Classic Audio and Records

Just off Fairview Avenue in Prattville, near the Chick-fil-A on that corridor, Classic Audio and Records sells the kind of vinyl and vintage stereo gear that has become harder to find in central Alabama. Owner Stephen Rich, an artist by background, opened the shop in August 2022 after what the store describes as a long-held dream of building a place where music lovers could gather around audio equipment and share a passion for the format.

Rich has been drawn to audio equipment since childhood, tracing the interest back to listening to a good stereo system with his uncle growing up. He spent years flipping vintage gear picked up from pawn shops and yard sales through the 1990s and 2000s while running a separate cell phone retail business he started in Millbrook in 1998, before moving into full-time audio sales roughly a decade before opening the Prattville storefront.

The shop grew out of Rich’s earlier business, Classic Wireless, and relocated to its current Prattville storefront with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce. Store manager Denise Baker runs day-to-day operations, and the shop has built a reputation locally as a spot for both nostalgia and serious audio hobbyists.

Inside, the inventory runs deep. More than 1,000 vinyl records sit alongside CDs, cassettes, and reel-to-reel tapes, and the shop stocks and services turntables from brands including Linn, Technics, Pioneer, Thorens, VPI, Audio-Technica, Bang & Olufsen, and Pro-Ject. Amplifiers from Cary Audio and McIntosh sit near preamps from Consonance and Perreaux, and Triad speakers round out a lineup built around what the store calls the golden era of 1970s audio equipment.

Two listening stations let customers test equipment before buying, a detail that separates the shop from an online marketplace purchase. Classic Audio and Records also buys used vinyl and vintage components and holds authorized dealer status for newer audiophile brands including Pro-Ject, Audio-Technica, Sumiko, and Ortofon, blending genuinely vintage stock with modern equipment built to work alongside it.

The shop’s own FAQ notes that in-house repair work has been temporarily backlogged following the departure of a longtime technician, with the current technician working through jobs already on the books before new intake resumes. In the meantime, buying used vinyl, turntables, and vintage components continues as normal, along with sales of new equipment and setup advice for anyone assembling a first system.

That mix of old and new is part of what makes the shop worth a stop for both longtime collectors and newcomers to vinyl. Someone hunting a specific out-of-print pressing can dig through the record bins, while a shopper looking to set up a first turntable can walk out with new equipment and expert setup advice in the same visit.

The store hosts a listening party on the last Sunday of each month, an informal gathering built around its demonstration system, a pair of Klipschorn speakers driven by a vintage H.H. Scott tube amplifier, that draws collectors and newcomers together to hear albums the way they sounded on period-correct equipment. The shop has also drawn outside attention for its collection, including an October 2023 feature by audio writer Dennis Burger and a YouTube collaboration documenting a vintage HiFi collection built around gear from Pioneer, Marantz, Sansui, and McIntosh.

With more than 500 products in stock and a rotating selection of used vinyl coming in from trade-ins and estate finds, the shop’s inventory shifts regularly, which is part of the appeal for regulars who check back often. Classic Audio and Records is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. For anyone in the Prattville area looking to build or restore a record collection, or simply to hear what a well-serviced 1970s amplifier sounds like paired with a fresh set of speakers, Classic Audio and Records offers a rare combination of expertise and genuine stock that is increasingly hard to find outside a specialty shop like this one.