Nevada RSD FAQ
How many record stores are in Nevada?
Nevada has 21 active record stores spread across 6 distinct towns. Las Vegas alone holds eleven shops, Reno carries five more, Boulder City has two, and Carson City, Dayton, and Gardnerville each anchor one. Nevada has zero national music chain locations (no FYE, no Newbury Comics, no 2nd & Charles), but Arizona’s iconic Zia Records chain extends across the desert with two Las Vegas locations. The southern Nevada shops sit on the I-15 corridor toward California, the Las Vegas-Phoenix run pulls into Arizona, and the I-15 north line connects into Utah‘s St. George and Salt Lake corridors.
Tell me about Wax Trax Records in Las Vegas.
Wax Trax Records on South Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas has been operating since 1998 (27 years) and runs across three floors holding roughly half a million vinyl records including a deep wall of rare unopened classics. The shop recently transitioned from founder Rich Rosen to his son David Rosen, who is bringing a next-generation update to the customer experience. Wax Trax has been featured on 8 News Now Las Vegas as the city’s largest single record store and is the natural first stop for any Las Vegas record-store circuit.
What are the best record stores in Las Vegas?
Las Vegas’s eleven shops form Nevada’s densest cluster. Wax Trax Records (see above) anchors the South Decatur side. The two Zia Records Las Vegas locations on South Eastern Avenue and South Rainbow Boulevard extend the Arizona-headquartered chain (founded Tempe 1980) into Southern Nevada. 11th Street Records on Fremont Street runs a recording studio in the back and a famous 45s secret stash for rare punk collectors. Moondog Records, Primitive Recordings, The Analog Dope Store, Vegas Vinyl, Kilovolt Records in the Decatur mall complex, and Record City on Sahara round out the city’s indie circuit.
What are the best record stores in Reno?
Reno’s five shops form Nevada’s second cluster. Recycled Records on Kietzke Lane is the longest-running Reno record store – operating since 1978 under owner Paul Doege (who has been at the counter since 1980, 46 years total). 180 Gram Records handles the curated indie trade, Discology covers the deep used catalog, RankinShop rounds out the dedicated record retail, and Grassroots Books carries records as part of its broader nonprofit indie bookstore inventory.
Tell me about Recycled Records.
Recycled Records on Kietzke Lane in Reno was founded in 1978 – 47 years of continuous Reno operation, making it the city’s oldest record store. Owner Paul Doege has been behind the counter since 1980 (46 years). The shop ran a two-location operation through the early 2010s (a South Virginia Street location for 24 years until December 2012) before consolidating to the single Kietzke Lane storefront. Recycled Records is the natural counterpoint to Las Vegas’s Wax Trax for any cross-state Nevada record-store circuit.
What are the best record stores in northern Nevada and the small towns?
Beyond the Las Vegas and Reno clusters, Nevada’s small towns each anchor one or two shops. Tiger Rose Vintage & Vinyl in Carson City covers the state capital. Silver Dollar Records in Dayton and High Desert Trading Post in Gardnerville on US Highway 395 serve the rural Carson Valley. Just outside Las Vegas, Boulder City carries Viva Vegas Vinyl and CS RecordZ as the Hoover Dam-area indie circuit.
Does Nevada participate in Record Store Day?
Yes. Wax Trax Records anchors Las Vegas’s annual Record Store Day turnout every April with its three-floor inventory. The two Zia Records Las Vegas locations stock the chain’s annual RSD allocations across all eight Zia southwestern stores (6 Arizona + 2 Nevada). Recycled Records in Reno and 11th Street Records downtown anchor Reno and the Fremont Street RSD scene respectively. Check the official Record Store Day store locator each spring for the current Nevada participant list.
Are there any unusual record shops in Nevada?
Nevada has a few. Vinyl Pharmacy at the Westgate, which opened in 2022 as the first Las Vegas location of the California-headquartered Vinyl Pharmacy chain (sister shops in Palm Springs and Redlands), operates inside the Westgate Resort Casino’s North Tower and stocks vinyl alongside Gold/Platinum Records, cassettes, 8-tracks, DVDs, Blu-Rays, and movie posters. 11th Street Records on Fremont pairs retail with a working recording studio in the back. Kilovolt Records sits in Unit H43-44 inside a Decatur Boulevard mall complex, and High Desert Trading Post in Gardnerville works the rural-highway trade on US 395.