Murfreesboro, Tennessee
The Great Escape (Murfreesboro)
810 NW Broad St, Ste 202, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
Record shopping in Tennessee
Tennessee runs three of America's most consequential music cities back-to-back along Interstate 40: Memphis cut Sun, Stax, and Hi Records into the wax; Nashville built Music Row and ran outlaw country, the Opry, and Third Man Records out of 7th Avenue South; and Bristol still claims the 1927 Bristol Sessions as the Big Bang of Country Music. Memphis has Goner Records anchoring the Cooper-Young neighborhood, Shangri-La Records running Madison Heights, and a deep punk, soul, and rap dig stretching across the city. Nashville has Grimey's on Trinity Lane, the Great Escape's 7,000-square-foot Charlotte Avenue flagship, Third Man's retail shop, and Vinyl Tap mixing craft beer with the crates. East Tennessee from Knoxville to Johnson City to Bristol fills in with Wild Honey's three locations, Lost & Found, Magnolia Records, and the country-and-bluegrass tradition that gave the state its sound. Hit 40 between Memphis and Nashville, ride 81 up to Bristol, and see what the Volunteer State has been keeping in the bins.
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BEYOND TENNESSEE: VINYL JOURNEYS FROM THE VOLUNTEER STATE
As the music fades out in the Volunteer State, every shop you flipped through today is just one set in a much bigger Southern catalog. The Mississippi, the Cumberland Gap, the Smokies, and the interstates that fan out from Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville keep music moving in every direction, and Tennessee's eight bordering states put more record stores within a half-day drive than almost anywhere in America.
Kentucky Record Stores: Head north into Kentucky, where Louisville's Guestroom Records runs two shops including the new renovated-firehouse Highlands location, the Great Escape's Bardstown Road flagship anchors the long-form dig, and Lexington's Cut Corner Records reopened in 2025 to take the old CD Central space.
Virginia Record Stores: Travel northeast to Virginia, where Charlottesville's college shops chase jam-band and Americana, Richmond's Plan 9 and the Carytown crates run punk and rare soul in equal measure, and the Tidewater coast around Norfolk turns up navy-town jazz and surf-era 45s.
North Carolina Record Stores: Cross east into North Carolina, where Asheville's Harvest and Static Age cover mountain folk through weirdo punk, the Triangle's All Day Records and Sorry State hold the college-rock and rare-soul flame in Carrboro and Raleigh, and the Outer Banks stores keep weekend beach soundtracks stocked.
Georgia Record Stores: Drop south into Georgia, where Athens still hosts Wuxtry and the ghosts of R.E.M. and the B-52's, Atlanta's Little Five Points runs Criminal Records and Wax 'N' Facts as a daily clinic on trap, soul, and indie, and Savannah's coastal shops slow everything down to a lowcountry tempo.
Alabama Record Stores: Roll south into Alabama, where Birmingham's Renaissance Records and Charlemagne anchor a deep punk and soul dig, Muscle Shoals shops keep the FAME and Swampers lineage stocked, and Mobile's Gulf Coast stores pick up where the Delta leaves off.
Mississippi Record Stores: Venture southwest into Mississippi, where Jackson and Oxford carry the Delta blues lineage, Hattiesburg's college-town shops pick up indie and gospel, and the Delta towns from Clarksdale to Greenville hold the bins where the blues began.
Arkansas Record Stores: Hop west to Arkansas, where Fayetteville's Block Street Records anchors the Northwest Arkansas indie scene, Little Rock's downtown shops carry punk and soul, and the Ozark towns from Eureka Springs to Mountain View keep bluegrass and folk close to the surface.
Missouri Record Stores: Swing northwest into Missouri, where St. Louis's Vintage Vinyl in the Loop carries deep soul and indie, Kansas City's Mills Record Company and Vinyl Renaissance run the Midtown circuit, and the Ozark towns hide bluegrass and rockabilly pressings.
Nevada Record Stores: Fly west to Nevada, where Las Vegas shops dig deep into lounge, soundtrack rarities, and casino-era pop, and Reno's downtown stores stock Bay Area indie pressings most of the country sleeps on.
At Record Store Directory, every state line is an invitation to keep exploring. Share your finds, connect with fellow collectors, and chase down that next unforgettable album, because the perfect record is always closer than you think.
Happy hunting, and we'll see you in the next stack!
More Tennessee coverage from The Stack:
- Record Store Spotlight: McKay’s Chattanooga (Used Bo
- The Best Record Stores in Chattanooga: Tennessee Vin
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