Help me name a record store
February 2, 2014 6:00 PM   Subscribe

I need to name a music store. It'll be a very small shop -- 400 sf -- and will deal in new and used vinyl. Your suggestions are appreciated.
posted by dobbs to Grab Bag (55 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Spin Again
posted by michellenoel at 6:04 PM on February 2, 2014


I checked a lot of .com domains with "vinyl" in them and most were taken, but "Vinylust" is available.
posted by Dansaman at 6:07 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Stacks and Stacks of Wax and Wax
posted by Rob Rockets at 6:08 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


The Round About
posted by prettymightyflighty at 6:09 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


EP's Records
posted by rhizome at 6:13 PM on February 2, 2014


Licorice Pizza!
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 6:13 PM on February 2, 2014 [8 favorites]


Right Round
The Vinyl Frontier
The Wax Museum
Spin City
posted by Jon Mitchell at 6:14 PM on February 2, 2014


Not Obsolete Records
Dobbs' Records
Conservation of Angular Momentum
The Best Little Record Store in Toronto
posted by Rob Rockets at 6:14 PM on February 2, 2014


The black freeway
posted by chasles at 6:24 PM on February 2, 2014


Smiling politely (both a Simpsons AND a smashing pumpkins reference!)
posted by chasles at 6:25 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


Analog music
posted by chasles at 6:25 PM on February 2, 2014


Inner Groove, as a reference to the inner groove of a record, where you'd sometimes find secret messages etched into vinyl.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:27 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Positive Spin
posted by Rob Rockets at 6:30 PM on February 2, 2014


Spin Doctor.
posted by Salamander at 6:34 PM on February 2, 2014


do you have a favorite song or album? I'd be inclined to name it after that. like maybe a two-word snippet of the lyrics, then "records" or "vinyl" after it.

seems like something a slightly snobby vinyl collector would appreciate.

source: I am a slightly snobby vinyl collector.
posted by kerning at 6:40 PM on February 2, 2014 [5 favorites]


Keep it simple man ' I love records' or 'Love records'. You want to make some money right ?
posted by flexiverse at 6:43 PM on February 2, 2014


Yeah, the clever names have been done to death. (Your name here) Records (Record Shop, Record Exchange if you're buying used) would be great. Something you can get as a URL and an eBay username would be a plus. If you find a really nice German pressing of Magical Mystery tour I'll stop in & buy it someday...
posted by in278s at 6:58 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh also: whatever street you're on. State Street Records.
posted by in278s at 6:59 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Vinyll (the .com domain is available)
posted by Dansaman at 7:03 PM on February 2, 2014


Groove.
posted by mochapickle at 7:19 PM on February 2, 2014


Rekkids
posted by goethean at 7:23 PM on February 2, 2014


The Vinyl Countdown
posted by goethean at 7:24 PM on February 2, 2014 [3 favorites]


"A small record store" would be fantastic.

or my favorite,

"Blank street records"
posted by furnace.heart at 8:17 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


Dobbs' Wax Parlour
posted by gyusan at 8:26 PM on February 2, 2014


I've always like the name of the record store Other Music. It opened in New York across the street from the mega-record store Tower Records in the 90s I think. The name Other Music and the shop's location set the shop in direct opposition to the commercial excess of Tower Records. As you might expect, it specializes in offbeat music. (For the record, Tower Records is gone of course, but Other Music is still around.)

There are some clever ideas mentioned in this post, but everyone is just throwing names to the wall to see what sticks. This is the name of your business. It's important. You should go about this process strategically. I recommend that you at least do a little research into naming strategies.

All the info you've given us that you sell new and used vinyl and it's a small shop, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered, or that you need to take into consideration.

Who are your competitors? Who are your customers? What appeals to them? What matters to them? Why would they visit your shop? Is the small size a good thing that can be a hook to them or a bad thing that puts them off? Are you selling online or just in person? And on and on....

Thinking about the answers to such questions will help give you a foundation to this process.
posted by Leontine at 8:35 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm partial to something that references the small size, like 'Tiny Records' but could also go for some reference to the building, like 'Red Door Vinyl' or 'The Velvet Room'
posted by a halcyon day at 8:50 PM on February 2, 2014


Rotational Media
posted by sexyrobot at 8:51 PM on February 2, 2014


Never Gonna Give You Up Vinyl
posted by otherchaz at 11:12 PM on February 2, 2014


Vinyl Destination
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:53 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


I stopped in to offer the above. (Actually, "400 SF").
posted by notyou at 12:44 AM on February 3, 2014


A Short Skip
posted by mannequito at 12:48 AM on February 3, 2014


- Spin for the Win
- Feet on the Floor, Hands on the Decks
posted by MuffinMan at 2:58 AM on February 3, 2014


Palmerston Platters
posted by 1970s Antihero at 6:10 AM on February 3, 2014


The Needle
posted by evil otto at 6:11 AM on February 3, 2014


Ear Wax
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 6:19 AM on February 3, 2014


45s
posted by jindc at 7:06 AM on February 3, 2014


RPM's
posted by hanoixan at 7:11 AM on February 3, 2014


Skip's Records
Black Plate
posted by history is a weapon at 7:12 AM on February 3, 2014


Twelve Feet (or however long the retail area actually is) of Twelve Inches
posted by BigLankyBastard at 7:42 AM on February 3, 2014


Mabel's Labels
Down in the Groove
SCRAAATCH
Vinyl Answer
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:58 AM on February 3, 2014



For the Record.

As in,
For the record, Tower Records is gone of course, but Other Music is still around
posted by kestrel251 at 9:24 AM on February 3, 2014


Still Here
posted by dawkins_7 at 9:27 AM on February 3, 2014


Death Records.

Because I love "The Phantom of the Paradise". (Hipsters, not so much, but sometimes you resemble that which you dislike.)
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:10 AM on February 3, 2014


I've probably said this before on the blue, but I always wanted to open a used record store called Grand Thrift Audio.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:35 AM on February 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


To steal from High Fidelity: Championship Vinyl. The .com name appears to have expired.
posted by JDC8 at 10:42 AM on February 3, 2014


Concrete Music
posted by bendybendy at 11:27 AM on February 3, 2014


Sounds Major

It's a snarky response Samantha Baker makes to The Geek/Farmer Ted in the movie "Sixteen Candles" (if you're not a child of the 1980s and don't have the entire movie memorized).
posted by the matching mole at 1:15 PM on February 3, 2014


I was thinking more... Maybe it'd be fun to use a sexy retro name, like Odette. (And the O in the sign could be a record.)
posted by mochapickle at 3:21 PM on February 3, 2014


Overactive Platters



god, don't actually use that.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:42 PM on February 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


Scratch Pad
sPins and Needles
Spin Me Round
Splatter Records
posted by maggieb at 7:58 PM on February 3, 2014


My. Childhood place was Flat Black and Circular
posted by k8t at 10:12 PM on February 3, 2014


Happy Place Records

"Come find your happy place!"
posted by platinum at 12:20 AM on February 4, 2014


Bonus Sonus
posted by goethean at 1:54 PM on February 4, 2014


Little Vinyl
Vinylesque
Vinyl Style
Vinyl Hut
Vinyl Heaven
Vinyl Shed
Vinyl Central
Vinylopolis
Vinyltopia
Vinylville
Vinylosity
Vinylicious
Vinyluscious
posted by Dansaman at 8:14 AM on February 5, 2014


Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions, people!
posted by dobbs at 5:22 PM on February 6, 2014


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