The 4th Annual Record Store Day is this Saturday (4/16). This celebration of independently owned record stores is marked by hundreds of Record Store Day only special releases of artists in all genres of rock. 

Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances.

Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008.

 Participating Long Island Stores include:

• Looney Tunes in West Babylon
• Record Stop in Shirley and Ronkonkoma
• CD Island in Rockville Centre
• Platinum Hits in Riverhead
• Mr. Cheapo's in Mineola and Commack
• Infinity Records in Massapequa Park
• Soundtraks in Huntington
• Utopia in Hicksville and Centereach
• Long Island Vinyl Exchange in East Northport 

Read below what some artists have to say about record stores. Click here for the Record Store Day website to see some of the special releases that will be available.

 "Immersing yourself in the environment of a real record store where music is celebrated and cherished adds real value to the experience of buying music. In some ways, that retail experience is as important as the music."

- John Mellencamp

 "You can't roll a joint on an iPod - buy vinyl!"

- Shelby Lynne

"The record store. Where true fandom begins. It's the soul of discovery, and the place where you can always return for that mighty buzz. The posters. The imports. The magazines. The discerning clerks, paid in vinyl, professors of the groove. Long live that first step inside, when the music envelopes you and you can't help it. You walk up to the counter and ask the question that begins the journey -- "what is that you're playing?" Long live the record store, and the guys and girls who turn the key, and unlock those dreams, every day."

- Cameron Crowe

 “The indie record stores are the backbone of the recorded music culture. It's where we go to network, browse around, and find new songs to love. The stores whose owners and staff live for music have spread the word about exciting new things faster and with more essence than either radio or the press. Any artist that doesn't support the wonderful ma and pa record stores across America is contributing to our own extinction.”

- Joan Jett

Growing up a rock and metal fan on Long Island in the 70's and 80's was very different than it is today. There were no chain stores like Virgin and Tower and of course no internet mail order services like Amazon. The only way to pick up albums were to shop at your local "mom and pop" record stores....

In the late 70s, it was always easy to find the latest releases from my favorite bands....Led Zeppelin, The Who, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Queen, etc were all readily available at any record store. But in the early 80's, as I discovered more "underground" metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Accept, Mercyful Fate, Loudness and Raven (from reading my imported copies of Kerrang), there was no place in small town Long Beach, Long Island to find the latest records from these bands I was reading about. Then I discovered Slipped Disc Records in Valley Stream, Long Island. They not only carried the albums from these bands, but also the 12" singles with bonus tracks, the t-shirts, the imported live videos and anything else that existed! When the American thrash scene was beginning to erupt around 1983, I could always count on Slipped Disc to carry anythings I was looking for from bands like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Flotsam & Jetsam, Death Angel and Nuclear Assault.

Taking the train there every Saturday was the highlight of my week! And on the day I received my drivers license, the very first place I drove to was Slipped Disc to pick up Metallica's Ride The Lightning album which was released that VERY day! (The imported version of course!) Now in 2008, the world is a very different place...the aforementioned chains and online stores have made it very difficult for the mom and pop stores to compete. In fact, my beloved Slipped Disc just announced it will be closing its doors for good. So let's hear it for people like Mike from Slipped Disc and all of the independant store owners that have helped shape the metal scene for the past 25 years. Without them, a lot of us may not have existed....(Or at least have been as metal as we are!)

- Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater)