If you have not picked your outfit and charged your phone alarm yet, consider this your final notice: Record Store Day 2026 is tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, and it is shaping up to be one of the biggest editions in the event's 19-year history.

More than 350 exclusive vinyl releases will be available only at participating independent record stores worldwide. No online orders. No streaming equivalent. You show up, you browse, you buy — or someone else does first.

Bruno Mars Takes the Ambassador Role

This year's official U.S. ambassador is Bruno Mars, who called the act of putting on a record and sitting down to listen 'a very romantic idea' — fitting, given that his first solo album since 2016's 24K Magic, titled The Romantic, is the creative backdrop for his involvement.

Mars did not just lend his name to the event. He partnered with over 200 independent record stores for advance listening parties for The Romantic in late February, and his exclusive RSD release, The Collaborations, compiles his most celebrated team-ups — tracks with Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga, ROSÉ, and others — onto a limited vinyl pressing.

Robert Plant Named Record Store Legend

The rarer honor this year goes to Robert Plant, the Led Zeppelin frontman who at 77 has been crate-digging since before most current record store employees were born. Plant was famously photographed browsing vinyl at Bleecker Bob's in New York with Jimmy Page in 1970, and he has never stopped — recent sightings include Nail City Record in West Virginia, Mills Record Company in Kansas City, and Schoolkids Records in Raleigh.

His commemorative plaque was unveiled at Spillers Records in Cardiff, Wales — widely recognized as the world's oldest record store. He joins Elton John and Johnny Marr as the only recipients of the Record Store Legend honor.

Vinyl Sales Keep Climbing

Record Store Day arrives during a period of sustained growth for physical music. Vinyl sales have climbed year after year, with 2025 producing the highest weekly vinyl sales figures in 30 years. The format that many wrote off as a nostalgic curiosity has become a genuine commercial force.

Roughly 1,400 independently owned record shops in the United States will participate tomorrow, with stores on every continent except Antarctica joining in. Most shops open early — typically between 6 and 8 a.m. — though hours vary by location.

Notable Releases to Watch

Beyond The Collaborations, the release list spans decades and genres. Limited-edition pressings, rare reissues, colored vinyl, and box sets from artists across rock, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, and more will line the shelves. Robert Plant is also celebrating with an exclusive EP release of his own.

The key rule for shoppers: everything is first-come, first-served. There are no holds, no preorders, and no rain checks. If the pressing you want sells out at your store, your options are another store or the secondary market — where prices tend to spike quickly.

Why It Still Matters

In an era of algorithmic playlists and infinite streaming libraries, Record Store Day exists to celebrate something deliberately inefficient: the experience of walking into a shop, flipping through crates, and discovering something by accident. The event has grown from a grassroots idea at a 2007 gathering of store owners into a global cultural moment — proof that the desire for physical, tangible music never really went away.

Set your alarm. Bring cash. Wear comfortable shoes.