Celebrated on the third Saturday of each April, Record Store Day has been a tradition since 2008. Since then, the number of participating independent stores has grown — nearly 1,400 around the U.S. and thousands more internationally, according to the event’s organizers.
Besides providing an excuse to treat yourself while supporting a small business, Record Store Day features exclusive record releases, which can be found at participating stores — of which metro Detroit has no shortage.
Here’s a selection of locations where you can celebrate Record Store Day in metro Detroit. Additionally, Hour Detroit’s editors — Erica Banas, Will Reaume, and Jack Thomas —have offered up their own list of titles they are looking to snag this year.
For a complete list of titles available this Record Store Day, visit recordstoreday.com.
Wayne
Third Man Records — Detroit
Sure, the Detroit location of Jack White’s Third Man Records may not stock titles from the big Record Store Day list, but this music-lovers’ unofficial holiday always leads to the Cass Corridor storefront to throw an epic party. This year, WDET will be on site broadcasting all day. Plus, there will be special in-store exclusives and limited releases up for grabs. 441 W Canfield St., Detroit; thirdmanrecords.com.
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Dearborn Music — Dearborn
Few record stores are as organized and ready for the Record Store Day rush quite like Dearborn Music. (Read their detailed policies for the day here.) Simply put: This store has been around since 1956 for a reason. If you’ve never visited Dearborn Music before, make a point to do so. (Note: Their second location is in downtown Farmington.) 22501 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; dearbornmusic.net.
Rock of Ages — Garden City
Since 1984, this independently owned shop has been a staple for music fans in search of vinyls, CDs, cassettes, and memorabilia. Some of Detroit’s most famous rockstars, like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse, were rumored to have hawked their music here before they got famous. Walls of music posters and t-shirts offer multiple ways to support your favorite artists, in addition to the vast collection of records both new and old. 31015 Ford Rd, Garden City; rockofagesgardencitymi.com.
Oakland County
Flipside Records — Berkley
This long-enduring shop has been a go-to for local music aficionados since 1980. Flipside Records moved to Berkley in 2021 — previously, it was located in downtown Clawson. It boasts a healthy variety of new and used titles, as well as fun gizmos like action figures, old music equipment, and more. 3099 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley; shopflipsiderecords.com
UHF Records — Royal Oak
This well-curated store sits on the cool side of the tracks in Royal Oak; in close proximity to a couple bookstores and vintage clothing shops; a music equipment shop, and a gay bar. UHF offers a decent selection of vinyl, CDs, cassettes, music-related books, magazines, band shirts, and more. 512 S Washington Ave, Royal Oak; uhfrecords.com.
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Found Sound — Ferndale
Found Sound is a music collector’s paradise. There’s plenty of vinyl, of course. But the store also boasts an impressive DVD collection — including a section dedicated to music-related videos such as concerts and music documentaries – as well as VHS and LaserDiscs (remember those?) For the holiday, Found Sound’s festivities will include concert ticket giveaways and live music from Custodians starting at 5 p.m. 234 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale; instagram.com/foundsoundvinyl.
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Street Corner Music — Oak Park
Tucked inside of a strip mall on Greenfield between 11 Mile and the I-696 service drive is this underrated gem. Every Record Store Day, Street Corner Music has had an incredible variety of titles from the event’s exclusive list. On top of that, the knowledgable, yet unpretentious staff, always stocks their used vinyl racks to the brim for Record Store Day, so if you go searching, there’s a very good chance you’ll find some killer titles to add to your collection. 26020 Greenfield Rd., Oak Park; instagram.com/streetcornermusicltd.
Macomb County
Melodies & Memories – Eastpointe
Once J Dilla’s favored crate digging destination, this Gratiot shop has operated since 1988. It’s a well lived-in space that makes use of every square foot. Instead of focusing on heavy curation, Melodies & Memories invites the shopper on a path of discovery. This place will have you on your hands and knees in a literal sense, hunting for gold on the bottom shelf in one of its jam-packed isles. 23013 Gratiot Ave, Eastpointe; facebook.com/melodiesandmemoriesrecordshop
Weirdsville Records/Paperback Writer Books – Mt. Clemens
This combination record store and bookshop is owned by a husband-and-wife team. The former is a garage rocker, the latter a book lover. Weirdsville has a wide selection of new and used records; from recent and popular releases to obscure surf punk compilations. It even has its own radio studio. 61 Macomb Pl., Mt. Clemens; weirdsvilledetroit.com
Erica’s Record Store Day picks
The Darkness — One Way Ticket To Birmingham (Live at the NEC)
When The Darkness arrived in 2003 with their debut album, Permission to Land, I immediately fell in love. They were nothing like any of the modern rock bands of the time, and they mixed glam and hard rock with incredible abandon. Plus, these wacky Brits eschewed the typical anger very common in rock at that time and instead embraced…fun! (What a concept, right?) Their second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back, was released in 2005, and this live album was recorded during the UK arena tour in support of that LP. The Darkness remain one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, and I hope to get my hands on one of the 2,000 copies pressed of this Records Store Day Exclusive title.
New York Dolls — One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This
The New York Dolls remain incredibly influential, and it’s a crime they haven’t been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Their 2004 reunion show, which was organized by Dolls superfan Morrissey (yes, that Morrissey), eventually led to the release of 2006’s One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. At the time of release, only two of the surviving Dolls remained: singer David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. (Bassist Arthur Kane tragically died weeks after the 2004 reunion show. Sadly, Johansen and Sylvain are no longer with us either. Sylvain died in 2021, and Johansen died in 2025.) Nonetheless, Johansen and Sylvain recruited some outstanding musicians to round out the band for this incredibly fun album. The album, which has been out of print for several years, also boasts some killer guests, including Bo Diddley, Iggy Pop, Laura Jane Grace, and Michael Stipe. In honor of its 20th anniversary, 3,000 copies have been pressed for Record Store Day.
Peaches — No Lube So Rude
So, this album isn’t for the faint of heart. If Cardi B’s “WAP” feat. Megan Thee Stallion wasn’t your bag, just consider this one a skip. However, if you dug “WAP,” look into this album and the rest of the Peaches catalog. No Lube So Rude, the seventh album from this genre-defying goddess, was released in February and was her first new album in over a decade. The Record Store Day version is a picture disc and will be extremely limited with only 900 copies available.
T. Rex — Songs from ‘Marc’
It seems rather appropriate to round out this unintentionally glam-heavy list of picks with one of glam’s most influential artists: T. Rex. Songs from ‘Marc’ is a Record Store Day Exclusive title with only 2,500 copies pressed. The 10 tracks featured on this album are all previously unreleased T. Rex performances featured on Marc, the 1977 British music show hosted by T. Rex singer/creative force Marc Bolan. The show featured several up-and-coming bands. Among them were Generation X, The Boomtown Rats, and The Jam. However, the show primarily served as a platform for Bolan, who would perform reworked versions of T. Rex songs, including classics like “Jeepster,” “Hot Love,” and “Ride A White Swan.” The series was popular, but was tragically cut short due to Bolan’s untimely death via a car crash on Sept. 16, 1977 at age 29.
Will’s Record Store Day picks
Ethel Cain — Inbred
When I first heard Ethel Cain’s single, “Crush,” in 2021, it was unlike anything I had heard before. It was like she had combined my favorite Flannery O’Connor and Harry Crews books into a sonic Southern Gothic masterpiece. This is one of my most listened to projects of all time (all five of my 2025 Spotify Wrapped Top Songs came from this EP), so it’s exciting to see this come to vinyl. It’s only slightly less ethereal than Golden Age (2019), but it still packs the same Americana and old-time religious imagery that we’ve come to expect from her work.
Deafheaven — KEXP Sessions
I am in the minority of Deafheaven fans that prefer their non-Sunbather works, but this release makes me rethink things. This Record Store Day exclusive release consists of four songs from Lonely People With Power (2025) performed in the KEXP Studio. Included in this limited pressing are “Winona” and “Amethyst”, both of which scratch the blackgaze itch that can only be cured with punishing walls of sound and ambient noise.
Billy Strings — tiny desk
Not that he needed it, but the Michigan native’s “Tiny Desk” debut is further proof that he’s made it. His lightning fast flat-picking and reflective lyrics will make you forget he’s a 33 year old from Lansing. He opens the performance with “Red Daisy” off his 2021 album Renewal before embarking on a three-song tour of Highway Prayers (2024). I hope this record captures even a fraction of the energy and soul that went into the live rendition.
Masayoshi Takanaka — All of Me
This compilation from the Japanese jazz pioneer might have the coolest album cover of all time. The RSD exclusive release oozes with superb vibes and mood boosting jazz guitar. As summer approaches, the tropical sounds from this record are the perfect soundtrack to a warm Detroit day. Favorites from this include “OH! Tengo Suerte, “Brasilian Skies”, and “Ready to Fly”.
Jack’s Record Store Day picks
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros — Global a Go-Go
My dad used to have this on CD when I was a kid. It’s the second-to-last album from the former Clash frontman before his death in 2002. A track I come back to from time to time is “Bhindi Bhagee.” If you can get past how whacky the instrumental is, the message is cool: he talks about the many cultures in London, represented through cuisine. It reminds me of metro Detroit; how lucky we are to be able to experience so many different types of food from all over the world right in our neighborhoods.
Bill Evans — Bill Evans At The BBC: The Complete 1965 London Set
Whenever I see Bill Evans at a record store, I have to buy it (unless it’s ridiculously expensive). His album Alone (1970) has gotten me through more college essays than I can count, and I still throw it on occasionally while I’m cranking out a piece for Hour. This master of his recordings from a 1965 performance on The BBC has a ton of great renditions. And, since it was recorded in a TV studio, it won’t have the clinking dinner plates and crowd conversations that characterize Evans’ Village Vanguard sessions.
Yusef Lateef — Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase
Tennessee-born Yusef Lateef grew up in Detroit and attended Wayne State University, my alma mater. He even made an album inspired by the city, Yusuf Lateef’s Detroit (1969). The woodwind multi-instrumentalist is one of the city’s jazz greats who I’ve been getting into a little more lately. I’m curious about this live recording from 1975 in Chicago.
Weezer — 1192
Over the past year or so, I’ve been on a Weezer kick. I really don’t care for their post-Pinkerton catalog (though I was born a year after Pinkerton’s release). So, I was excited to find out that their original bassist (and falsetto-ist) Matt Sharp uncovered a multi-track reel containing original demos for The Blue Album (1994), recorded in November of 1992 (hence the 1192 title).
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