Redscroll Records

There is no better place in the world than New England in the fall. When the leaves change color, and there’s a cool, clean, and crisp feeling in the air, it’s time to put on some warm clothes and explore. You can drive for hours surrounded by splashes of color not seen anywhere else. If you find yourself on the S Turnpike Rd. In Wallingford, CT, during one of your leaf-peeping adventures, or any other adventure at any other time of year, one stop along the way should be at Redscroll Records.

The space Redscroll inhabits is large. At 2,400 square feet, it’s much bigger than its previous location in downtown Wallingford. There, they only had 740 square feet. With over 50,000 products to sell, that’s a lot of inventory to squeeze through.

Co-owners Rick Sinkiewicz and Josh Carlson opened the store at its original location in 2007. In 2020, they moved to their new location. They also have a virtual storefront on Discogs where they list over 31,000 products, 19k of them being vinyl records. With a Discogs rating of 100% (from 79k ratings), that speaks to one thing – a record store that cares about its customers and the music they sell.

It’s an exciting time for vinyl records. As Rick Sinkiewicz says, “More and more music being released on vinyl is the best and most exciting thing by far.”

And it is. A recent RIAA report calls out the fact that vinyl record sales exceeded $1 billion in 2021. You read that right. $1 billion.

Opinions vary as to why vinyl sales continue to grow, but Sinkiewicz has a theory – “Digital media is cold and detached. Physical media brings with it a level of intimacy.”

That “level of intimacy” keeps customers coming to Redscroll. “Our connection to our local music community and the relationship we have with it,” Sinkiewicz says. “(It’s) A positive give and take.”

At Redscroll, they have seen it all, from 3” records and records players to picture discs on Record Store Days; it’s the 12” discs that keep people coming back. And, if you happen to be new to collecting records, Sinkiewicz has some advice to offer when it comes to caring for that new collection.

“Keep your records upright in a cool, dry room,” he says. “Store them in polybags, and if you want to really keep the sleeves nice, keep your records outside of the jackets.”

You can buy these, as well as record cleaning kits, at Redscroll too. They will always have you covered.