DJ's Record Shop

DJ's Record Shop has been selling records from the corner of Edison Avenue and McDuff Avenue South, in Jacksonville's Lackawanna neighborhood, since September 1968.

That is more than half a century in the same yellow brick building, run by the same man: Jerry West, known to everyone as D.J. He has said his was the first Black business in the area, which puts the shop's longevity in context — it outlasted the record industry's move from vinyl to eight-track to cassette to CD to streaming, and then outlasted the swing back to vinyl too.

The stock is deep and it leans old. West's pitch is simple and earned: if there is something you are looking for, old or new, he is going to have it. People come in with a half-remembered song and leave with the record.

The shop is also a piece of the neighborhood's cultural life. Over the years it has hosted performances and signings, including Teddy Washington, who played trumpet for James Brown and Dizzy Gillespie. You can usually hear what is playing from the sidewalk before you get to the door.

If you collect, or you are just curious what a real record store sounds like, this is one of the last of its kind in Jacksonville. Go dig through