I have posted many stories about independent record shops (mainly ones that are still open) but this story really hit home. It is up to us, the vinyl record consumers, to visit our local record shops and spend our money there. Otherwise we have the closings of historic audio meeting places. I found this online (http://www.greeleytribune.com) and thought I would share it:

Bye, bye to The Finest records

“I went down to the sacred store,
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.”

Don McLean - American Pie

It’s an unfortunate sign of the times.

The closing of The Finest records in Greeley is like the demise of the drive-in or the closing of the last soda fountain. It signals the end of an era.

Consumers, it seems, are no longer buying their music at retail stores. Most are downloading their favorite songs directly onto their computers, and either burning their own discs or putting it directly into their iPods.

The Finest owner Jim Risser bravely withstood the technology boom longer than many others. Since 2003, 3,100 music retailers have closed across the United States. Of those, 1,400 were independent retailers like The Finest.

Risser tried to change with the times. He sold vintage vinyl records for the collectors. He set up a kiosk where patrons could download music. He sold novelty items and trimmed his budget.

Still, it wasn’t enough. And so as soon as Risser can liquidate his inventory, he will close his doors at his Hillside store, 2529 11th Ave.

It will be a blue day in Greeley when The Finest shuts its doors. Risser has spent 32 years with the store, first as a customer, then as a clerk, manager and eventually store owner. He will keep his Fort Collins store open through at least August, when his lease is up for renewal. Then he’ll decide whether to keep the store or close it like its sister store in Greeley.

This has been a difficult year for many Greeley businesses large and small. K-Mart, Dillards, The Bread Board, The Red Roaster and Hallmark have joined The Finest in closing their doors.

These closings should serve as a reminder to us all, especially this holiday shopping season, that we must support our local businesses. Not only is it good for the stores, it’s good for our local economy, keeping those sales tax dollars in Greeley rather than leaving them in nearby municipalities such as Loveland and Denver.

We wish Risser, and others who have been forced to close their doors, the best of luck in their future endeavors. They will be missed.

Like drive-ins and soda fountains, a few small record stores may remain for novelty sake. But in the end, most won’t survive the iPod generation. And for that, we are nostalgic, and even a bit sad.

“Bye, bye Miss American pie ...”