Nashville carries a music heritage that runs through country, Americana, blues, rock, and the vinyl revival that lifted independent record retail back into cultural relevance. The city sits at the center of a recording infrastructure that includes pressing facilities, mastering rooms, and label distribution channels, which gives local shops a steady supply line of new releases, audiophile reissues, and used trade-in inventory. Record Store Day, the annual independent-retail celebration held on a Saturday in April with a Black Friday companion event, draws lines around the block at the city’s flagship vinyl spots. The three stores profiled below carry deep founder histories, active in-store performance programs, and product mixes spanning new LPs, used vinyl, and rare 45s.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Grimey's New & Preloved Music | Founded 1999 by Mike Grimes with Doyle Davis co-ownership since 2002, Record Store Day participation since 2008 launch | Vinyl, CDs, books across 4,000 square feet in a former Pentecostal church with country, Americana, indie rock, soul, jazz, year-round in-store performances |
| Third Man Records | Opened March 11, 2009 by Jack White with Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank, only direct-to-acetate recording room open to the public | Full Third Man Records label catalog, limited-edition pressings, color variants, Vault subscription program, Record Store Day exclusives, live venue |
| Phonoluxe Records | Founded August 1987 by Mike Smyth, nearly four decades on Nolensville Pike, Discogs active seller profile for global collector reach | Used vinyl across rock, country, soul, jazz, blues, classical, 1950s and 1960s 45 rpm 7-inch singles, used CDs, cassettes, turntables, memorabilia |
1. Grimey’s New & Preloved Music #
Grimey’s New & Preloved Music opened in 1999 in the Berry Hill area, founded by Mike Grimes. Doyle Davis, formerly an executive at The Great Escape, joined as co-owner in 2002, and the partnership has run the store ever since. The shop relocated to East Nashville and now occupies a former Pentecostal church on East Trinity Lane, where stained-glass windows, arched wooden ceilings, and a performance stage sit alongside two floors of vinyl, CDs, and books.
Roughly seventy percent of sales come from vinyl across the 4,000 square-foot floor plan, with new releases, audiophile reissues, and used trade-in stock filling the bins. Genre coverage runs deep on country, Americana, indie rock, soul, and jazz, and the buy list reflects the founder-led perspective that Grimes and Davis bring as longtime musicians and Nashville scene participants.
The store hosts in-store performances year round and has welcomed acts that include Metallica, who recorded the 2008 release titled Live at Grimey’s at the connected venue The Basement ahead of a Bonnaroo Music Festival appearance. Record Store Day participation has anchored the calendar every April since the event launched in 2008, and Billboard has profiled the shop as one of the country’s standout independent record stores.
Contact: 1060 East Trinity Lane, Nashville, TN 37216 | (615) 226-3811
2. Third Man Records #
Third Man Records opened its Nashville location on March 11, 2009, founded by musician Jack White alongside his nephew Ben Blackwell and longtime collaborator Ben Swank. The 7th Avenue South complex houses a retail record store, a novelties lounge featuring the Third Man Record Booth, label offices and distribution operations, a photo studio, and a live venue that holds the distinction of being the only direct-to-acetate recording room open to the public.
The retail floor stocks the full Third Man Records catalog, including limited-edition pressings, color variants, and audiophile titles mastered for the label’s house standard. Beyond label inventory, the store carries new releases, reissues, and rotating sections drawn from the wider vinyl market. The Vault subscription program, which ships quarterly exclusive pressings to members, also runs out of the Nashville headquarters.
The live room has hosted direct-to-acetate sessions with artists across rock, country, and experimental genres, and recordings cut on the venue’s lathe have been issued as official Third Man releases. Record Store Day exclusives press in heavy quantities through the label every April and Black Friday, and the Nashville store carries those titles on release day. Coverage in Tape Op, NME, and Billboard has tracked the operation since its 2009 launch.
Contact: 627 7th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203 | (615) 891-4393
3. Phonoluxe Records #
Phonoluxe Records opened in August 1987, founded by Mike Smyth, who had spent more than a decade traveling to the United States on record-buying trips before settling in Nashville to open a brick-and-mortar shop. The Nolensville Pike address has run for nearly four decades, making the spot one of the oldest independent music stores still operating in the city.
The product mix runs heavy on used vinyl across rock, country, soul, jazz, blues, classical, and 1950s and 1960s 45 rpm 7-inch singles, with active buy-in operations that refresh the stock weekly. The store also carries used CDs, cassettes, DVDs, Blu-rays, turntables, and music memorabilia. Smyth has built a reputation for sourcing rare pressings, and the rotating Friday-through-Sunday schedule reflects the working pattern of a buyer who spends weekdays acquiring inventory and weekends moving it onto the racks.
The Nashville Scene profiled the shop ahead of its 25th anniversary, and collectors who travel into Nashville for vinyl runs have ranked the store among the city’s primary vinyl destinations. Discogs maintains an active seller profile for the spot, which extends its reach beyond the storefront to collectors searching globally for specific titles. The weekend-only operating pattern has held steady for years and remains a defining trait of the shopping experience.
Contact: 2609 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211 | (615) 259-3500
Choosing Among the Three #
Each record-shop answers a different collector brief. Grimey’s suits the buyer who wants a founder-led curation across new and used vinyl with a regular in-store performance calendar and Record Store Day participation going back to the event’s inception. Third Man Records fits the listener building a Jack White label collection or chasing limited-edition pressings, color variants, and direct-to-acetate live recordings unavailable anywhere else. Phonoluxe serves the deep-catalog used-vinyl hunter who wants weekly fresh stock, vintage 45s from the 1950s and 1960s, and a buyer with nearly four decades of sourcing relationships.
Every store on this list participates in the Nashville vinyl scene, carries a founder history that spans fifteen years or more, and stays independent of chain ownership. A single-day route covering East Nashville, 7th Avenue South, and Nolensville Pike lets a vinyl buyer cover the city’s flagship record retail in one outing.
Selection Methodology #
The three stores above were selected from the broader Nashville record store field using these filters: minimum 15-year tenure on Nashville-area work, verifiable trade-body recognition or industry participation on file (Record Store Day annual independent-retail program participation each April and Black Friday, AFM American Federation of Musicians Local 257 Nashville recording-community alignment where applicable, Discogs seller-profile verification, and AAIM Association of Independent Music or Coalition of Independent Music Stores affiliation where carried), founder identity verifiable through local press, brand-name anchor with verifiable address visible on the store’s own website, and a published inventory category mix that maps to customer expectation across new, used, and label-specific stock. National rollups without local lineage and operations without a verifiable street address were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: How was each store verified?
A: Each address was confirmed against the store’s own published website for street address, phone, and inventory emphasis, with Record Store Day participation cross-referenced for the 2008 launch year and continued annual presence. Mike Grimes and Doyle Davis ownership lineage at Grimey’s was confirmed against the firm’s About page, the Third Man Records March 11, 2009 opening with Jack White, Ben Blackwell, and Ben Swank was confirmed against the label’s published history, and the Phonoluxe August 1987 founding by Mike Smyth was confirmed against Nashville Scene coverage.
Q: What sets these three apart from the broader Nashville record store field?
A: Each store carries 15-plus years of Nashville tenure, founder-led curation rather than chain ownership, a documented sector focus (curated new and used vinyl with live programming, label-specific limited-edition retail with direct-to-acetate live recording, deep-catalog used vinyl with vintage 45 specialization), and a verifiable street address with a working phone line on the East Trinity Lane, 7th Avenue South, or Nolensville Pike vinyl corridor.
Q: Are any of the three stores paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No store sponsored placement.
Q: How should I plan a first visit?
A: Check the published hours (Phonoluxe runs a weekend-only Friday through Sunday schedule), the catalog emphasis, return and exchange policy, special-order lead times, and any appointment requirements. For Record Store Day exclusive titles arrive early on the April and Black Friday release days, and for Third Man Records Vault subscription pressings check the quarterly shipping window and member-only release calendar.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.