Record Store Day set April 18

Record Store Day lands on Saturday, April 18, with more than 350 limited titles headed to participating independent shops. (recordstoreday.com) The official Record Store Day site says the releases are sold through brick-and-mortar stores, not through Record Store Day itself, and stores choose their own orders from the list. It also says there are no pre-orders, and any leftover stock may go online starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) This year’s ambassador is Bruno Mars, and his Record Store Day exclusive LP, *The Collaborations*, has a listed quantity of 11,000 copies. Record Store Day said Mars was picked for 2026 and tied the release directly to that ambassador role. (recordstoreday.com (recordstoreday.com)) The event started after a 2007 meeting of independent record store owners and employees, and the first Record Store Day was held on April 19, 2008. The organization says it now spans about 1,400 independent stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) The format turns one shopping day into a supply race. Record Store Day divides titles into “Exclusive,” “First,” and “Small Run/Regional” categories, and it says press runs under 1,000 copies can be especially hard to find. (recordstoreday.com) That scarcity shows up in the release data. Slipknot’s long-discussed *Look Outside Your Window* is listed at 2,300 copies, Charli XCX’s “party 4 u” 7-inch at 8,000, and Ethel Cain’s first vinyl pressing of *Inbred* at 6,500 as an “RSD First” title. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) (recordstoreday.com 3) Coverage around this year’s drop has focused on that collector logic. Hypebot called the 2026 edition a “superfan stress test” and pointed to a chase list built around scarcity, pop demand, and in-store events. (hypebot.com) Genre guides are also steering buyers toward archival material instead of just pop singles. Glide Magazine highlighted 18 jazz and blues titles for Saturday’s release, while All About Jazz said the 2026 jazz slate is “especially strong” and spans rediscovered live sets, restored classics, and new vinyl editions. (glidemagazine.com) (allaboutjazz.com) Local shops are building the day around more than records. Nashville Scene’s guide points readers to April 18 events at stores including Vinyl Tap, Third Man Records, and Grimey’s, and Vinyl Tap says Record Store Day was founded in 2008 to celebrate record-store culture. (nashvillescene.com) (vinyltapnashville.com) By Sunday, April 19, the frenzy shifts from lines outside stores to whatever copies are left. Until then, Record Store Day’s own advice is simpler: find a participating shop, check what it ordered, and get there early. (recordstoreday.com)