Record Store Day got me to thinking about the long gone local spots where I bought many of my records.

Living in Durham in the 1970s, I quickly found two stores that sold records. One was called The Listening Post. It was on Main Street, and the first record I bought there was "Wings Over America." It was also a head shop as I recall, but it closed shortly after my first purchase.


Town and Campus in Durham sold records on the second floor, and in my early teens, I spent many afternoons up there staring at Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon album covers.

The Musicsmith in the Newington Mall had a much bigger selection of music, and this is where I did the bulk of my record shopping throughout the '70s. Bradlees and Montgomery Ward also had a music section in their stores, but they paled in comparison.

Kevin Guyer opened up Rock Bottom Records in Portsmouth in the '80s, and that store was the heart of a wonderful Portsmouth music scene for the better part of two decades. You could even preview the music you wanted to buy.

In Dover, Lost Chord Records was a mainstay in the Upper Square for many years. Ted (forgive me, I've forgotten his last name) was a wonderful local musician, and the store was a great hangout for other area musicians.

I can't forget Strawberries in Portsmouth, mostly because I managed the store for a few years in the late 80s. At one point, Strawberries had over 100 stores in New England and beyond.

They are all gone, save for T&C in Durham, but I haven't been in lately to see if they still sell music. I really miss holding the vinyl records. They felt different than CDs, and these days, there's nothing to physically hold by downloading.