Adam Rosen, owner of Shuga Records in northeast Minneapolis, says his goal "is to literally have one of everything" in his shop. With half a million records on hand, he may be close.

Rosen had already run one of the world's largest online record stores for a decade when he opened his bricks-and-mortar shop last June with his wife, Danielle. The store offers low-priced used records, new vinyl and CDs, a free bin ("Nobody's going to pay for a Barbra Streisand record; nobody should have to," Rosen says) and a stage for free in-store performances. That stage and one that will go up outside should get a workout during the store's free Hoolie Fest, featuring 70 bands in three days, May 14-16. The festival will benefit the St. Stephen's Shelter.

Rosen, known as DJ Shuga Rose when he lived in Chicago, began selling off his record collection to pay medical bills for injuries he suffered in a car crash. He used the profits to rebuild his collection and start his online business. The shop has six employees plus Rosen and his wife and two neighbors who volunteer in exchange for records.

Some of the most interesting finds are in the spoken word and the strange and weird sections. The latter draws kids looking for new sounds to sample. "Sampling is such a huge thing, especially in Minnesota," he says. "There are shows for kids to bring their laptops and you can hear the stuff they sample." <subhead>Three and out with Shuga Records' Adam Rosen

What do you think of the rising popularity of new vinyl? Some of it's totally worth getting. Most of the local stuff is 100 percent worth getting, because it's cheap and the bands aren't looking to make too much money. The smaller record labels are doing it right. All the hip-hop labels are doing it right, where they give the free download with the vinyl. Some of them give a CD and a download with the vinyl. Some even give a DVD with it and make it a package.

The flip side of that? The bigger record companies, like Capital and Warner Bros., they're doing it wrong. They're putting out Elton John records and reissuing them at $34, Van Morrison records at $50, Jimi Hendrix at $40 or $50, with no download. They expect people to buy it and it's not going to happen.

How many records are in your personal collection? Under 3,000. We have a big Ikea shelf of 2,000 dance records and a small shelf 75 percent full of the stuff me and my wife listen to a lot: Van Morrison, Cat Stevens. I have a local section. I pretty much keep one of everything that's local.

Three and out

  • Own anything rare?

My most expensive real record I listen to is Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." I have an original Litter record, an original C.A. Quintet record, some of the really rare old '60s Minnesota records that got me into doing this.

  • Vinyl or CDs?

Most of the music that my wife and I listen to is not affordable on record, the older dance music and experimental stuff. Most of the CDs have been uploaded to my computer. We both have iPhones filled with music and an iPod with music, and then we have our record player. We don't have a CD player in the house. Even in the store, I don't think we have a CD player.

  • What records sell well online?

Our specialty online, what pays most of our bills, is the classical records. Some months jazz beats that but for the most part it's classical music.