Greeley hasn’t had a record store since 2008 when The Finest closed its doors. The closest place to buy physical music was in Loveland or Fort Collins, which is at least 20 miles away.
Co-owner Dave Czapenski of Greeley’s newest and only record store, Downtown Sound, has worked in various record stores throughout his life. He worked at the previous Downtown Sound location in Loveland with pricing vinyl and music equipment for the owners.
But Czapenski had always wanted to open his own record store and thought Greeley would be the perfect place to do so. Downtown Sound opened a few months ago and, in the store, they sell vinyl, CDs, cassettes and music equipment. The genres can range from folk, heavy metal, classical, hip-hop, rap, soundtracks, pop and more.
They also provide services for buying music or equipment you don’t want anymore. This is where they get most of their inventory until Czapenski figures out what music locals would like to see in the store. If someone is looking for a specific artist, they may be able to place an order for you.
If you’re not interested in buying music, people are always welcome to come in and talk to the staff about their music interests.
“People who love music whether it’s the genre that I’m interested in, or genres, or their favorite genres, we all get to talk about music,” Czapenski said. “Music is a part of our hearts, it’s a part of our lives so anybody who’s coming in and wants to talk music, whatever the genre, we’ll talk music.”
Record Store Day, an annual event since 2007 to celebrate the culture of independent record stores, is coming up quickly on April 20. It is perfect time to talk to Czapenski or get an exclusive vinyl only being released for RSD.
Downtown Sound is opening their doors at 8 a.m. and are set to have hundreds of vinyl from the RSD list. If you want to visit the store at a different time, it is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and located at 819 10th St Unit C.
