Remember These Hip Record Stores on the New Hampshire Seacoast?

Record Store Day got me to thinking about the long gone local spots where I bought many of my records.

Living in Durham in the 1970's, I quickly found two stores that sold records. One was called 'The Listening Post'. It was on Main Street, and the first record I bought there was 'Wings Over America'. It was also a head shop as I recall, but closed shortly after my first purchase.

Town and Campus in Durham sold records on the second floor, and in my early teens, spent many afternoons up there staring at Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon album covers.

The Musicsmith in the Newington Mall had a much bigger selection of music, and this is where I did the bulk of my record shopping throughout the seventies. Bradlees and Montgomery Ward also had a music section in their stores, but they paled in comparison.

Kevin Guyer opened up Rock Bottom Records in Portsmouth in the 80's, and that store was the heart of a wonderful Portsmouth music scene for the better part of two decades. You could even preview the music you wanted to buy.

In Dover, Lost Chord Records was a mainstay in the Upper Square for many years. Ted (forgive me, I've forgotten his last name) was a wonderful local musician, and the store was a great hangout for other area musicians.

I can't forget Strawberries in Portsmouth, mostly because I managed the store for a few years in the late 80's. At one point, Strawberries had over 100 stores in New England and beyond.

They are all gone, save for T&C in Durham, but I haven't been in lately to see if they still sell music. I really miss holding the vinyl records. They felt different than cd's, and these days, there's nothing to physically hold by downloading.