Record Store Day 2026 brought music collectors to independent shops across New Jersey on Saturday to celebrate their shared love of vinyl.

Customers filled the aisles at Factory Records in Dover and at Almost Ready Records in Montclair. The owner of Almost Ready Records said Record Store Day is the best day of the year. Shoppers said the event is about more than just buying albums.

“Yeah, a lot of people come out and it's cool to see that people are going back to the vinyls and listening to music the way it should be,” said Michael Carey, of Hackensack.

Carey said supporting local record stores is important.

“The record stores have to stay, people have to support, people have to come out, you have got to support the local businesses. I’ll pay a couple extra bucks to support,” he said.

Zoey Anne Brennan was visiting New Jersey from Paris, France. She said the event has a sense of community no matter where she goes.

“I'm so happy that wherever I am, whether it be the U.S. or France or Germany or wherever, it's just the same community. I love to meet new people...and I love new discoveries. I always come for one day and leave with significantly more than what I planned,” Brennan said.

Record Store Day also featured exclusive releases, including one from New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen. It was a box set of his live performance headlining a festival in Asbury Park in the summer of 2024.

Brendon Power, of Montclair, said the release had personal meaning for him.

“I went to this show two months before I got married, special show for me, so when I saw it was announced, I knew I had to go grab it,” Power said.

Fans said the tradition is strengthened by the sense of community built while standing in line with fellow music lovers.

“Also how multi-generational Record Store Day is, I’ve seen older dads, very young girls, and we are all around and talking about our different things,” Brennan said.

“Record stores and concerts and live music is where that community lives and thrives,” Power said.

Carey said music remains essential.

“Everybody should come out, buy some music, listen to some music. You need it in your life right now. It makes you happy. It’s medicine, music is medicine. It’s a great way to be happy,” he said.