These two Dutch guys have taken it upon themselves to explore one new record store each day until they’ve visited every record store in the world! You can follow their discoveries on Instagram @RecordStoreBoys.
Can you introduce yourselves?
We’re Ype from Amsterdam and Nico from Utrecht, and together we are the Record Store Boys. Ype is a photographer, and Nico is a computer scientist at Utrecht University. And we’re actually a couple, too!
Can you tell me about “Record Store Boys?” When did you decide to start visiting a record store a day? And why?
We’re both avid record collectors. Ype collects British 80s synth pop and Pet Shop Boys, Nico collects 90s dance music. We also love to go on city trips. So, naturally we visit record stores on those trips. We also love to take pictures on our trips, and at one point, we thought, hey, we have a lot of pictures of record stores, why not put them together? At first, we just had an album on our private Facebook, and when we noticed our friends really liked it, we started our RecordStoreBoys Instagram account.
At that point, we already had a lot of pictures, and thought it would be fun to post one every day. That is how our goal of “visiting” a record store every day was born.
We soon realized that one store every day is a bit much, as we both have full-time jobs. So now we post a new store every day except for weekends, holidays, etc.
Are you really planning on visiting all the record shops in the world?
We are definitely going to try! According to vinylhub.com, a website that tries to catalog all the record stores in the world, there are 5,910 stores for us to visit. That would mean it will take more than 20 years to visit all the stores in the world. It would be incredible if we could keep it up for that long!
How many cities and stores have you visited so far?
Currently, we have visited over 140 record stores, in six different countries, in 23 different cities!
What are the next cities and stores you’re planning to visit?
First up is Paris! With about 70 stores, it is going to be an exciting trip! After Paris, we’re going to Antwerp and Berlin. In the future, we would love to go to the US again. Scandinavia is high on our list too.
What are the stores you’re most excited about visiting?
Berlin has some great ones we haven’t been to in years, such as Oye Records and Space Hall. We’re looking forward to revisiting them!
On our upcoming trip to Paris, we were really looking forward to visiting the Virgin Megastore on the Champs-Elysées. Apparently it was the biggest record store in the world, but we found out it closed down a few years ago. So very sad. But we heard there are still many great stores in Paris!
Can you tell us about the best experience you’ve had with this project?
I would say that the best experience is the reactions we get from our followers. People ask us what the best record stores in a certain city are, they send us tips on where to go, and we even had a store owner invite us to visit his store and stay at his place for the trip! We’re very grateful for the amazing response!
And the worst?
The worst is definitely finding a store closed when we get there. On our recent trip to Munich, there were several stores on “urlaub” (holiday). Especially when a store is located outside the city center, and you have to walk for miles to get there, finding it closed is just the worst thing that can happen.
Can you tell us about your favorite record stores so far?
On the one hand, we like big, well-organized stores where everything is neatly categorized and artists have their own sections, etc. On the other hand, we like out-of-the-way places with huge stacks of records, where you can spend an entire afternoon and make an occasional rare find.
Second Hand Records in Stuttgart is in the first category. It’s the record store that mostly resembles the Platonic store we sometimes actually dream about.
Plexus in Delft is another great store that also falls in this category.
In the second category is a store like Deeptrax Records in Leeuwarden, in the northern part of The Netherlands. Every record is only 2 euros and you end up leaving with a whole pile.
And then CDepot in College Park (MD, USA) is a combination of the two types of store, if that makes sense.
In a way, we love every record store we visit. We’re just happy they’re still going and opening, in this age of mp3s and internet stores.
Follow Record Store Boys on their Instagram account.
Discover our favorite cultural and alternative spots all around the world with our city guides Indie Guides.