Vinyl Lovers Celebrating Record Store Day 2014

(CBS) -- What started as the brainchild of a group of independent record store owners in Baltimore seven years ago has turned into an international celebration.

On Saturday, thousands of people will be visiting record stores around the world for Record Store Day 2014, celebrating the culture surrounding vinyl albums and independently-owned record shops.

Kip McCabe of Reckless Records, a small Chicago music store chain, said vinyl sales have increased 32 percent in the past year. He said the record industry never really went away.

"I laugh at music writers who sign our death certificates, but it's always been an option. I think people who have an intense interest in music keep coming back to the fidelity, the sound quality of listening to a record is superior to any other format," McCabe said.

He said the younger generation has discovered vinyl, because of it's quality, and because vinyl is just cool again.

"They're being introduced to this medium that's sexy. It's a big piece of vinyl with a big album cover artwork. They can look and read liner notes
while they listen to something. They can actually handle something they wouldn't typically play," he said.

Record store owners have called Record Store Day the equivalent of Black Friday for record stores.

"It definitely gets us through our year. People line up before I even get to work. It's breathed new life into the record stores in Chicago, all around notice a large uptick in sales for that day," McCabe said.

"Record stores are crazy not to participate in this day, it's big," said John Thominet, owner of Rainbow Records in Barrington. "It is the biggest day of the year for us."

Rainbow Records was hosting special giveaways and offering prizes for those in line before they open at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The event, which now occurs annually on the third Saturday in April, started as a small gathering of independent record store owners and employees in 2007, and has since expanded into a worldwide celebration. More than 1000 retailers participate in National Record Store Day. Reckless Records will feature local artists and live music at two of its locations.