East Aurora Advertiser

New and Used Vinyl on the Turntable at Revolver Records



If owner Phil Machemer was wondering how his location of Revolver Records would fare on Main Street in East Aurora, the sight that greeted him at 10:55 a.m. on Friday after Thanksgiving could only have served to reassure him. 

The line that had formed well before the 11 a.m. scheduled opening had grown to at least 25. They were senior citizens, middle-agers, 20-somethings and teenagers—all excited to get at the store’s new and used vinyl records. Machemer opened the door a couple minutes early, welcomed the assembled throng and stepped aside.

Aubrey Matthewson looks for the one record that will make her day during the opening of Revolver Records on Main Street last Friday.
Photo by Marty Wangelin

Those first few dozen customers must have liked what they found because within minutes they were clutching albums and presenting them to cashiers Lucy Bell, Matt Aquiline and Eric Buchbinder for checkout. And 30 minutes after opening, the place was packed with audiophiles flipping through the bins of records in a scene reminiscent of the old Main Street Records and Tapes at the plaza.

The Revolver Records at 706 Main St. is Machemer’s fourth location, joining his other stores on Hertel Avenue and Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo and Transit Road in Amherst. Revolver takes over the storefront that became available when Limelite Music moved its music lessons and sales operation to the lower level of the same building, with a new entrance on Persons Alley behind Main Street. 

“It’s a perfect fit,” Limelite owner Suzanne Sprague said. “We’d been wanting to get our lesson studios, Limelite University practice space and instrument and accessory sales all on the same floor for quite a while. Luckily, a mutual friend knew that Phil was looking for an East Aurora location and everything worked. The two businesses complement each other. And please tell everyone we haven’t closed; we’ve just moved downstairs!”

Said Machemer, who’s been in the vinyl business for 15 years, “We’re excited to be in East Aurora. The store is the right size and in the end of town we wanted. Half the store is devoted to used and vintage vinyl. The other half is new records. We buy used albums one at a time, offering cash or store credit. Or whole collections. All genres. Last year I bought 50,000 albums from one vendor. We’ll take a look at whatever comes in, assess the quality of each and make an offer.”

Shoppers will find the used albums graded from M (mint condition) to M- (near mint), VG (very good) ++, VG+, VG, G (good) and Poor. 

“It’s the Goldmine scale that is pretty much accepted across the used vinyl world,” said Buchbinder. “Mint means the record will play like new and VG+ and VG++ mean there is very little surface noise when you play it. Most of our records are VG and up.” 

Revolver Records is open for business in the Main Street location formerly occupied by Limelite Music. Limelite has moved to the floor below, in the same building.
Photo by Marty Wangelin

Prices for used albums range from as little as three dollars to as much as $200 for a copy of, appropriately, the Beatles’ Revolver album from 1966. Most are in the $10 to $30 range. The collection goes well beyond rock and roll, taking in soundtracks from musicals, classical, blues, folk, jazz, pop and Christmas—you name it. Revolver Records will order anything you want or search for it if it’s not readily available. 

New albums might be in the $25 to $40 range. A new copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was $38; the best-selling Rumours from Fleetwood Mac was going for $27. If you saw Flaming Lips or Portugal. The Man at Borderland and want some of their music, Revolver has it. 

Beyond vinyl, Revolver Records stocks new turntables from Audio-Technica, speakers, music-themed bubble gum cards, T-shirts and used CDs for $5, unplayable albums melted into bowls and kits for framing your favorite album. 

What accounts for the resurgent popularity of vinyl records, which have seen a dramatic increase in sales in recent years? When the convenience of music streaming is at our fingertips on our phones, computers or our smart TVs, vinyl sales climbed 22 percent in the first half of 2022, according to Variety, with extraordinary gains in recorded music since 2006. And “Vinyl Nights” are a staple at many night spots.

“It’s engagement with the music,” one shopper told me Saturday, “the whole idea of placing the record on the turntable, caring for the record and equipment.” “It’s cool,” said another. “I got my boyfriend a turntable for his birthday, now he’s getting some vinyl for Christmas.”

Says Jennifer Brazill, creator of Borderland, “My take on the resurgence of vinyl is that in the days of everything being digital and people living their lives online, they want something they can walk away with, a tangible product. Exploring music through vinyl and on a turntable is a whole different experience and the feeling of walking around a record store, rummaging through the old records and finding those gems is irreplaceable. I also feel like it creates a different connection for a fan to the artist. It’s more an intimate way of hearing the music.” 

Machemer has his own thoughts. 

Eric Buchbinder and Phil Machemer handled the sales at the newly opened Revolver Records last Friday.
Photo by Marty Wangelin

“Even with the technology of today, engineers can’t match the production values of many of the albums from the 1960s and ‘70s, and discerning audiophiles appreciate that,” he said, echoing the comment I hear from audiophiles and engineers alike. But the human factor is key as well. “The reason we’re here is because of the personal contact with music lovers. We have lots of customers who grew up in the vinyl-only era [like me]. They are our most difficult and demanding, but ultimately our best customers, the ones we become friends with. I learn more about music in a record store than anyone else. Some buyers come in, make a purchase and leave, but the majority like to talk about the music, their memories associated with the music, the artists.”

I agree. As I was wandering the store talking to people, Peter Potter, an East Aurora grad from 1972, came up to me holding a Chuck Mangione album with a photo of the musician playing his horn. 

“Do you know about this album?”

I knew about Chuck Mangione, of course, the Grammy Award-winning flugelhorn player from Rochester, whose music was so popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and whose “Give it All You Got” was a theme song for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

“This photo was taken at East Aurora High School. Mr. Hasselback (John Hasselback, legendary music teacher) had him come in and actually sat in with him in music class. Saxophonist Jerry Mulligan came in, too. (Classmate) Brent Kelley took the picture; borrowed my camera.”

I stopped at Revolver on Saturday, day two of their presence in the village. The place was still hopping with shoppers of all ages, browsing the new and used bins. The Rolling Stones’ version of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” appropriately, was on the turntable. Jennifer Brazill reminded me of the line from the movie Almost Famous, “…and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.”

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