Northport record store strikes high note with shoppers amid vinyl's resurgence

Karen Anzalone had dreamed for decades about opening a vinyl record store, but other things took precedence over entrepreneurship.

After working for 17 years as a manager at various Barnes & Noble bookstores in New York, she took time off to be a stay-at-home mother to her then-3-year-old son in 2010. After her father died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that year, she began volunteering at the COPD Foundation and then became an employee from early 2011 until 2019.

As her son prepared for his senior year in college this year, Anzalone found the time was right to follow her dreams: On Saturday, she opened Northport Records, which buys and sells new and used vinyl records, as well as used CDs.

“First of all, I love music. … It just evokes such a powerful connection to experiences. I want to bring that experience to my store,” the Northport resident said.

Located at 121 Main St., Northport Records sells albums produced from the 1950s to today, in various genres, including pop, rock, soul, country, jazz and hip-hop.

The shop also sells new editions of remastered vinyl records.

Anzalone buys some of the store’s used vinyl from individuals selling curated collections and those selling records they no longer listen to, sometimes because they don’t have turntables anymore, she said.

Some customers have made requests for turntables, which the shop will start selling in the next two weeks, Anzalone said.

Northport Records has about 2,800 new and used vinyl records and roughly 200 used CDs in its inventory, she said.

Business at the 1,200-square-foot shop was brisk its first weekend, which Anzalone partly attributes to word of mouth, both online and in person.

“Social media has been wonderful to me. People spread the word. It’s great because there hasn’t been a record store on Main Street in quite some time,” she said.

The bestselling records in the store are the 2022 albums “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles and “Midnights” by Taylor Swift, Anzalone said.

Anzalone and her husband funded Northport Records' opening without any loans, she said, adding she could not immediately determine what that investment had been.

Her biggest business challenge so far is maintaining inventory across various genres, she said.

“I want to make sure that I have something for everyone,” she said.

Vinyl’s resurgence

In addition to helpful word-of-mouth promotion, Northport Records' strong first week of sales can be attributed to the comeback of vinyl records, she said.

In the United States, sales of vinyl records increased for 19 consecutive years through 2025, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.

Gen Z — people born between 1997 and 2012 — is driving most of the growth in vinyl sales, according to industry experts.

That trend is playing out at Northport Records, Anzalone said.

“There’s a big resurgence, especially with the younger generation. I see it with what they’re purchasing,” she said, adding that young customers are buying music that predates them, such as 1960s records by folk-rock group The Mamas & the Papas, 1970s and 1980s music from “Queen of Disco” Donna Summer and pop duo Hall & Oates, and 1980s albums from British pop-rock group Duran Duran.

Northport resident Daniel Meade listens to digital music more often than physical formats, he said in the store Wednesday morning after buying “Never Enough,” a 2025 album by rock band Turnstile.

“I think supporting the local businesses, or supporting the band themselves, is, like, a better thing to do than to just stream,” which is less intentional than buying physical music, said Meade, 23.

“And this does something that I think is more positive than just kind of mindlessly streaming things, which I still do, obviously,” he said.

East Northport resident Jacob Friedman already had about 160 CDs at home when he and a friend visited Northport Records Wednesday, he said.

Friedman, 24, left the store with seven more CDs, including the Eagles’ 1979 album “The Long Run,” Iron Maiden’s 1983 heavy metal album “Piece of Mind” and INXS’ “Kick,” a pop-rock production released in 1987.

“I just feel like [physical] albums tell the story, and it’s just not the same listening to it on Spotify or Apple Music or whatever streaming service that you use,” he said.

Fans 'crave nostalgia'

The vinyl record industry declined sharply as other prerecorded music formats grew, such as compact cassette tapes in the early 1980s, CDs in the late 1980s and digital music around 2000.

In the United States, digital music revenue last year totaled $9.8 billion, up 3% from 2024, according to the RIAA, whose data is based on wholesale revenue.

Vinyl record sales were the equivalent of about 11% of digital music sales last year, but they had faster growth, rising to $1.04 billion, a 9.3% increase from 2024, the RIAA reported. The number of vinyl records sold increased 7.9% to 46.8 million units during the same period.

“The sustained growth of vinyl over the last 20 years has been driven by fans who want to own the music they love, crave nostalgia and support their favorite artists,” Matt Bass, RIAA vice president of research and economics, said in an email.

Major growth spikes in sales of physical music formats typically coincide with releases from popular artists whose labels offer more access, such as collectible vinyl records and exclusive CD packages, to audiences, he said.