The resurgence of vinyl records gives music lovers a chance to immerse themselves in the rich, deep sound of their favorite artists, and has breathed new life into independent record stores like the Record Connection in Niles.

“We never stopped selling record albums”

“So I’m very excited that there is a comeback. Analysts they say it’s a fad, it’s hipsters, it’s this, it’s that, but we’re seeing a continual uptick. There’s no comparison, the record album will give you true fidelity,” says Burke comparing records to digital downloads or streaming music. “The stylist is trapped right in the source. So it plays everything it comes in contact with. You can’t get that with your downloads stuff. And I think that’s the plus of it.”

Burke says his love for music developed at a young age, listening with his parents and picking up sounds along his paper route. “My parents listened to music all the time. Sunday mornings were a mix of big band music and we would listen to the polka hour on WNIA, and the Italian hour as well. So we were always around music.”

“My first business was a paper boy, so I delivered papers door-to-door. That was where I bought my first record album,” Burke recalls. “It was a Rolling Stones live album. I can still remember exactly who I bought it from, and the guy had asked me when I knocked on his door if I wanted to come in and listen to the album and I said, ‘no I want to buy it.’ And I was just instantly hooked on music.”

“What I like the most is being able to service music lovers. We’ve been doing that since 1980 and I just love talking to people and giving them some knowledge.”

The Record Connection is located at 32 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles, Ohio.

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