JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The crackle of vinyl fills the air as music flows across the room, each note as crisp and authentic as the day it was first recorded.
Some say its how songs were meant to be heard — through the rich, full-bodied sound of a record player, where every note of the song comes alive.
Welcome to Tiger Records, where these musical time capsules line the walls of this Riverside shop, each waiting to tell its own story. For nearly six years, this hub has been offering Jacksonville music enthusiasts the chance to experience songs exactly as they were heard decades ago.
“When you play a record, when you really sit down and actively listen to a record, it’s like no other music experience on earth,” Warren Evans, manager of Tiger Records, said.
The store, founded by James Siboni, emerged from a vision to combine the best elements of every great record store they’d experienced.
“We wanted to find cool music, wanted to show people cool music and be something in the community could really rally round,” Evans said.
In a day and age of streaming and music on the phone playing through earbuds, Evans said vinyl is making a comeback.
What makes vinyl special, according to Evans, is its ability to transport listeners through time.
“We kind of describe them here a lot as time machines. Like I’m listening to a record from 1964, I’m hearing that record the same way that somebody heard it for the first time even back then,” he said.
For Evans, who didn’t grow up in Florida, the store has become more than just a workplace – it’s become home. Its given him a place to engage with the music he loves - and the music he never knew he loved - every single day.
“One of the coolest parts about the store is that everyone who works here has such different music taste,” Evans said. “Because we get to decide, we’re basically DJing when we’re working. The likelihood that you come in here and discover something for the first time is so high.”
Evans said the store’s success has grown each year, which Evans attributes to their dedicated staff and regular customers.
He said the Riverside community has given the store front a place to share the stories of history and culture through the records they keep. A collection that includes everything from The Beatles to the latest Taylor Swift album.
“If somebody comes by here, they will meet people who are eager to talk about things, to show them things that have made an impression on them. That’s a beautiful idea about society in general – sharing things with people. Records embody that. Music embodies that.”
Tiger Records is located on Stockton Street in Riverside. For more on their inventory visit www.tigerrecs.com.