Searching for vinyl? These Las Vegas-area record stores offer a variety
Whether it’s nostalgia, the need to own a collectible or the sound that the needle hitting the spinning disc produces, vinyl records are experiencing a revival — sort of.
Vinyl sales in the U.S. totaled nearly 42 million pieces in 2022, which accounted for about half of total physical album purchases, according to Luminate’s “Year-End Music Report.”
However, the figure pales in comparison to the roughly 280 million pieces sold in 1973, when the format was in its heyday, the Recording Industry Association of America notes.
The resurgence is being fueled by Gen Z, who were 27 percent more likely to buy vinyl records, according to Luminate, a music-data service.
Only about half of consumers who buy vinyl own a record player, the report said.
Numbers, generations or consumption habits aside, vinyl aficionados and collectors in the Las Vegas Valley are lucky to have brick and mortar shops to fill their needs.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal compiled a list of just a few, where music fans can also sell and trade parts of their collections — and perhaps find rare items not readily available anywhere else.
11th Street Records
The record shop and studio is located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The hole in the wall has sizable wooden crates and walls plastered with vinyl.
— 1023 Fremont St. (702-527-7990)
Wax Trax Records
Formerly a two-story home, the record store offers vinyl, CDs and other music memorabilia.
— 2909 S. Decatur Blvd. (702-362-4300)
Moondog Records
Moondog Records has been running strong for a decade.
While it also sells other items, the vinyl format is the real obsession. Owner Clint McKean told the Review-Journal when his store opened: “You can get a CD, of course, but the vinyl, it’s art.”
— 572 S. Decatur Blvd. (702-802-3333)
Record City
The “oldest surviving record store in Las Vegas” is located inside a purple building, which is throwing distance from the north Strip. It also sells CDs, DVDs and 45s.
Its other local store on East Charleston Boulevard shuttered at the end of last year, but the current location “is not going anywhere,” store manager Joey McDonald told the Review-Journal in August.
— 300 E. Sahara Ave. (702-735-1126)
Zia Records
The regional independent record store has two locations in the valley, and also offers video games, books, movies, anime and other collectibles.
— 1216 S. Rainbow Blvd. (702-233-4942)
— 7380 S. Eastern Ave. (702-735-4942)
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com Follow on X @rickytwrites.