Record Store Day in New Orleans, Louisiana
Two dates to know: Record Store Day Black Friday is Friday, November 29, 2026, and the next main Record Store Day is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an annual event built around independent record stores. The main event traditionally lands on the third Saturday of April each year; Record Store Day Black Friday is traditionally held the day after US Thanksgiving. Both days bring exclusive, limited-run vinyl and CD releases sold only at participating independent shops — not big-box retailers, and not mail order until the in-store exclusives sell through. Because pressings are limited, popular titles can sell out within the first hour, which is why a line-early culture has grown up around the day even at shops that are otherwise quiet on a weekday morning.
Tips for the day
- Arrive early. At busy shops, lines for popular titles can start well before opening.
- Bring cash. A cash line often moves faster than card on a shop's highest-volume day of the year.
- Check each shop's own site or Instagram in the week before the date — participating shops post their own opening time, line policy, and which exclusive titles they've ordered in.
- Release lists are first-come, first-served and vary store to store. A title in stock at one shop may not show up at another, even across town.
- Expect one-per-customer or per-household limits on the most in-demand titles.
- Not every independent record store participates every year, and allocations vary shop to shop — confirm directly with the shop rather than assuming based on a past year.
Shops to check in New Orleans, Louisiana
Independent record shops open in New Orleans, Louisiana right now. We don't yet track which specific shops participate in Record Store Day or what they've ordered in for a given year — check each shop's own site or Instagram close to the date for their exclusive-release list, opening time, and line policy.
- Cool Vinyl Records - Le Boulevard
Vinyl dealer stall inside Le Boulevard Marketplace, a multi-vendor antique mall on Veterans Blvd. Part of the small Cool Vinyl Records chain (~7 South Louisiana/Mississippi locations); each stall stocks roughly 400-800 sleeved, labeled used LPs across rock, soul, jazz, and more.
6 sources
- Domino Sound Record Shack
7th Ward shack specializing in reggae, Afrobeat, Colombian cumbia and global funk on vinyl, plus a small in-house record label — a deep-digger's favorite off the tourist path on Bayou Road.
3 sources
- Euclid Records New Orleans
Bywater sister shop to the St. Louis original; two floors of new and used vinyl and CDs across every genre, named a Gambit 'Best of New Orleans' staff pick in 2025 for its curation and knowledgeable staff.
3 sources
- Louisiana Music Factory
Marigny institution founded 1992 by WWOZ co-founder Jerry Brock and Barry Smith; the flagship shrine to Louisiana jazz, blues, zydeco, Cajun, brass band and local indie releases, with a Jazz Fest in-store stage.
3 sources
- Mushroom New Orleans
Self-described oldest independent record store in New Orleans, open since 1969 near Tulane and Loyola; a 4,500-sq-ft record/head-shop hybrid mixing vinyl, CDs and counterculture merch, open until midnight daily.
3 sources
- No Pulp Records
NOLA's only Black-owned record store, tucked on the third floor of the historic Beckham's Bookshop in the French Quarter; new, used and local-centric vinyl and cassettes since 2018, founded by Joe Lyle.
3 sources
- NOLA Mix Records
Lower Garden District shop since 2015 with a resident DJ spinning while you browse soul, funk, disco, house, jazz and local NOLA vinyl; released its own compilation LP capturing artists who've played in-store.
3 sources
- Nuthin But Fire Records
7th Ward record shop and community hub since 2007 doubling as a screen-printing spot and open-mic/stand-up venue; used vinyl, CDs and DVDs alongside local artist CD duplication and printing services.
3 sources
- Peaches Records
Uptown fixture on Magazine Street since 1975, run by 'Mama Peaches' and her son; a cultural time capsule of soul, funk and NOLA music history in a former Woolworth's building, hosting in-store signings and busker sets.
3 sources
- Silver Lotus Records
French Quarter shop two blocks from Jackson Square specializing in vintage, rare and autographed vinyl, LPs and CDs across jazz, blues, rock, hip hop, soul, cajun and zydeco; a Record Store Day pledge store.
3 sources
- Sisters in Christ Records
Uptown record-and-bookstore since November 2014 specializing in punk, hardcore, goth, industrial and underground vinyl/cassettes plus comics and low-brow literature; New Orleans' highest-rated record store on review sites.
3 sources
- Tragos Amargos
Hidden 60-seat hi-fi listening bar behind Taquerias Carnalito, spinning 60s soul, regional Mexican, and Latin vinyl over a deep-listening sound system with agave-forward cocktails.
2 sources
See the full record store listing for New Orleans, Louisiana.