April 19 is gearing up to be yet another record-setting day for music stores who hope to make it big.

Saturday marks the eighth annual celebration of Record Store Day (RSD), a national event that takes place on the third Saturday of April each year. As an organization made up of only a handful of people, Record Store Day creates special releases and promotions for the event. There are special editions for sale on this day only, split records between various artists and even first-day releases. For a full list of record releases to search for in-store, visit www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases.

RSD’s co-founder Carrie Colliton shared her thoughts on the resulting impact on music stores. “I would say it’s been overwhelmingly positive for them, and not just on the third Saturday of April,” Colliton said. “We hear from stores all the time who say that Record Store Day is the best sales day of the year for them, but we also hear from them that they see more traffic throughout the year — people who first came to their stores for Record Store Day.”

While some people think “old” when they hear about records, that is definitely not the case. In this age, many artists release their new music only on vinyl and online.

“The thing about our list is that we hope it’s broad enough, and covers enough genres and artists, that EVERYONE will find something particularly noteworthy!” Colliton said. “For me, personally, I’m psyched about the records that are actually being released by stores themselves — there are quite a few this year — as well as the Pogues/Joe Strummer live record, the Clutch 7-inch, the J Spaceman and Kid Millions release and the RPM Turntable Football; I can’t wait to play football on my turntable!”

The Last Record Store of Santa Rosa is the closest venue to the college for those looking to participate. “It’s even bigger than Christmas for us,” said co-owner Hoyt Wilhelm. “We’ve spent about $15,000. We have [the records] all ordered. We’ve spent everything we have.”

The Last Record Store will will open its doors at 10 a.m. this year, though it is advisable to show up early. “People line up in the morning, and by noon all the cool stuff’s gone,” Wilhelm said. Goodies will be given out to all who make a purchase, including a raffle entry for a Nick Cave doll.

Contrary to the Last Record Store’s name, there are actually a few more locations for those looking to get great deals on limited releases.

Watts Music in Novato is another option nearby. Darin Chase, manager of Watts Music, elaborated on some of the things that customers will receive. “The ‘swag bag’ will be a custom bag filled with free record samplers, CD samplers, stickers, buttons, a t-shirt and anything else we might be able to fit in the bag,” Chase said. The store will be opening up early at 8:30 a.m.

Santa Rosa resident Josh Cruz has attended Record Store Day for the past two years. “Usually I’ll get there an hour to an hour and a half early,” Cruz said. “One year, in Sacramento, I met the aunt of Chino from The Deftones. She was in line with me and was telling me all of these cool stories.” The record he’s most excited for is the Ghostbusters theme song vinyl that glows in the dark.

However, he feels that he has to travel all over the Bay Area to get all of the releases he’s looking for. “Unfortunately for us, they are going to order whatever fits the local demographic… Which sucks for music snob hipsters with weird tastes, like me,” Cruz laughed.

Those unafraid to cross a bridge will not be disappointed.

The well-known Amoeba Music will be hosting large events at all three of its locations, in San Francisco, Berkeley and Hollywood. Sales will include record players, posters and Blu-rays/DVDs, but for a full selection of location-specific guests and events, the list can be found at the event page.

Two options in Oakland include Econo Jam Records and 1-2-3-4 Go! Records.

Econo Jam‘s RSD promotion is ‘Unleashing the Oddball’. “We are unveiling a few hundred records that are either private press, obscure kid’s records, novelty records or records that just plain look cool,” said Econo Jam owner Tom O’Shaughnessy. In addition, they will be offering a ‘Bag of Destiny’ upon purchase that includes various mystery coupons, as well as several collectible records only for sale on that day.

1-2-3-4 Go! is among the earliest-opening stores in the entire Bay Area, bright and early at 8 a.m. “This is shaping up to be the biggest year ever and we’re pretty stoked,” said 1-2-3-4 Go! founder Steve Stevenson. “If you normally go to the bigger stores first, give us a try this year. Everyone who ends up coming later tells us they wished they hadn’t wasted their time at the big shops first. We get great fills and it’s not a nightmare down here.”

1-2-3-4 Go! early birds will receive coffee from Subrosa and donuts from Pepples, while the first 100 in line will get a raffle ticket for a test pressing of Green Day’s “Demolicious” double LP. There will also be a signing by James Williamson of the Stooges, vegan food for sale and kegs from Linden Street Brewery served to 21-and-over patrons after noon. To top it all off, there will be live music (line-up to be announced).

This is the perfect opportunity to snag up some great tunes April 19, and then enjoy them this April 20 holiday.