Record Store Day 2026: What it is, when it is, why vinyl still matters

Holiday shoppers have Black Friday. Music lovers have Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores, exclusive vinyl releases and a format that keeps growing even as streaming dominates how people listen to music.

For this year's Record Store Day, on Saturday, April 18, there's about 380 new and limited-edition vinyl releases featuring artists ranging from Bryan Adams and Neko Case to Talking Heads and Wiz Khalifa hitting the stacks in nearly 3,000 record shops across the U.S. and worldwide. And, of course, there's something from Taylor Swift, too.

Streaming music services are great and their recommendation engines will serve up endless new tracks for listening. But vinyl records have a tactile appeal. Cover art can grab your attention while sifting through bins at the record store. Once you get your LP purchase home, you can open it up like a book and get full color imagery, lyrics and liner notes.

Vinyl vindication

The event comes as spending on vinyl continues to climb, even as streaming has become the dominant format for music listening.

Spending on recorded music in the U.S. hit a record of $11.5 billion in 2025, with streaming music including paid and other music streaming accounted for 82% of all spending, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Vinyl record sales grew for the 19th consecutive year, increasing 9.3% in 2025 – surpassing $1 billion for the first time in decades – and continued to outsell music CDs, RIAA said.

"Vinyl is a massive part of the story of Record Store Day because it's an unbelievably massive part of the stores," Carrie Colliton, who co-founded Record Store Day along with Michael Kurtz, told USA TODAY in an email interview.

"Nineteen consecutive years of vinyl growth and nineteen Record Store Day events is not a coincidence. A lot of stores never stopped stocking vinyl. A lot of stores have opened because of the vinyl resurgence," she said. "People want to take ownership of what they listen to, connect even more closely with the artists who make the music they love, spend the time to focus on the ritual aspects of engaging with physical records. And they want to do it at a locally owned store where their neighbors and friends are the algorithm."

Robert Plant, Record Store Day legend, talks about vinyl

Robert Plant's wide-ranging and successful career, which included fronting Led Zeppelin, and his tendency to haunt record stores has earned him Record Store Day's Record Store Legend award. Elton John was named the first RSD legend in 2017, while Johnny Marr, guitarist for The Smiths got the award last year.

“Record stores have always been a part of my life. For me, once you get to the physical record it’s because you really want to know and be a part of what the artist was considering," Plant said in a statement.

"People want to take home something very special, to enjoy all the elements of what an artist has put together. We want a connection between the music and the art of the whole thing," said Plant, who also has an exclusive Record Store Day release "Saving Grace: All That Glitters," a follow-up to the September 2025 album Robert Plant's Saving Grace feat. Suzi Dian. (You can see the band's recent performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on YouTube.)

Bruno Mars serves as 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador

This year's Record Store Day Ambassador is singer-songwriter and producer Bruno Mars, who released his fourth solo studio album "The Romantic" earlier this year in February.

"I love collecting vinyl because nothing is better than sitting on your couch putting on a record and just listening to music like that. It feels like a lost art, Mars said in a statement.

Mars joins a list of ambassadors that in the past have included Paramore, Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam, Jack White, Ozzy Osbourne, and more.

How does Record Store Day work?

Record Store Day is designed to drive fans into local, independently owned record shops. Shoppers often line up early on the Saturday morning of Record Store Day to snatch up the new releases.

Many releases are pressed in limited quantities, sold exclusively through indie stores, and are typically available on a first‑come, first‑served basis, with no preorders and strict limits on how many copies each store receives. See the complete list of new releases here.

Now in its 18th year, Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 and first held in April 2008 as a party to “celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1,400 independently owned record stores in the U.S. and thousands of similar stores internationally,” according to the event's website.

To find a store near you, go to the Record Store Day website.

This story has been updated with new information.

Kate Perez and Mike Snider cover national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach them at [email protected] or on X @katecperez_ & on Threads (mikegsnider), Bluesky (@mikegsnider.bsky.social), X (@mikesnider) and email him at [email protected].