5 Michigan Record stores we wish were still around.
Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

In the 70s and 80s and before the big box stores took over. Record stores were everywhere in every city. Didn’t have to go far to find the latest cassette from Joe Walsh or the latest Aerosmith release on vinyl. In the early days if you wanted your favorite 45 records, cassette, vinyl, or 8-track you could find it all in one place. Don’t forget some stores double as ticket centers for concert venues. Remember CTC outlets? Printing out tickets to a Cellar Door or Brass Ring concert events.

When I was young picking up my favorite 45 records meant going to K-Mart or Korvetts. Sometimes even the upstairs department of a local Sears store. Going to a place that sold your favorite music was good for the soul. You could spend hours going up and down rows of albums. A good place to meet up with friends and share a common bond of music.

Loved to see what the record company did to promote their artist with displays that were out of this world. I remember the band, Electric Light Orchestra. a cardboard display of the album, Out of the Blue. Giant spaceship with bright lights and colors. You always thought it would be cool to take it home possibly and put it in your room. Stores would always try to outdo one another to have the best display around.

Now a list of record stores that played a big part in my childhood. Hopefully will bring back a memory or two.

5 Michigan Record stores we wish were still around

• RECORD TIME

  Record Time was a music store and so much more. Opened in 1983 with a few locations but the main store in Roseville, was my favorite. Local musicians would always be seen hanging out like Sponge, Dave Grohl, Kid Rock, Eminem, The Trash Brats even Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Unlike other record stores it was the first I had ever seen cater to the the techno and electronic dance music community. Bands and Rap artists would even perform live in the stores. After Christmas in 2010 sadly the store closed for good.

   

• Peaches Records and Tapes

  For the longest time on the east and west side, the coolest shop to drop into and hang out for a while was Peaches Records and Tapes…a chain based out of Georgia, see how they got their name now?. One was right near my house in Fraser and Masonic and Groesbeck. National acts would stop in to do promotion of there records and do album signings.

• Harmony House

  Harmony House started in Hazel Park, back in 1947. Grew in popularity as the “Go-To,” store for music. Seem anyone I knew had a friend that worked at a Harmony House store. Bonus feature is the chain of stores was also a Ticketmaster outlet for concert tickets and sporting events. By 1999 they grew to 38 locations around Michigan. Branched out into strip malls and mega malls like Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights. In the year 2000 stores began to close and they downsized and some stores rebranded to other companies.

• Camelot Music

  Camelot Music started in Canton, Ohio, and grew to be one of the top 3 largest music outlet stores in the United States. Most stores in Michigan could be found in area malls. I remember all employees wore white shirts and black ties. No exceptions to the dress code. The year was 1998 and 427 million dollars later. Camelot was bought out by Trans World Entertainment then turned all stores to the name FYE and continues to do music sales online.

• Sam Goody

  Sam Goody was founded in 1951 and started with a small music store in New York. Sam Goody grew and by 1959 was in debt to the sum of allegedly 2.4 million. Creditors took over but kept the name and expanded to over 800 stores with a few here in Michigan. In 2006 Trans World Entertainment who purchased Camelot Music, took over Sam Goody and change the names to FYE.  Fun store but very commercial.

   

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