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.
- Barky's
One of Virginia's oldest record stores, opened 1956 by Barksdale 'Barky' Haggins in Jackson Ward; gospel, soul, R&B and oldies vinyl plus CDs and church merchandise.
3 sources
- Carrington's Music
Longtime Petersburg music shop known for a deep stock of 45 rpm vinyl singles.
2 sources
- Crossroads Records
New and used vinyl, CDs and gifts at Stony Point Fashion Park; in-store listening stations with turntables, roots as a Milwaukee chain since 1986.
3 sources
- 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
- Le Cache Dulcet
Coffee-and-vinyl shop in Richmond's Arts District, opened February 2025 by former music-industry pro Patrick Weaver; pour-over coffee alongside a curated record stash.
3 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
- Records & Relics RVA
Curated used-vinyl shop in Church Hill with frequent new arrivals across genres, plus music memorabilia, posters, CDs and local LPs.
3 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
- Spinoff Records RVA
Used vinyl shop in Midlothian (Chesterfield County), part of the Richmond metro's south-west suburbs.
2 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
- Virginia's Memory Lane Records
Vinyl, CDs, cassettes and vintage stereo equipment on Sanford Drive; retail storefront of longtime mail-order/auction dealer Record Smith (est. 1970).
3 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.