From the size of the crowds swarming each Amoeba Music store today you would think that Record Store Day had been around forever, but the reality is that this time four years ago there was no such thing. It wasn't until 3 years ago, on the designated third Saturday in April, that the very first Record Store Day (RSD 2008) took place, with 300 independent record stores taking part in the new music day holiday. Having since snowballed to five times that size, with RSD 2011's boasting 1500 stores participating worldwide, that seems like a comparatively humble beginning for RSD.

Even more impressive is the corresponding increase in numbers of the exclusive RSD releases. This year there are over 300 RSD releases. For RSD 2008 there were less than a dozen. So how did Record Store Day grow so rapidly and how did it even come about in the first place? To find out, I tracked down the man responsible for the creation of Record Store Day in the first place: Chris Brown from Bull Moose in Portland, Maine.

Bull Moose, which began about around the same time as Amoeba Music, started out as a humble retail record store in Brunswick, Maine. In the two decades since it has expanded into ten stores and grown to become the largest retailer of new and pre-owned music, movies and video games in Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire. Two of their stores include impressive book sections.

Hours before Amoeba Music San Francisco opened its doors this morning for the highly anticipated fourth annual Record Store Day, a really long line had formed outside on the sidewalk that snaked down Haight Street in the direction of Golden Gate Park, and wrapped around the back of the store through the McDonalds parking lot and across to the next street. This long line was filled with music fans and record collectors all anxious to get their hands on many of the much coveted limited edition RSD 2011 exclusive releases that are available today and while supplies last.

To be fully prepared for when they finally got inside the store, many of these Amoeba SF shoppers had gone online to Amoeba.com and downloaded and printed out the PDF file that meticulously lists every RSD 2011 release.

        
As you will see in the video above, shot today by Audra, the guy who wrangled the first place in line outside Amoeba had driven three hours to San Francisco from King City, CA to secure his coveted spot at 6am this morning. Despite all the folks vying to get into the store for the limited number of releases, it has been civil and "very friendly" according to one person in line on Haight Street, who added that after all the time shared by these strangers in line this morning they had become "all neighbors and friends."

            
As vinyl increasingly becomes a more collectible, sought-after commodity, so too has Record Store Day's reputation grown. Now in its fourth year Record Store Day 2011, which is just four days away -- this Saturday, April 16th -- promises to be the best RSD to date with even more special, exclusive releases than any previous year! As outlined in the video above with Chris Brown from Bull Moose (the man responsible for creating Record Store Day in the first place), there are oodles of amazing releases, including freebies, this year. In the above clip Chris overviews a great many of the notable RSD 2011 exclusive releases. These include records in all formats (7", 10", 12", LP, colored vinyl, picture discs, and box-sets) from such artists as Ozzy Osbourne (RSD 2011's "Official Ambassador"), Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Beach Boys, Buck Owens, Big Star, and Fleetwood Mac. You can get a full RSD release list right here! Fleetwood Mac's latest re-release of their mega-successful 1977 album Rumours is unique because it is a Deluxe 2 LP 180 gram vinyl set that plays at 45 RPM. It has been stretched out on a double LP at 45 speed for attaining the highest playback audio quality.

In addition to our usual Record Store Day shenanigans (over 250 exclusive RSD releases!!), Amoeba Berkeley will be unveiling a huge used jazz LP collection that we recently acquired from a private collector!

Many original pressings in excellent/near mint condition will be featured, including many late '50s/early '60s hard bop/ soul jazz/avant garde titles on Blue Note, Prestige, Riverside, Pacific Jazz, Contemporary, Atlantic, and Columbia. There are also many interesting titles we don't see every day (especially in this condition) from the '70s and '80s. So, overall, something for just about any jazz aficionado to be excited about! See you at the store this Saturday!

If you love Amoeba, you no doubt know what Record Store Day is at this point. But did you know that RSD comes with its own ambassador of vinyl goodness? Yes, it's true, and this year's highly regarded representative is none other than the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne!

This year's RSD falls on Saturday, April 16th and on that day you'll be able to pick up a huge range of special to RSD limited releases from zillions of artists, but from Ozzy you'll find a special 7" of "Flying High Again," plus 30th Anniversary vinyl editions of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.

Stay tuned for many more RSD details as the date gets closer! To check out past RSD madness at all three Amoebas, click here.