Record Store R.I.P.

CD Source on Greenville Avenue forced to close after 20 years in Dallas

After more than 20 years as one of Dallas' best and longest-standing music stores, CD Source on Greenville Avenue will close. Owner Lance Price announced the closure with a note on Facebook. A staffer said that the closure could happen as soon as October.

"Sadly, the wonderful run of over 20 years we have had will soon be coming to a close," Price said. "If someone had told me in 1993 that the store would be still be open in 2014, then I would have taken it in a heartbeat."

"If someone had told me in 1993 that the store would be still be open in 2014, then I would have taken it in a heartbeat," said owner Lance Price.

The store's lease was up for renewal, and the landlord found a better-paying tenant. "After evaluating all of my options, I have made the most difficult decision that closing the store is the most practical," Price said.

He was offered an alternative location down the street but deemed the space to be too small.

Price said that sales of records and CDs have dropped considerably since the 2003 invention of iTunes, but there is still a sizable population of customers over 30 who prefer to get their music on a hard format. In addition to CDs, the store also sold video games, movies and vinyl records. It had one of the most dynamic selections of used CDs, thanks to a savvy staff that weeded out less-significant releases from customers trying to sell.

Price gave credit to store manager Larry Hanover, who worked at the store nearly the entire time it was open and helped collect the CDs to open the store; and to assistant manager Kevin Myers, who worked there for 16 years.

Aside from the merchandise, there's something irresistible about the cool atmosphere of a record store, like a library with music. CD Source's departure leaves Half Price Books and Good Records as the two major places to buy CDs, although vinyl stores such as Off The Record have opened, and the DMN reports that a large new store called Josey Records is opening this fall.

Price said that CD Source will be running specials and discounts, hosting in-store performances, and a few other things to offer customers a chance to come and say goodbye to the store and staff.

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Vinyl Record News

Dallas record store chain Josey Records spins new location in Garland

Josey Records

Vinyl at Josey Records

Dallas music maker Josey Records has extended its reach east: The record store chain, whose empire includes one of the largest single independent record stores in the U.S., has opened a location in Garland, at 1005 Northwest Hwy., at the intersection of Centerville Road, where it's selling its trademark assortment of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, turntables, music posters, new releases, and music accessories.

This is the sixth location and the third in the Dallas area, joining the original in Farmers Branch which owners Waric Cameron and Luke Sardello opened in November 2014. They've since opened locations in Plano, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Vidalia, Missouri.

The original location is a giant place with 16,000 square feet devoted to vinyl, 45s, CDs, turntables, and T-shirts. They do a good job showcasing new releases and collector vinyl — they made CultureMap's list of 5 best places in Dallas to buy vinyl records — and are known to host album release and listening parties such as a recent blockbuster celebrating Linkin Park.

They made headlines in June 2020 when they acquired the vast musical inventory of Bill’s Records following the death of owner Bill Wisener; Cameron and Sardello both worked at Bill’s, and knew the sprawling collection first-hand.

"It has taken us years to even start going through it, but in last two years, we've made some headway," Cameron says. "Bill's has its own audience, so we created a specific Instagram account, just for Bill's Records merchandise called @billsrecordsvault."

They chose Garland because they saw it as an area that was under-served.

"There are very few record stores in that area of northeast Dallas, Casa View, Garland, Rockwall, Mesquite," Cameron says. "We have customers who live over there, so it seemed like a good place for a store."

The storefront they're in was most recently The Music Store, which sold and rented musical instruments and accessories; but coincidentally, it's next to an address that was once RPM Records, a hip record store from the '90s.

The Garland store follows the same model as their others: selling new and used records and merchandise, and buying used goods, as well.

"One thing that's cool is that each location takes on its own identity," he says. "We buy used CDs, vinyl records, cassettes — we're a used resale business — and what we buy from our customers dictates what that store becomes. For example, our Plano store has a lot of classic rock. So we're looking forward to seeing what Garland gravitates to."

Garland does have one thing that the other locations do not.

"Right now, Garland has this incredible collection of jazz," Cameron says. "We bought a great collection of jazz records — someone called and wanted to sell it. We get that a lot, we buy major collections from all over the U.S., we even make house calls. So we saved it for the Garland store."