When Black Friday Comes

The Black Friday version of Record Store Day has yet to achieve the success of the original that comes in April, but there are still enough vinyl treasures in a variety of genres to make a trip to your nearest record store worthwhile. The artists involved include Tori Amos; Chuck Berry; The Byrds; Papa John Creech; Steve Earle; Janis Joplin; Wes Montgomery; Queen; Southside Johnny; The Sundays; Tangerine Dream; Big Star; Muddy Waters; Chet Atkins; U2; Sparks; Sun Ra; The Turtles; The Brian Setzer Orchestra; Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels; The Doors; Aretha Franklin; The Grateful Dead; Richard Hell and The Voidoids; John Lee Hooker; Lydia Loveless; Waylon Jennings; Ziggy Marley; Petula Clark; Procol Harum; The Raspberries; Otis Redding; and Neil Young. There are also various artists collections featuring garage rock, jazz, soul, and 1960s Los Angeles-area bands.

The colder weather, holiday celebrations, and an already established tradition of shopping department stores may cut down on your competition for RSD limited editions, but it’s still advisable to get out there early. Afterwards, you can celebrate your successful hunt over a hot beverage (in my case, a chai tea latte) at a nearby Starbucks, Argo, or Dunkin Donuts. Here’s a look at some of the records I’m hoping to snag this time around.

Paul McCartney, Jimmy Fallon, and The Roots - A pair of Holidays Rule seven-inch singles, both with “Wonderful Christmastime” on the A-Side. The green vinyl version has The Decemberists singing Alex Chilton’s “Jesus Christ” on the flip side and the red version has Norah Jones singing “Peace.”

Cheap Trick - Christmas Christmas A 12-song holiday collection of original tunes and cover versions of The Kinks, The Ramones, Chuck Berry, and Wizzard.

The Minus Five - Dear December A 12-song seasonal collection from the quirky power pop band.