For more than a few years now, Hillsborough Street’s Schoolkids Records claimed the title of “only independent record store in Raleigh.” That’s no longer the case: In The Groove Records—a used-only record store that buys, sells and trades vintage vinyl, with plans to expand into new goods—has moved into the Carter Building, an art studio-dominated space just down from the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Hillsborough Street. The store opened on January 18 and is owned by long-time Raleigh resident and artist Greg Rollins, who says he saw a niche for a used-only shop in the Triangle.
“Used LPs—there’s always going to be a need for that,” Rollins says. “There are hundreds and hundreds of millions of them out there.”
One of the inspirations for Rollins’ store, he says, was his father, who owned Treasure Chest Records, a beach music-centered shop that operated on Peace Street between 1979 and 1983. Rollins’ own selection comes mainly from the classic rock canon. Last week, highlights included a first pressing of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew and Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 pre-Fleetwood Mac LP by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Rollins eventually plans to diversify his stock, possibly breaking into turntables and stereo equipment, new vinyl and also used cassettes, of which he has a collection of more than 3,000.
