Recommendations of the Editorial team
For vinyl fans around the world, Record Store Day is an unmissable event every year. In 2026, this won’t be too far away either: on April 18th it will be that time again, when collectors will come to their trusted store to purchase the records of their favorite artists. Traditionally, a musician is honored with the Record Store Legend Award. This year the choice falls on a legendary rock musician.
Robert Plant is honored
The winner of the award is former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. The Englishman is known to be a huge vinyl lover himself and has been spotted browsing through record stores throughout his career.
Plant: “Record stores have always been a part of my life. When you buy a physical record, I think you do it because you really want to know and be a part of what the artist was thinking. And I know, as someone who’s been making records since 1966, that people want to take home something very special, to enjoy all the elements of what an artist has put together. We want a connection between the music and the art of it all.”
Visit the oldest record store in the world
Ahead of the celebrations, the “Stairway to Heaven” artist visited a very special record store. The Stillers Record Store in Cardiff, Wales, was named the oldest record store in the world by “Billboard” in 2023 and was now pleased to welcome a visit from a legend of music history.
The store issued the following statement: “The world has long recognized Robert Plant as a legend, as evidenced by his decades of work as a musician and performer. But the record stores of the world know firsthand that Robert Plant is, above all, a connoisseur of his craft, whose hunger for musical discovery has not diminished with time. We could rave all day about what a passionate supporter of record stores Robert Plant is, so suffice it to say that we are honored to be the chosen Guardians to be on his Record Store Legend plaque.”
The vinyl special issue of ROLLING STONE
ROLLING STONE has released a new vinyl special issue to go with it – 122 pages, exclusive stories, an extensive special about the black disc: from recording technology to underground culture. All generations have their say, for example when the late BBC radio legend John Peel is remembered. There is also an interview with bestselling author Ian Rankin.
>>> SPECIAL EDITION: ROLLING STONE VINYL 2026 – order here!
The state of the record stores in Germany is analyzed as well as the RS-Vinyl team visited producers like Josh Miller – who, despite all the digital possibilities, don’t want to do without analogue. Vinyl’s stable market share in the current music market is getting all kinds of colorful and lively friendly faces here.
