I have been complaining about the struggles of bookstores for some time, but I’ve neglected another industry in a similar situation – record stores.

Anecdotally, I gather that some indie record stores are reversing the slide and building their business through a focus on vinyl records and a focus on the community (hosting events, supporting and promoting the albums of local bands, etc).

However, the one I remember from high school, RTO (Record & Tape Outlet) in Dunedin, Florida, closed down. It was a cool kids hangout, with classic record store geeks both behind the counter and browsing in the aisles (yes – you can be both cool and a geek, as long as we’re talking about music).

And when I lived in Hollywood, slipping down the boulevard to the Virgin Megastore  at Hollywood and Highland was a great way to spend a little time, but the last Virgin Megastore closed down in 2009, so that’s gone now, too.