Ernest Tubb Record Shop — Nashville, Tennessee

Ernest Tubb's Record Shop at 417 Broadway on Lower Broadway in Nashville has been a country music institution since Ernest Tubb opened it in 1947. Tubb — the 'Texas Troubadour,' one of the pioneers of honky-tonk country — opened the shop as a way to sell his records and those of his contemporaries directly to fans, and for decades it was the most important country music retail establishment in the world. The Midnite Jamboree radio show, broadcast from the store's back room Saturday nights after the Grand Ole Opry's own broadcast, launched or promoted the careers of countless artists.

The record shop on Broadway became the anchor of what is now Lower Broadway's honky-tonk district — the strip of bars, live music venues, and boot shops that is Nashville's most visible tourist destination. The shop's longevity is remarkable: Broadway has changed dramatically around it, but the Ernest Tubb Record Shop has maintained its identity as a serious country music retail and heritage institution through decades of commercial pressure.

The Ernest Tubb Record Shop still operates on Broadway in downtown Nashville, selling country music records, CDs, and memorabilia. It is open seven days a week and presents live music. The broader Lower Broadway strip — Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the Ryman Auditorium nearby, the Country Music Hall of Fame a few blocks away — makes this one of the most concentrated music heritage districts in America.