New store brings vinyl records to Beacon Hill

There's a new music store on Beacon Hill selling some very old, and very cool, records.

What’s happening: After six years in Providence, Music Research Library reopened at 24 Joy St. on Beacon Hill March 1.

Co-owner Vasyl Kochura tells Axios a lot of the Rhode Island shop's clientele were coming down from the Boston area so he and business partner Zachary Warf decided to find space downtown.

• He says the foot traffic on Beacon Hill is already better than expected.

What they're saying: "We love obscure records from around the world and we try to curate music for deep listeners who are interested in exploring different sounds," Kochura said.

• The shop has listening stations where customers can preview a record before buying it, a feature that's not always available in modern record shops.

Beyond albums, soundtracks and singles, the shop specializes in "library music" — recordings of generic stock music used in the production of movies, TV shows or ads.

Kochura said MRL pays top dollar for records, especially collections.

• Jazz and classic rock are the mainstays, but the shop is also interested in buying soundtracks, hip-hop, progressive rock and funk.