Stan's Record Bar

I don't know how long Stan's Record Bar has been in the same spot at 48 North Prince Street, but it's been as long as I've known Lancaster. It's a landmark to me.

Stan's specializes in old vinyl. They have some CD's and cassettes, and some, inexplicably, slot cars. But mostly vinyl. Now, I don't own a record player amd I don't collect vinyl. I'm a new tech guy. My music is played from WMA files on an 8GB microSD card on my Windows Mobile 6.1 SmartPhone. But there is one area in which I'm (relatively) old school: I like to own the media my music comes on. And for me that mean CD's. I still buy CD's and rip them myself.

Record stores (as I still call them) are getting scarce, and those that still exist carry only the top selling albums by mainstream artists. My musical tastes currently run outside the mainstream (Sirius calls it "Outlaw Country"). According to Mark Glessner, the proprietor of Stan's, even CD's are quickly dying as people subscribe to online downloading services. So where am I going to get my CD's? Well, for the foreseeable future, I'm going to order them from Stan's. I've had some hassels with ordering online, even from Amazon. Stan's is willing to take on that hassel and do the ordering for me. I don't care where he gets it. As far as I'm concerned, if he gets a good copy of any CD, with all cover art, and I'm still paying about a $1/song? I'm willing to shell out for that.

An interesting side note: the most recent CD I had him order, "Grandpa Walked a Picketline" by Otis Gibbs, came in a small cardboard sleeve. Mark said that, by law, all CD's will come in cardbard in a year or so. Jewell cases are out. I worked at Camelot when long boxes where still in fashion because they fit in the old vinyl bins. Times change. Hopefully, by the time music becomes a utility pumped into your house like cable TV or electricity, I won't care about it anymore.

Stan's Record Bar

Mon - Fri: 10-6

Sat: 9-5

Sun: Closed

717/397-5200

Oh yeah, and it's half a block from the sheltered scooter parking in the Prince Street Garage.