More than 15,000 vinyl records spanning 60 years found in Minnesota basement; up for sale starting Jan. 2

MINNEAPOLIS -- The records were almost thrown into a landfill until three vintage collectors saved them from the basement of a Minneapolis warehouse. The collection, spanning 60 years, is being sold starting Thursday, Jan. 2.

“We were days away from them being completely gone and no one would have even known about them,” said Toni Johnson, owner of Turquoise Vintage.

Johnson and two other vintage collectors, Julie Kearns of Junket: Tossed and Found, and Craig Olson of Acme Junk, got a call from a real estate broker telling them a warehouse in Minneapolis had just been sold and a collector, who was living in the basement, left a bunch of stuff behind. When they went to check it out, they found a basement filled with vintage treasures.

“There were entire utility carts packed with boxes of records,” Kearns said.

All three vintage collectors said records aren’t really their thing, but after noticing how big the collection was and realizing their fate would be a landfill, they teamed up to save more than 15,000 pieces of music history.

“It’s just sad to see something perfectly usable has good memories for people to be thrown in a landfill and just gone forever,” Johnson said.

Together, they took the 15,000 records, LPs, 45s, and 78s, to Kearns’ store, Junket: Tossed and Found off University Avenue on the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul. From there, they called a vinyl expert to help them sort through boxes of records.

They sorted through some of the records and got the collection ready for sale.

“We’re saving them and letting somebody pass them on through maybe another generation,” Johnson said.

Starting on Thursday, Jan. 2, Junket: Tossed and Found will host a record sale for the public. On Thursday, the event is from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a $10 cover charge to get in the door and each record will cost $10.

On Friday, Jan. 3, the sale runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and records are $10 apiece.

On Saturday, Jan. 4, the sale runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and records cost $5 apiece.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, the sale runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and records will be $2 apiece.

CLICK HERE for more information about the "Bluebird Record Sale."