Long-running local staples Euclid Records and Vintage Vinyl are pulling out all the stops for Record Store Day on Saturday, and for good reason.

It’s the one time of year when independent record stores such as these are celebrated for being the unique entities they are.

Indie record stores get the short end of the stick as music buyers migrate to digital purchasing and outlets like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Target.

“I think people have forgotten about record stores over the years,” says Joe Schwab, owner of Euclid Records. “We’re in danger of losing a generation of music listeners, and need to figure out a way to get those high school and college kids back into the record stores, and Record Store Day is a good way of doing it.”

Vintage Vinyl co-owner Tom “Papa” Ray chimes in with the fact indie record stores here are as important to St. Louis’ culture as the St. Louis Symphony or St. Louis Zoo. “I think it’s important to recognize the primacy of record stores in making sure local music has a reference point,” he says.

The first Record Store Day took place nationally last year. “It exceeded all our expectations,” says Ray, who deemed the event a “celebration of what might be called vibrant musical culture.”

Schwab says “we did great. We had a really busy day and people had a good time. Down the road we hope we can create a whole weekend of this. It’s such a festive atmosphere.”

After that successful kickoff a year ago, indie record stores around the country are banding together again and going for an even bigger event.

At Vintage Vinyl, they’ve got celebrity guest DJs inside the store as well as outdoor concerts. “We’re keeping with the fact that Delmar is the street that sells the music,” says Ray. They’re also offering a “tax-free zone” inside the store.

But Ray is especially excited about the wide array of exclusive music being released specifically for Record Store Day. “I’d be surprised if we didn’t sell out of what we have of certain artists in one day.”

Wilco’s concert DVD “Ashes of American Flags” will be released to Record Store Day retailers on Saturday, and fans who pick it up that day can also get a download of one complete concert, parts of which are available on the DVD.

Wilco is just one of many releases being made available for Record Store Day. Other acts releasing music that day include Radiohead, Slayer, Queen, Bad Religion, Bob Dylan, Flight of the Conchords, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, the Decemberists, Oasis, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Black Kids, Booker T, Cold War Kids, and Leonard Cohen.

Many of the releases are reissues, live versions, B-sides, or other previously unreleased material.

Schwab says Summit Avenue will be closed off by Euclid Records so they can bring in a big stage featuring live music, something they didn’t do last year.

“Doing music live in the store is great for atmosphere, but it also disrupts store business. Everything comes to a standstill. I want to keep the flow going and make it a block party, a real celebration of indie rock stores and music in general,” he says.

They’re also releasing the third single in its ongoing Euclid Sessions series, Terry Adams’ “Thedy” backed with “Eat the Pumpkin,” recorded live in the store in November.

Also, every item in the store will be on sale, and there will be a large outdoor “garage” sale full of overstock items and items from Euclid Records’ basement. Schwab is promising cheap vinyl and CDs, posters, stereo equipment, and more.

Ray believes stores such as his will continue to survive because “we’ve been able to achieve status as a heritage store in St. Louis and because we’ve always felt drawn to being a St. Louis store plugged into the various St. Louis traditions of music whether it’s Nelly or Oliver Sain.”

Vintage Vinyl will be open from 10 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Euclid Records’ hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Get more information at www.recordstoreday.com, www.vintagevinyl.com, www.euclidrecords.com, and www.euclidsessions.com.

Vintage Vinyl Celebrity DJ Lineup
11:30 a.m., Smash (KLOU)
12:30 p.m., Kevin C. Johnson (Post-Dispatch)
1:30 p.m., Radio Rich Dalton (KHITS)
2:30 p.m., Doug Morgan (KDHX)
3:30 p.m., Gentleman Jim Gates
4:30 p.m., Annie Zaleski (Riverfront Times)
5:30 p.m., So Many Dynamos (tentative)
6:30 p.m., Donnie Fandango (KPNT)
7:30 p.m., (Story of the Year)

Vintage Concert Lineup
1 p.m., Alley Ghost
2 p.m., May Day Orchestra & Robert Sarazin Blake
3 p.m., Zimbabwe Nkenya
4 p.m.-7 p.m., Beat Street with DJ Needles, DJ Alejan, B-Money, G-Wiz

Euclid Records Concert Lineup
11 a.m., Farshid Etniko
12 p.m., Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost
1 p.m., Trip Daddys
2 p.m., Grace Basement
3 p.m., Bent
4 p.m., Troubadour Dali
5 p.m., Jason Ringerberg
6 p.m., Bottle Rockets

Other stores participating in Record Store Day are Apop Records, CD Reunion, various locations of Slackers CDs and Games, Plaza Records in Carbondale, and P-Mac Music in Carbondale.