone), Gracie Abrams, and Charli XCX moved fast—many shops reported sellouts before noon. Those titles weren’t just crowd-pleasers; they tilted the demographic. Record Store Day 2025 may have been built by aging indie kids and hi-fi analog purists, but it’s now fully cross-generational.
Still, if foot traffic didn’t quite reach 2024 highs, the numbers don’t lie:
Q1 2025 vinyl sales jumped 15.4% year-over-year, outpacing even streaming, which is finally showing signs of slowing down. That’s the 17th straight year of growth for the format, providing a solid argument that vinyl isn’t on “a comeback” anymore. For many, vinyl isn’t a trend, it’s a habit. A ritual. Maybe even a little bit of a cult. Longtime collectors are still buying vinyl like it’s the late 1970s and the stereo console is a piece of living room furniture—just minus the part where all four Kiss solo albums end up in the Woolworth’s bargain bin next to the Shaun Cassidy cutouts.
Generational Crossover, FTW
This year’s ambassador, Post Malone, waxed poetic about crate-digging his way through everything from Johnny Cash to Dr. Dre. Whether you think he’s an ideal spokesman or a left-field choice, he nailed the point: RSD is less about format and more about feel. It’s where jazz heads, Swifties, prog nuts, and 12-year-olds hopped up on yacht rock all occupy the same cramped square footage of vinyl heaven.
Which brings me to my afternoon…
Scenes from the Field: Yacht Rockers, Coffee, and the Kindness of Strangers
My own Record Store Day didn’t start at sunrise. I rolled into my local store post-Malone around mid-afternoon sans queue and chaos. The RSD bins were thinned out—like a fridge the day after Thanksgiving—but the energy was different. Quiet. Kind. Kind of great, actually.
The action was hottest in the used LP section, where I spotted a dad and his maybe 12-year-old son deep in discussion. They’d just watched the “Yacht Rock” documentary, and the kid was still feeling it. He held up Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam, reasonably priced at $12, and asked, “Dad, how about this one instead?”
They were debating it against the Toto record clutched in his father’s hands. I did everything in my power not to intervene. This was a teachable moment, sure—but also a test of musical values. I held my breath while continuing to eavesdrop, hoping I wouldn’t have to call CPS on this dad. Toto is an excellent gateway drug to understanding excellent musicianship and excellent pop hooks. Steely Dan is the ultimate gateway to excellent musical taste. With all due respect to Toto (whom I dig), choosing their first album over The Royal Scam would be like ordering room-service sushi in Tokyo.
They left with the Dan. Crisis averted. My music snob honor remained intact. Phew. I hate the term “Yacht Rock” almost as much as John Mulaney’s kid hates Steely Dan.
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That interaction was the best thing I saw all day, but it was far from the only cool one. Shoppers were chatting across racks. Tipping each other off about shops that still had that limited RSD 7” eluding seemingly everybody. Everyone within earshot dug in their pockets for quarters when a panicked voice shouted “Shit! The meter ran out and I’m about to get a ticket!”
It was a welcome hour of blessed relief from the news cycle, curated entertainment, and anything that required a password or hashtag. It felt very good and utterly human. People being considerate, looking out for one another, and total strangers sharing opinions without political windbagging—what a concept!
My Haul: Random Bliss
Didn’t expect to buy much. Ended up with:
A first pressing of Gerald Wilson’s Live and Swingin’ on Pacific Jazz (NM, maybe played once, if at all—you got this one on your radar Team Tone Poet?)
A clean John Surman Morning Glory with Terje Rypdal and John Marshall
And yes, a double-Wally Boston debut because sometimes you want your stereo to scream like a mid-‘70s Trans-Am
Still Available (and Worth Owning)
If you skipped the day or skipped the line, here are three Record Store Day 2025 releases still floating around at sane prices:
Alts ‘n Outs: The Other Side of Blue Note
A compilation that could’ve been a gimmick, but instead feels like a playlist made by your coolest jazz friend. Soulful, surprising, and beautifully sequenced. Did I mention the superb liner notes, written by your OTHER coolest jazz friend?
Ry Cooder – Live at the Main Point 1972
This one slipped past a lot of folks. Ry is in storytelling mode, bluesy and focused, backed by himself. One man and a guitar are all you need. I’m seeing this for about $20 all over the Internet, and I cannot believe so many people slept on picking it up. I think it’s my favorite release from the RSD ‘25 roster.
Archival material with exquisite sequencing, balancing vulnerability and power. You can never have too much Joni, and hearing her transformation into jazzier realms is a delight. This collection feels like the emotional midpoint between Miles of Aisles and Shadows and Light—and it’s still in stock at many retailers. Highly recommended. As I’m pressing “Send” on this post, I see a copy of this triple LP available from a retailer for under $40 (brand new) and a dozen more under $50. Act fast.
The Bigger Picture: The Cult Still Gathers
It’s either a miracle or a fever dream that we’re still even talking about vinyl in the year 2025. The fact that teenagers are buying LPs while streaming dominates is a paradox—and a blessing. The physical act of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, the joy of discovery—it’s all still here. Vinyl is a format that was declared dead more than once between the launch of the iPod and the rise of the algorithm.
But Record Store Day is no longer just a celebration. It’s a barometer of interest, inventory, and infrastructure. And though the analysis hasn’t been fully dissected yet, there’s the elephant in the shrinkwrap that everyone is already talking about: tariffs. With new U.S. import tariffs taking effect this spring, costs on everything from vinyl pellets to jacket stock are creeping upward. When profits get squeezed, label executives get skittish—especially around the holidays. They’re the ones who’ll be reluctant to sign off on that previously unreleased live recording for Black Friday RSD instead of the low-hanging fruit of a picture disc or colored wax variant of an existing best-seller.
Industry insiders say tariffs on certain goods may hit smaller pressing plants hardest, especially those dependent on international parts or materials. Other insiders fear a knock-on effect: longer turnaround times, higher wholesale prices, and fewer indie label slots as majors gobble capacity to hit guaranteed Q4 production windows. Shipping concerns are another factor. The Hong Kong postal brouhaha is either an outlier event or the first sign of a larger disruption. It’s not a full-blown crisis (yet) but anxiety over cracks in the supply chain is already showing. Nobody wants another set of production and pre-order delays, and it won’t easily be blamed on Adele this time.
If RSD wants to stay meaningful—not just profitable—it needs to remember what made it work in the first place. Not the limited drops or celebrity ambassadors, but the fact that for one day, in thousands of little shops, people show up not to be first, but to belong.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t show up to Record Store Day to buy a rarity and flip it for a profit. I didn’t shop to pad my collection with a “show off” piece. I wasn’t even looking for anything specific. I just love going to record stores and the quirky, shared joy of digging through bins with strangers who are just as weirdly into this as I am.
So, same time next year? See you there!
