In a world where we are constantly connected to our phones, streaming music is a click away, and finding new artists is as simple as a Spotify recommendation or hearing a new song while scrolling your Instagram feed. There is beauty to the availability and accessibility of finding new music digitally, but nothing is more fulfilling than the experience of visiting a new town or traveling to a destination and physically visiting a record store. Holding a band's latest release, inspecting the artwork, and wondering which track will be your favorite–these are all experiences you won’t have with digital music.
The trend of collecting vinyl has made a resurgence throughout the last few years among music enthusiasts, musicians, and others, although for some die-hard vinyl collectors, it never went away.
Vinyl Conflict is a record store located in the downtown district of Richmond, Virginia owned by Bobby Egger. When you walk into the store, you’ll see records, of course, but you’ll also find flyers for local events and patches and pins from every band imaginable, as well as hear the staff spinning records to match the day’s vibe.
The record store was originally located in the Oregon Hill neighborhood and packed to the brim with hardcore punk, metal, and an impressive local music section. Since moving downtown, they have been able to expand the store and what they offer to customers. Vinyl Conflict now features everything from Hip Hop and R&B to Italian disco, but they still maintain their status of being THE punk and hardcore record store for Richmond. Not to mention, on any given night of the week, you’ll find Bobby setting up local shows, DJing the roller rink, or spinning wax at local hot spots across the city for folks looking to enjoy their meal with some ABBA deep cuts.
Traveling for music has always been how some folks enjoy their vacations. Finding a show in a city they have never visited, road tripping to a festival in a state during concert season, or simply browsing a record store’s local music sections. All these experiences give you a first-hand look at the culture and community located in every town or city across Virginia.
Richmond is chock full of sounds and art. Add in some time to your itinerary to visit a record store, where you can discover a new band or buy your favorite dusty record in the back of a bin to find out what makes Richmond, and Virginia music, so enticing.
More Ways to Experience Music in Richmond
- Venues in town: The Broadberry, The National, The Camel, Gallery5, Banditos, Hardywood, Fuzzy Cactus, Cobra Cabana, Brown’s Island.
- Other record stores in town: Plan 9 Music, Wax Moon Vinyl, Deep Groove Records, Records & Relics, Small Friend Records & Books