NEWTON — After collecting vinyl records since the mid-1980s, Brian Coleman has put his appreciation and knowledge on the topic to use.

 

Coleman recently opened Root for Us, a used record store that offers an eclectic assortment of music genres.

 

“There has always been an undercurrent of people who collect vinyl,” said Coleman, who lives in Westborough. “To the untrained eye, it seems like vinyl has just become hip and trendy, but the interest has always been here.”

 

This isn’t Coleman’s first rodeo. In 2021, he co-founded Want List Records, which opened in The Mall At Echo Bridge in Newton, down the street from his current location at 26 Elliot St. Two years later, the store moved to Belmont, where it remains.

 

“In 2026, I went solo and came back to Newton, with a new name, Root For Us, and new store,” he told Wicked Local. He has enjoyed filling out his 2,000-square-foot space since arriving in early April.

 

“It gives people the chance to kind of stretch out and it gives me the chance to add more records,” Coleman said. “And I like being back in Newton, which has always been very supportive of small businesses. The vibe is really positive in Newton. Everything about where I am just feels right. All these small businesses, we all really want each other to succeed.”

 

Coleman’s main goal is to present good, clean records and price them fairly. It's also important that he develops a rapport with customers, getting to know their tastes and trust.

 

“No matter what you’re doing, retail is all about trust,” he said.

 

Coleman never judges anyone by what records they buy or what music they like. “I’m almost 56 years old and some people might be surprised by what I listen to,” he said. “The most important thing is giving people access to music. There might be a genre of music they’re not familiar with and it becomes a favorite.”

 

He tries to carry music that's far beyond what he personally listens to. There's lots of jazz, vocal jazz, Frank Sinatra-type, kind of everything.

 

“New releases are not my focus,” Coleman said. “My sweet spot is used records from the '60s to the '80s.”

 

Coleman’s store has listening stations, which allow customers to listen to records before purchasing them.

 

“You can get a whole stack of records and sit and spend hours in the store just listening to music and end up picking a few to end up buying,” he said. “It also shows the customer this is a clean record, meaning it’s not damaged in any way. I’m proud to have my customers know I’m not hiding anything.”

 

Despite today's emphasis on technology, Coleman says more young people are getting into vinyl. “I really like seeing them getting excited about an album,” he said. “It reminds me of my younger self. I really like seeing them starting that journey; when they come to the counter with a Curtis Mayfield or a Sex Pistols album.”

 

He also likes that his customers range from teenagers to those in their 70s and 80s.

 

“The beauty of used record stores is you’re saving records from the landfill,” Coleman said. “I look at it as vinyl recycling.” He finds it “heartbreaking” that people sometimes think vinyl records are worthless and toss them in the trash.

 

“No matter what it is, unless it’s mold-damaged or broken in half or scratched so much you can’t hear the music, there is someone out there it will have life for,” Coleman said.

 

Part of his goal is to let people know vinyl records have value. “There is a culture out there who are really interested in records," he said. "Don’t throw them away. I would say they're still great records and might be very valuable.”

 

He's always buying vinyl, which can ebb and flow. “One day I could acquire a nice collection of great reggae records, another day it could be classic rock, or just about anything.”