Manuel Igrejas has worked in the theater as a playwright and a publicist on and off-Broadway. You can jump in your car and, just a few miles from wherever you live in New Jersey, there’s vinyl magic waiting for you. No “ New Jersey Iconic Record Shop Tour” (let’s make it a thing) would be complete without a visit to these enduring pioneers of the record business. But you don’t have to sign up for the whole tour.

Jim was an informed and charming guide.Īddress: 728 Anderson Ave., Cliffside Park, N.J. The walls are lined with classic album covers such as that of Keely Smith, Bobby Darin and Sinatra that make the place seem like a museum of music history. Though cramped, Music Country is well-organized and jam-packed with music treasures. It’s a small space tucked into a busy block, and when I walked in, Jim was picking on a guitar. Joan runs Music Country with her husband, Jim Demarest, a musician who once played back up for Sammy Davis Jr. It was renamed Music Country in the 1980s. Daughter Joan started working there when she was 10 years old and eventually took over the business. It opened in 1934 as Taliaferro Radio and Electric and sold radios, record players and records. While researching this story, I came across Music Country in Cliffside Park, and I just had to check them out. Here’s a sampling of just a few of our state’s independent record shops. I remembered reading in the NY Times that Dusty Springfield singing “ The Look of Love” on the “ Casino Royale” album was considered the ultimate in analog listening pleasure. Darren Revilla of Revilla Grooves and Gear in Milltown backed me up on that. Vinyl (analog) sound is considered “warmer” by some, and the fade out on analog is gentler to the psyche than the CD’s abrupt end.

No skipping, sampling, no distractions: You are one with the music. Since you have earned it, you can sit back, listen to the album and let it wash over you. You gently remove the record from its paper sleeve, carefully place it on the turntable and even more carefully touch the stylus (needle) to the album. Among the pleasures of vinyl records is their pleasing, reassuring size the artwork on the cover that gives you a hint of what to expect inside, and - they have liner notes you can read. Then there is the ceremonial, tactile aspect of playing the record. Stepping into New Jersey’s record stores is like stepping into history. Vinyl sales have continued to rise, increasing a whopping 29.2% to $619.6 million in 2020, compared to $479.5 million in 2019. The rise in vinyl sales made up for the continued decline in CD sales, and artists are now recording on vinyl. (Country singer Kacey Musgraves is trending in the vinyl space.)

Record shops near me