Today marks the last day of a place very important in my life, even though I can’t remember the last time I paid it a visit. Record and Tape Traders will close its Catonsville location.

If you read here regularly or know me, you understand that I love music. I can’t play it too well, except for banging out some basic songs on the guitar all alone in my basement, but so many songs and rock events have shaped my life. I can honestly say that might not be the case without the Record and Tape Traders on Frederick Road.

My friend Dave and I, along with various other kids we grew up with, would literally spend hours in the store, first at the cramped, dark location next to Pinnochio’s (I was able to correct the Sun reporter who didn’t know about this location) and then at the two-story landmark (pictured here) it occupied until last year.

You could find rare 45s, bootleg albums and pretty much whatever else you wanted. And you could find them cheap, which was very important when you were 13 and trying to grow your music budget on an allowance.

One of my best purchases at Record and Tape came in the winter of 1986 or spring of 1987. I forget which, but I remember many of the other details very clearly. I had heard of R.E.M. while away at college and knew the song “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” from a mix tape I stole from my buddy Tom.

I distinctly remember standing in front of the cassette display and trying to find something by the band to buy. They had a tape of Life’s Rich Pageant for, I’m pretty sure $3. That was all I needed to get hooked.

Like I said, I can’t remember the last time I went to the store, but that does not diminish the impact it had on my life. It sucks that things have to end sometimes.