El Museo del Disco

Page 24 | The Scene

Press pause and visit

Miami’s self proclaimed music museum attracts music lovers and potential melomaniacs alike

BY MARCELA RONDON, COPY EDITOR

THE CHALLENGE OF finding a good album to queue next on Spotify is one of the most universal experiences known to man. The most inconvenient bother is scrolling through countless playlists to find the perfect song, proving tedious to those hoping to get a quick music fix. The solution is simple — purchasing music in its physical form through vinyl and CDs.

Such tangible music items can be purchased at El Museo del Disco — a music emporium selling everything a including records, CDs and band t-shirts located at 1301 SW 70th Ave.

Yet, with an unassuming storefront in the warehouse district of Coral Terrace,the average passerby may not even acknowledge the windowless shop on a drive past. But lying within the white and orange exterior is a sprawling 10,000-square-foot music depot.

The store was founded in 2001 by Hinsul Lazo, who first cultivated his love for music when he began collecting records as a teen. Lazo’s love of records and distaste for streaming platforms inspired him to open El Museo.

“El Museo del Disco definitely has more history to it. Its been open for decades and its so beautiful to see how the history of El Museo is thriving,” senior Brianna Duardo said.

El Museo del Disco prides itself on being the largest collection of records in South Florida. The store itself is filled with rows of records and the walls lined with posters and merchandise. The rows are organized by genre and country of origin, a large portion of those being Latin countries.

VINYL VISION: Stacked up all along the walls are decades worth of musical history.

Marcela Rondon/ highlights

However, for those not searchingfor a Spanish vinyl, the store also sells classic rock albums, metal, pop, indie and many other discreet genres. From underground musicians to the latest top hits, El Museo del Disco has it all.

“Our most popular genre is definitely Spanish music, particularly Cuban salsa. But our pop rock section is also verypopular,” employee Marta* said.

The store’s merchandise consists of brand new records at reasonable prices, with newer releases being more costly than older albums. However, El Museo del Disco does not break the bank at an affordable price point for quality music. For newer, more popular CDs, the average price is $16 while vinyls of equal popularity are typically $27. The store does have an online shopping site, yet many customers prefer physical in-store browsing. Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Sunday, the store makes an attempt to allowing anyone to visit their collection despite time issues.

“There were some genres that I didn’t even know were genres. That’s how large of a variety there is. There is something for everybody,” Duardo said.

A room full of music is a melomaniac’s dream, manifesting itself as El Museo del Disco. The selection of music is fit for any crowd — from older music fans hoping to reminisce on some classics and children searching for the latest movie soundtrack. Yet for those who are not looking for anything specific, El Museo del Disco is the perfect spot to spend a Saturday afternoon getting lost in the world of music. h

* Employee did not want to disclose their last name

LINK UP: Browse the collection at El Museo del Disco by scanning the QR code.