Photo by Paul Kieu
It seems I visit most of my favorite record stores for the first time because a friend recommends the place. Domino Sound in New Orleans and End of an Ear in Austin were passed along by close friends, and both spots have since become staples of my record shopping. I lost track of how many people in Baton Rouge told me about Lagniappe Records, now relocated to Lafayette, before I finally found the time to track down its space in Beauregard Town.
No-Name Vinyl Records & Music, Etc. is the kind of store you visit via one of these word-of-mouth plugs.
In this case, the word about this spacious shop—located in central Rayne on North Polk Street, parallel to LA-35, a little over one mile south of the Interstate—came from Alex V. Cook, the Baton Rouge-based food and music writer turned singer-songwriter and frontman for the Rakers. He’d never been, but he’d heard about it from Paul Dufrene, the Lake Charles vinyl guru known for his impeccably curated Platter Playlists, which have been featured on the L.A.-based independent audio blog Aquarium Drunkard (and in Country Roads).
Owned and operated by Christine Stelly, No-Name Records specializes in vintage vinyl, carrying over forty thousand records of all sizes, genres, and RPM speeds as well as turntables, posters, concert T-shirts, and additional music-related merchandise. “Everything for sale is related to music—that’s my only requirement for what I carry. Music also has to play at all times, and all the records we play are for sale,” said Stelly, sitting in a rocking chair in the front display area. Her youngest son Garrett (known as “Gritz”) strums a guitar in the back room she describes as The Family Instrument Room.
“It’s a room full of instruments, which are not for sale, but available for play,” she explained about this space. “Sometimes customers will go in there and play or bring someone by. That way, people can try an instrument before they invest in it.” The walls outside the music room display her personal collection of vintage instruments, including a piano once owned by Cajun musician U.J. Meaux and a guitar reputed to have been played by a member of Hank Williams’ band.
[Recommended for you: Musician Tess Brunet stopped her wandering to open vinyl shop Lagniappe Records.]
The shop features sections for 45s and 78s, separated from the long rows of bins containing LPs grouped into broad genres like rock, country/folk, blues, etc. Elvis and the Beatles occupy their own bins. Another section is devoted exclusively to Louisiana music and artists.
Stelly has run the store for almost five years, three of them in this location. The vinyl on sale is culled from her personal collection as well as from years of thrift shopping and acquiring personal collections via estate sales and in-store walk-ins. The equipment on sale includes Victrolas, schoolhouse players, portable and stackable models, and other music miscellanea. “I sell everything,” Stelly said about her diverse stock. “Everyone who walks in asks for a different thing. Just when I figure this will never be asked for, it is.”
Most of the records don’t have prices; but Stelly said that her repeat customers know how it works by this point, and her pricing scheme is straightforward enough that new visitors catch on quickly. A common classic rock LP in good condition, for example, normally costs $3. More collectible titles, such as those by Louisiana artists, can prove slightly more expensive.
Owning her own shop stems from Stelly’s lifelong enjoyment of music and record buying. “I’m not a music expert or what you might call a collector,” she said. “I was a housewife who kept all of my records, and now I’m reselling them. I’ve had nothing but wonderful people here from day one.”
She finds that the vinyl format appeals to a wide range of individuals, all for different reasons and beyond trends like the vinyl resurgence of recent years. “Many people who come in are like me, and they never stopped buying or listening,” said Stelly. “Some are people who left and have now come back. Others are younger folks, and even little kids, who have record players and are just getting introduced to vinyl. Some especially like the cover artwork and extra materials. There’s also the warmth of the sound, as they say. Others enjoy seeing it go around on the platter.”
[Recommended for you: John McCusker’s New Orleans jazz tour led him to write a biography of music pioneer Kid Ory.]
Locals and walk-ins comprise much of the store’s steady business, but she does see visitors from out of state and even overseas, who have learned about the place from phone apps, the Internet, or word of mouth. “Sometimes people come in and say the place reminds them of the old shops in the seventies,” Stelly said, “and that’s the biggest compliment—when someone says it reminds them of their favorite record shop in New Orleans in the seventies. Thank you! I love it.”
Here’s what I picked up, all in very good condition: Curtis Mayfield’s Honesty, Nancy Wilson’s Today, Tomorrow, Forever, and a compilation of The Drifters’ greatest hits, the same edition that a buddy of mine used to play in his Garden District garage apartment.
Details. Details. Details.
No-Name Vinyl Records & Music Etc.
215 North Polk Street
Rayne, La.
(337) 458-0984
Wednesday–Friday, 11 am to 5 pm. Cash only. Check the Facebook page to find out about surprise openings and other events. Facebook.com/NoNameVinylRecords.
