In a world of digital downloads, brick and mortar record stores seem to be a dying breed -- but not at Forever Young Records in Grand Prairie.
The store is a favorite hangout for music lovers who browse the bins in search of vinyl, cds and even cassettes or 8-tracks. Plus all kinds of memorabilia they can't find anywhere else.
"I operate from a customer view point, my inventory is huge," store owner David Eckstrom says. "You can't sell it if you don't have it."
Eckstrom opened his first retail record store in 1984, and, many formats later, is still in business, with a catalogue of every style of music -- and customer -- you can imagine.
"Grandma, to the hip hop guy, I mean it's everything. I don't have a [type of] customer, I have the general public," Eckstrom says.
His inventory has about 50,000 LPs in stock, including new releases on vinyl, plus tens of thousands of new and used CDs.
From hard-core hip-hop to zydeco, to Christian and everything else, Forever Young has it all. They even have a record collectors den where nothing costs less than $50 -- and most things cost a whole lot more than that. One Elvis Christmas album we found cost $400.
If you need 45s for your jukebox, they've got it. Looking for a forgotten b-side? You might find it here. And, of course, if you need a turntable or a needle, this is your place.
"If I'm looking for something, I come here, but if I'm not, I'll still come here to look to see what they have," one regular customer told us.
Customers also come here to sell their music or memorabilia, netting cash or store credit for particularly interesting finds. One customer showed Eckstrom a Harry Belafonte LP that featured a young Bob Dylan playing harmonica. That find, plus some others, netted around $35 cash.
Many regulars search the crates for music that is rare or out of print. They may come in looking for one title, but leave with three.
"You can always find something, you have to just make yourself leave sometimes, you know," another customer told us.
Eckstrom says there are still enough people out there who like to physically own their music and younger generations are also developing a love vinyl.
"They're discovering dad's, mom's record stack and they pull out their turntable and find a needle -- you can get needles and belts here, so get that working again -- and there's a whole lot of fun to be had," Eckstrom says.
So, audiophiles, fear not.
"I'm not going away anytime soon," Eckstrom says. "My goal is to stay forever young."
Forever Young Records
2955 South Highway 360
Grand Prairie, Texas 75052
(972) 352 - 6299
