MISSOULA — With the internet, virtually any song is just one tap away. But, that has not paused Missoula’s thriving record scene.
“This town is record rich for sure,” said Collin Pruitt, co-owner of Slant Street Records. “There's a lot of people that are pretty passionate, not only about music, but about physical media and records in particular.”
In the age of streaming, Missoula’s music stores are still slinging plenty of records. Local sellers say listeners still connect with vinyl despite today’s virtual world.
“We hear it from people all the time that walk in and say ‘oh my gosh, this place smells like records,’ and there's some sort of attachment that records created with listeners that I don't think a lot of the other formats did,” said Scott Storer, store manager of Rockin' Rudy’s Record Heaven.
Nationally, record sales have been growing every year for over a decade, even rising more than 6% in 2024, according to Discogs.
“There's been a lot more renewed interest in vinyl as somewhat of a backlash to streaming services, where you don't own anything,” Storer said. “I think people have kind of started to understand the importance and the pleasure that can come with holding a piece of of media and and having it, owning it, interacting with it, especially with records, putting it on, placing the needle, flipping it.”
Collectors say vinyl brings a lot to their lives, including new music, different sound quality, fun artwork and a hobby. But, in the digital age, many turn to it to get a break from screens.
“Personally, I get home I'm like ‘I’m done with my phone.’ I want to listen to music and I just want to be that,” Pruitt said. “Not have it be this never ending thing where you're skipping tracks.”
This is helping vinyl appeal to a whole new crowd.
“People are just getting into records too. It's not like the people that have always done it are still doing it. There are new buyers that are excited, that are younger,” Pruitt said. “It's a whole new thing to go to a record store and discover new music that isn't just recommended to them on their phone. It's like an exploratory process.”
