"And not because I wan't to sell them a new one I just want them to enjoy the experience more." "I often hesitate and I still haven't figured out the best way to say 'okay your record player is awful and you need a new one'," laughs Roberts. Roberts expresses amazement that some people will spend forty to fifty dollars on a brand new pressing of a record and then maybe twice that on a record player and then it will skip around because of the poor quality of the player. And that's one reason why we still sell equipment." I've played records in here for people and they're like 'that doesn't sound like that on my record player,' so it matters what your equipment is. It's like a chain, all those links if one of those links is not so good the experience won't be as great," says Roberts. "You know, I think you can't beat a really well-produced record on really clean vinyl on a good system. Like under the previous owners, Sweet Spot continues to sell both new and used audio equipment on which to play the vinyl Roberts makes the very important point that in order to get the best listening experience with it you need a quality record player and speakers. "Of course most of the stuff is used, the used records are probably ninety to ninety-five percent of what I have I have some new stuff and I'm trying to get some more new things." "Record stores I think a lot of times reflect the neighborhoods they're in and this is a very suburban record store and it has a lot of classic rock," explains Roberts. People just never stop bringing in used vinyl for others to enjoy. Roberts says that people continue to bring in used vinyl for sale every week into the store as has been the case continually since at least as far back as 2016 (and probably earlier) when I chatted with original owner Nigel Harrison and he said the same thing in preparation for this article I sent a copy of the story I did with Harrison to Roberts and he expressed amazement that nothing has changed in that regard. They take up a lot of space, you have to take care of them, but I think people like to have something tangible and you have the artwork on the covers, the inner sleeves will sometimes have the lyrics, and part of the artist's story is right there, you know? It continues to increase in popularity but it's been doing that for awhile and hopefully it just continues." Photo By David Rozycki "You can stream and that's convenient and records can be very inconvenient. And people still continue to return to it or get introduced to it because there's something about having a record." "I bought records as a teenager and then of course CDs were around but they were so much more expensive but then they weren't so bad so I got into CDs but I never got rid of my vinyl records. "There was a period when it (vinyl) really did decline and it was on its last leg and I think that was about the time I was getting back into it," explains Roberts. It's just so much easier and less expensive to listen to music online but the true believers are not deterred. I have to admit I'm a bit surprised about the resurgence of vinyl records I have a small vinyl collection myself and it does seem like they sound better than the streaming format of music that the majority of people now listen to. He also taught video production at Dickinson High School before leaving to buy the store and he says he has no regrets in doing so. Roberts has had some interesting gigs in the past before becoming a record shop owner he worked in television news as a news photographer at KPRC Channel 2 here in Houston covering breaking news stories all over the city and around the state and then did some video production work. "I hesitate to call it a job because it's the greatest thing in the world." "This is my full-time job," adds Roberts. "I don't want to regret not having at least tried it you know? And it was a good time then for me and it really worked out for the best." "Two and a half years go by and they're about to sell, or they announce that they're going to sell and I decide, okay I've got to do it this time," explains Roberts. When the opportunity arose a second time Roberts made his dream come true. Roberts says that he was interested in buying Sweet Spot from the Harrisons the first time the store was up for sale, as he loved the idea of owning a record store even though he admits he thought the idea was a little crazy since he had never even worked in a record store before. In August it will be two years since long-time customer and music enthusiast Bart Roberts purchased Sweet Spot Audio & Records in suburban Webster from previous owners Steve Laufer and Stuart Skeeter they were loyal patrons as well who had purchased the record shop from original owners Nigel and Cathy Harrison who founded it back in 2010.
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