Hey there Husker Locker members! Starting today, we’ll be giving you a spotlight on one of our business partners, which provides our great deals for the Locker Pass discount.

Periodically, we’ll be letting you know not only about the history of our business partners, but the great deals you can get with them. Remember that only a Locker Pass gives you access to these terrific deals, so don’t delay in picking one up!

Today, we look at Backtrack Records, the vinyl record store in Lincoln. And, when you come in with your Husker locker Locker Pass card, we will give you 15% off your ENTIRE purchase!

Enjoy the story written by Ryan Boetel, also known as Boetel on the HL site!

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Jeff Loos has made a living in a volatile music business by putting one word above everything else: quality.

“I can look at a record and tell if it is going to play good,” said Loos, the owner of Backtrack Records, 1549 North Cotner Blvd., in Lincoln.

Loos carefully examines each vinyl record he buys and guarantees flawless sound from the ones he sells. His love of music was the reason he started the company back in 1988 with 5,000 of his own records. He ended up closing down his first store and going entirely online before reopening Backtrack Records at its current location two years ago.

This was good timing for Loos, because in the past few years “vinyl came back.”

DeMon Wimes, a 37-year-old Lincoln resident, has been buying vinyl records from Loos for almost 18 years. He said he keeps coming back to Backtrack Records because of Loos’ ability to find hard-to-get albums and the guarantee on all his records.

“I buy music in all formats,” Wimes said. “But my belief is if you have a good piece of vinyl there is no beating it.”

Loos said his loyal customers come from two groups. The “diehards” are in their 40s and 50s and have been buying records from Backtrack Records for more than ten years. Recently, a younger generation has inherited turntables from their parents and is coming to Loos looking for new stuff to spin.
“They are starting to find out that if you have clean records, the music sounds really, really good,” Loos said as he turned the knob on his record player way up to demonstrate.
CDs are digital recordings of bits of the original sound dubbed on top of each other to mimic the original wavelength. A good ear, Loos said, can pick up on subtle parts of a sound wave that a digital recording can’t register.
“With a CD you’re at the mercy of a technician,” Loos said.

In attempt to court the younger generation of vinyl listeners, Backtrack Records has Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon and Green Day albums can be found along with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Earl Scruggs records.

The store also gets vinyl recordings of great moments in Cornhusker football history and of the marching band. Backtrack Records sells CDs and posters too.

“Jeff’s (Loos) prices are really fair,” Wimes said. “And (Backtrack Records) is just like hanging out at home.”

No matter how good business gets for Loos, the best part of his job still centers on the music. People come to him wanting to find a particular song they remember from a date or anniversary and he tracks it down.

“I make enough to pay the bills but the main thing is that I’m doing something I enjoy,” Loos said. “It’s a good feeling to find a record someone has been looking for for years. “

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