A Montreal music institution celebrates a landmark milestone this month
Cheap Thrill's location on Metcalfe St. is an oddity in a downtown Montreal now dominated by modern chain stores.
The rickety stairs to the shop, a flashback to a bygone architectural past.
And inside the store, one could be forgiven for thinking they've boarded a time machine.
“It's amazing. I think it's a lot of good luck on our part, we just stood the test of time and we're the last one standing downtown,” says owner Gary Worsley, who bought the store from its original owner four years ago, after working there for two decades.
There was a time, 30 years ago, when people couldn't give away their record collection because CDs were all the rage.
But Cheap Thrills weathered the storm and now celebrates its 50th anniversary. The original store, on Bishop St., closed its doors in the 90s.
“We kept vinyl but it was hard to get new ones,” Morsley explains. "People weren't coming in with them used, they were coming with tons of used CDs."
But when consumers abandoned CDs and turned to digital streaming, something unusual happened.
A few customers started asking for vinyl records that were still manufactured on a smaller scale in Europe.
“It made a comeback here I'd say a decade ago. And it's really strong right now,” observes Morsley, who was just a teenager when record companies started phasing out vinyl records.
At first, most stores and record companies thought it was a fad.
But it turns out a new generation wanted to discover what it's like to hold a physical copy of recorded music -- packaged the way their parents bought music.
Fernando Diaz, 36, grew up with CDs, but now buys vinyl.
“The sound, the way you feel the music, it's different,” says Dias while holding a copy of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, a classic record that came out 48 years ago.
According to the record industry, the average vinyl record buyer is now between the ages of 25 and 34.
This has led to the opening of many new, millennial-oriented stores.
But Cheap Thrills always remained close to its 1960s hipster roots, as it enters its sixth decade in business.
It's still stocking used books from beat writers, along with musical classics from a bygone era, but adapts to its new clientele.
"We have to stock Taylor Swift and Lorde and Billie Eilish because these records are selling and they help sell the other records,” says Worsley.
And if the past is any indication, the obituary of vinyl records has yet to be written at Cheap Thrills.
Correction
A previous version of this article said the record shop was on Mansfield, not Metcalfe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Canada Post’s newest stamp features special cookies for Islamic holiday
Canada Post’s newest specialty stamps feature “melt-in-your-mouth” desserts to mark two Islamic festivals, the crown corporation announced Thursday.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6 per cent in January as Quebec strikes end
Canada's real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.