"I've been collecting records since I was a kid," said Derek Anderson. "And just the way they feel, they sound from the first time you open up, the smell, you know that none of that translates in digital."Anderson was pulling vi nyl records out of crates and shelving them on Friday, March 14, when I stopped by the newly opened Modern Sounds on Main Ave in Downtown Twin Falls. He said in five years since opening his first store in Boise, he's seen how ready people are for an authentic alternative to digital streaming."They're actively listening. They're sitting down, absorbing the cover art, opening the record and pulling the liner notes out," Anderson said. "It's turned into part of their lifestyle."After successfully hosting a winter pop-up shop in Twin Falls for a few years, Anderson has transitioned to a full-time location, which opened just this past month. "The stuff that gets me excited is the kids coming and looking for the new artist," Anderson said. "They want the specific vinyl with the colored record and, you know, the limited edition one, so they get excited about that."Anderson's shop comes at a time when downtown Twin Falls is undergoing significant changes, with some long-established businesses closing their doors while others have relocated. "Bringing back the vitality of it is just one of those things," said Tony Prater. "It ebbs and flows. Downtowns are just that way."Prater is CEO of Jensen Jewelers and helps run the Downtown Twin Falls organization. In his 50-plus years Downtown, he's seen the landscape evolve constantly. "We saw that in the last year or two. You know, we lose one thing, they move out, we bring something from the mall. It just moves in. Things like that happen all the time, that's the nature of downtown," Prater said.Kevin Dane was at the shop, browsing through titles on Friday morning. "I have a pretty large collection at home," Dane said. "I have to be a little bit more picky now because we're running out of room and my wife is kinda ... you know. So, I'm scaling back a little bit but."As a former owner of the now-closed "Music Exchange" in Twin Falls, Dane expressed hope for Anderson's new venture. "I'm hoping that he gets some decent business here and can continue and keep Main Street revitalized," Dane said. - This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less