If you are a fan of vinyl records, all things 70s and music in general, then you have to check out For The Record and Yellow Racket Records.

For The Record is a record store at Northgate Mall in Hixson, Tennessee. Since 2008, they have been the go-to place to buy records, along with Guitar Center and Barnes and Noble. The business is run by co-owners Mike and Gwen. As they say on their website, “We grew up with a passion for all types of music, movies, television, comics, books and pop culture thingies.” At For The Record, they bring all of these passions of theirs together to create a fun environment for people to hang out, listen to music, and just get a feel for what it was like to grow up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. 

In the 12 years that For The Record has been open, they have built a very impressive reputation. Scrolling through all of their reviews and only finding a few 3 stars and the rest being 5 stars was outstanding to me. For The Record offers a wide array of older music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but some reviews did point out that they don’t offer as much new music. Still, most reviews acknowledged that it is a good place to shop if you’re open to searching through their crates. Overall, “For The Record” has scored 4.5 stars, so whatever flaws they have are not that big. I would recommend checking it out.

Yellow Racket Records is another record store near downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Unlike For The Record, they have only been open for 2 months. The owners relate to everyday people. On their website, they write, “We are musicians who live quietly – raising families and working day jobs; fixing leaks and making lunches; balancing the budget and mowing the lawn. We make music in a way that enables us to come home at night; to make dinner for friends; to walk our dogs at dusk; to chase our kids with quilts over our heads; to kiss our lovers after lights out.” 

Since “Yellow Racket Records” hasn’t been open for that long, they have very few reviews online. Most people that left reviews talked about how appreciative they were of their big, varied selection of new music. They have also received compliments about how welcoming their employees are and their peaceful environment. They have 4.8 stars on Google Reviews. That’s slightly better than For The Record, who might have some big competition now! 

Or maybe not. Both stores are great at what they do and offer different opportunities for different music listeners. I will definitely be checking these stores out in the near future. If you are interested in them, For The Record is located at Northgate Mall in Hixon, and Yellow Racket Records is located at 2311 E Main St, Chattanooga, TN.