Lubbock: Ralph’s Records

Ralph DeWitt opened Ralph’s Records Lubbock in the summer of 1980 at 909 University Avenue — right across from Texas Tech. The space had been a countercultural hangout before. Lubbock was already the city that had produced Buddy Holly, Joe Ely, and the Lubbock sound. Now it had a record store.

A teenager named Doug Stapp moved to Lubbock at 13 and discovered Ralph’s soon after. He started working there at 16 and never really left. In 2017, he bought the store from DeWitt when DeWitt retired. Stapp plays guitar in two bands — The Ducks and Whips N Kisses. The store he runs is the largest locally-owned record store in Lubbock, stocked with vinyl, CDs, DVDs, video games, concert tickets, and more.

From 909 University to 82nd Street

The store first anchored its position near Texas Tech, feeding the music hunger of students at one of Texas’s largest campuses. Then in 2008, the iPod era nearly killed it. DeWitt pivoted to video games and gaming systems. That pivot kept the lights on. But vinyl found its way back. Now Ralph DeWitt calls himself the nostalgia guy. At 73, he still stops by. His core customers, though, are high school and college students. They want something physical — something to hold, sign at a concert, or hang on a wall. Hub City Records on Boston Avenue opened in 2024 and covers the collector and punk end of the vinyl spectrum.

Ralph’s Records has been in Lubbock for forty-five years. The address changed. Everything else stayed the same.

I’ve been here ♪