April 17th is Record Store Day, when people recognize the existence of small, independent record stores who are suffering severely as Big Box Stores come in.

I used to hang out at a record store in 7-8th grade. After school I hung out at Jerry's Compact Discs in Chichester PA. Sadly Jerry was running an illegal gambling operation in the back room with naked hostesses. Jerry did some hard time and never got a business license to sell records again. And in case you were wondering, no I didn't see any boobs or snatch. I was a nerd and only wanted to listen to Nirvana, Guns N' Roses, and Deep Purple.

I got my extensive background in music from Jerry's Compact Discs. I was a sponge, soaking up new bands (Alice in Chains), unheard of bands (Mudhoney), and classic bands (Led Zeppelin).

But with the advent of Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Amazon, the independent record stores have become more and more obsolete. So April 17th is a day to remember those record stores who still carry vinyl, who still carry the local, the undiscovered, and the cool bands.

You can find a lot of great things going on for record store day through the official record store website. You will find exclusive downloads, artist in-store appearances, and celebrations of great music. Make sure you support these record stores because the service they provide is invaluable. You will only get the most popular albums in Best Buy/Barnes and Noble because they are the most profitable. Your best selection comes from the independent stores. SUPPORT!