In a continuously evolving Reno, there is one constant, Recycled Records. The store has been open since 1978 and survived a couple of locations, from Wells Avenue to Virginia Street to another spot on Virginia Street. It has been at its current location in the heart of Midtown since 2012 where it has fared well with the vinyl record resurgence of the 2010s and increased foot traffic.
During December special bins of festive music are placed on the counter near the register
Kyle Howell and Eric Jacobson bought the store from its long-time owner Paul Doege in October 2019. The store's atmosphere and design didn’t change and neither did the magnitude of offerings.
“They really don’t exist anymore. We’re one of a kind,” said Howell of used music stores. “We got all kinds of stuff you can’t even find anywhere else, especially in Reno.”
On top of the large stacks of CDs odd knick-knacks and even more CDs can be found. Pictured here are two figure-drawing dolls in a tender embrace.
At the front of the store, there are speakers and other equipment, posters, and a dollar wall where less popular or somewhat damaged items are lovingly c̶r̶o̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ frequently on top of the artist's face. A little further in, CDs are sorted and stacked six feet high featuring genres like country & western, soul, and rock. Priced affordably at two for $12 listeners can find albums no longer in print or that are hard to find in other music stores.
The back of the store is where the real treasures lie. Vinyl records cover the walls and every inch of shelf space.
The main attraction is unsurprisingly their vinyl collection which features thousands of used and new records.
Recently Howell has noticed an increase in sales of cassette tapes. Visitors young and old experience days passed as they flip through wooden crates in search of musical gold. Their clientele, he says, is surprisingly diverse.
On the day of Our Town Reno’s interview, a young teen came in and showed their friends a Dolly Parton CD. A man in his late 20s flipped carefully through the “fresh meat” section. And an older man examined a record near the cassettes.
Reno’s one-stop shop for eclectic music is here to stay with Howell telling those interested in the store: “It doesn’t suck”