Record Store Day Picks

Record Store Day is still eight days away, but the hunt has already started because the official 2026 list is live and participating shops are preparing for April 18 releases that are only available through independent stores. Record Store Day says the event began in 2007, held its first celebration on April 19, 2008, and now involves nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States plus thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) One of the biggest names on this year’s list is Robert Plant, because Record Store Day US and Record Store Day UK have named him a Record Store Legend ahead of the event. The release tied to that honor is a 12-inch vinyl extended play record called *Saving Grace: All That Glitters… with Suzi Dian*, set for April 18. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) That Robert Plant record is not a vault dump or a repackaged old album. Record Store Day’s listing says it contains four new studio recordings by Plant, Suzi Dian, and the Saving Grace band, including songs associated with Bert Jansch and Gillian Welch. (recordstoreday.com) The scarcity is part of the ritual here. Record Store Day lists 3,500 copies of Plant’s extended play record, which means fans are not competing with a streaming queue but with however many copies their local shop actually orders and receives. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) Weezer is feeding the same April rush from a different angle. The band’s song “Shine Again” was released on April 1, 2026, and Weezerpedia describes it as the first single from the group’s twentieth album and the first original Weezer song issued after the band’s hiatus that followed *SZNZ* in 2022. (weezerpedia.com) Record Store Day’s own artist page shows Weezer is also in the 2026 mix with event-linked releases, which is how the day usually works at street level: one artist brings a brand-new song, another brings demos or rarities, and stores turn a shopping trip into a one-day release calendar. (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) The reason these exclusives keep getting traction is that vinyl is no longer a niche side aisle in the music business. The Recording Industry Association of America said on March 16, 2026, that United States vinyl sales topped $1 billion in 2025 and accounted for nearly half of the format’s global total. (riaa.com) That growth has been building for years, not just one holiday weekend. The Recording Industry Association of America’s 2024 year-end report said vinyl’s rise had stretched to nearly 20 years, and its 2025 mid-year report said vinyl made up more than three-quarters of all physical music revenue. (riaa.com) (riaa.com) So April 18 is less like a sale and more like concert-ticket morning for record collectors. Record Store Day warns that not every participating store will stock every title, and tells buyers to check directly with local shops because the list is national but inventory is store by store. (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) That is why a four-song Robert Plant record and a fresh Weezer release can punch above their size in the same week. In a market where vinyl passed the $1 billion mark in the United States, a limited pressing is not just music on plastic anymore; it is a reason to line up before the doors open on April 18. (recordstoreday.com) (riaa.com)