Kerri Mac's Record Store Day Haul

April 22nd was Christmas for music collectors.

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For the past year and a half I’ve been slowly diving deeper and deeper into the world of vinyl records. When I moved from Pennsylvania to Iowa two and a half years ago, I left behind my few vinyl and record player in my childhood house.

Since then I’ve bought a tiny record player that fits perfectly into my apartment and have been able to get back a few of my favorites from back home.

Plus…I might’ve bought quite a few of my own records here in the Hawkeye State.

It was only last year when I learned about one of the most exciting days of the year for people who buy and sell records.

Last year, I took a trip to Los Angeles to visit some friends. On one of the days that I was left to explore the city myself, I ended up at Amoeba Music. It is located right on Hollywood Boulevard and is one the biggest independent record stores in the country.

Kerri Mac

I spent hours looking through the store and came across this Record Store Day Exclusive Elvis vinyl. I knew it was an RSD exclusive because of the iconic sticker in the corner. After that I dove into the sort of hype around Record Store Day.

This day is a celebration of the indie record store. Shops can opt in and register to become a certified official RSD store. They get access to the exclusive goodies that they can sell to their customers.

These products vary from live recordings pressed onto records and cassettes to unique looking vinyl of beloved albums.

Flash forward to April 22nd, 2023...

I did my research and found that the closest official RSD store was Vinyl Cup in Cedar Falls. This was their first time participating in Record Store Day, so they really tried to go all out.

I went into this day with a wish list of records I really wanted. After looking at the official Vinyl Cup website, to see what sort of special releases and HOW MANY they had, I put together a list.

It included:

Taylor Swift ~ folklore the long pond sessions

Stevie Nicks ~ Bella Donna Live 1981

Fleetwood Mac ~ Albatross/Jigsaw Puzzle

Carol King ~ The Legendary Demos

Orville Peck ~ BRONCO (on double metallic gold)

Their doors opened at 9am SHARP, but customers starting lining up around 6:50 AM.

That is some serious dedication...

I got their by 8:20 AM and the line was already pretty sizeable. The staff provided donuts and coffee to make the overall process more bearable. At just around 8:50 AM, it started to snow/rain and temperature dropped a bit.

As soon as the clock hit 9AM, the doors opened and they started letting groups of people in. By the time I got out it was around 9:30 AM. So, overall it wasn't too long of an experience.

I got the majority of the things on my wish list, so I think it was an overall successful experience.

Here is what I ended up getting:

Taylor Swift ~ folklore the long pond sessions