I first started visiting Waterloo Records in the e...

I first started visiting Waterloo Records in the early 80s. They are serious about great music and about exposing as many people to broad ranges of music, all genres and formats -- vinyl to live. There's no pretentiousness, just a laid back place for everyone who loves music.

I visited recently on a holiday, a rare day off from work. Since I had some time to spend on me, this visit was how I treated myself. I walked out with a new CD (Childish Gambino) and a used CD (Eagles). I pay a monthly fee to Google Play Music and buy the occasional CD from Amazon, but nothing replaces walking into a record store and being immersed in music and creativity -- from the staff picks playing over the speakers to the thousands of album covers inviting me to explore, and the dozens of posters and flyers about live shows on the horizon.

Waterloo Records + Austin City Limits are carrying the torch for Austin, to give us any chance of continuing our reputation as the Live Music Capitol of the world. Check 'em out.