For the most part, I avoid OKC's mostly whitewashed suburbs—rarely finding myself north of 63rd St. But with Guestroom Records opening their new Edmond location at 180 W. 15th just ahead of Record Store Day, the plan was set.
Though I only had three items on my wish list, I was excited for the RSD '26 quest, and last Saturday I hit the road for my own personal holiday.
With both of Guestroom's Oklahoma City and Norman locations successfully carving out distinct fandoms over the two-plus decades, I was eager to see whether the new Edmond shop was on track to earn the same following.
Located in a small shopping center near the railroad tracks, the Edmond store was respectably busy and buzzy, but with a slightly more laid-back approach to collecting vinyl.
I recognized a few of the friendly staff members from the previous locations, and it set me immediately at ease to know I was in the presence of people who know about my music tastes—and my speech deficiencies.
Going later in the morning than my usual 3 a.m. get-in-line vigils of the past, the one thing I was worried about was that everything would be picked over. Adding to my fear, on the way to Edmond I drove past the Western location and saw they still had lines around the corner!
Thankfully, this was not so in the burbs. When I got to Edmond, though there was a small smattering of a crowd outside, it was easily manageable, thoroughly walkable, and the ample space provided plenty of arm room so everybody could do their shopping in comfort.
Now, to be fair, the Edmond location does seem to be smaller in floor plan. And while that would seem to be a slight hindrance, on this Record Store Day, it didn’t matter. The masses hadn't really gotten the memo the store is open, leaving all the exclusives untouched. Score!
As I walked to the RSD exclusives, immediately I found two of the items on my wish list: the George Harrison-produced The Radha Krishna Temple album and the Ramones’ Live in San Francisco set. That was good enough for me!
Though a copy of Meiko Kaji’s “Urami Bushi / The Flower Of Carnage” was nowhere to be found—I figured the abysmally low number of pressings had something to do with that—instead I picked up a leftover release from last year's RSD, a collection of twelve-inch singles from Phil Collins.
Yeah, I’m that guy…sorry.
With my wish-list selections out of the way, I looked over the sale records. Though there were plenty of good buys, I was happy with my finds. So, instead, I watched a guy make commemorative T-shirts and I almost bought one—but sadly they didn’t have my size. That’s the husky boy blues, man.
Like most shops on RSD, Guestroom Edmond had all the freebies, the snacks, and, of course, the free beer that made it a party for most people. But, for me, it was the easy shopping and mostly-lucky selection that made the whole thing special.
As I walked to my car, I smiled to myself with the realization that I had come out of Record Store Day below budget—and with two of my three wish-list records in the bag. Maybe you don’t have to get up at 3 a.m. to win Record Store Day… you just have to know where to go.
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
