Description
The team behind Lost Record Stores (LRS) decided to create a map of lost independent record stores in Los Angeles from 1954 to 2024 out of love for the city and its music history. Researcher and Editor Dyanne Cano, who grew up in LA and frequented record stores in the 1990s and 2000s, wanted to create an online community archive with a fold-out map because many of these places have faded into obscurity over the years.
LRS hopes this map connects you to the expansive past of LA record stores. It is not just about nostalgia; these spaces played significant roles in creating and fostering community. For example, some of these stores connected diaspora communities to their homelands and cultures through music.
Prior to this archive there was no collection that documented the independent record stores of Los Angeles from the past 70+ years. This motivated the LRS team to create a community map that spans several decades. From selling vinyl records to 8-tracks, cassettes, and CDs, these brick and mortar stores were destinations for music lovers and collectors.
Lost Record Stores is a labor of love, born from a passion of Dyanne’s decades of record collecting and a desire to commemorate the independent record stores that were integral to Los Angeles culture and community.
