Record Store Day in Richmond, Virginia
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 Richmond, Virginia
Independent record shops open in Richmond, Virginia 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.
- Deep Groove Records & Audio
Fan District shop mixing new and used vinyl (roughly two-thirds new, one-third used) across a wide range of genres; run by longtime Richmond record seller Jay.
4 sources
- Plan 9 Music
Carytown vinyl institution dating to the early '80s; voted Richmond's #1 record store in RVA Magazine's 2023 and 2025 reader polls, still the go-to for new and used LPs.
5 sources
- Resist Booksellers
Black-owned independent bookstore in Old Towne Petersburg that stocks a genuine in-store vinyl section alongside its book stacks, spanning hip-hop, soul, jazz, R&B and rock.
3 sources
- Small Friend Records & Books
Records-and-books crate-digging spot near the Fan/VCU; curates monthly staff playlists and in-store listening, open roughly seven years as of early 2025.
3 sources
- Vinyl Conflict
Punk, hardcore, hip-hop and indie-focused shop founded in 2008 by Bobby Egger; relocated from Oregon Hill to a downtown Grace Street storefront around 2022.
4 sources
- Wax Moon Records
Scott's Addition record, VHS and horror-pinball hangout run by Andrew Griimoiire; goth/metal/post-punk leaning stock alongside a big horror-media collection.
4 sources
See the full record store listing for Richmond, Virginia.