“The late 90s, early 2000s were the heyday as far as sales and volume because both CDS and vinyl were selling, then albums went down for about 10 years and (in) the past couple three they’ve come back,” Bernath said. “CD sales are going down, they’re becoming cheaper, we’re buying them for less, we’re paying more for vinyl. So there has been a vinyl resurgence.”

Bernath added many people don’t shop at stores anymore and prefer to purchase music online, which has affected his business as well.

Flat, Black & Circular will celebrate its 37th anniversary on Sep. 26. The store doesn’t have a lot of competition these days, but when they started there were stores all over East Lansing, Bernath said.

“We’ve had regulars since day one,” he said. “We’ve had 2nd and 3rd generations come in. People who have gone to school here, their kids have come here and now it’s like their little kids are coming here. It’s multi-generational.”

While there are some clear differences in music preferences between generations, Bernath said a lot of his top sellers have been pretty consistent between the different generations over the years.

“It’s the classic Beatles, Zeppelin, Stones, Hendrix, Nirvana, Matthews – the big ones that continue to sell.”

Bernath believes that certain artists and band legacies will live forever, but wonders about some of the musicians of today.

“There was Britney Spears, but nobody cares now,” he said. “There’s all these things that come and go. Beyoncé, I just don’t get it. It’s huge, but why? Are people going to come in here in 10 years looking for that first Beyoncé album? I don’t think so.”

Regardless of the changes in music over the years, Bernath continues to enjoy his time at the record store, and chuckled a bit when asked what his favorite part of working there is.

"It’s not like work, I’ve had real jobs," he said. "I worked in a factory, I’ve delivered, I grew up on a farm — it wasn’t for me. I get to play music, I get to hear it, I get to talk about it. I haven’t gotten rich, but I’ve survived for 37 years and hopefully I can retire in a few. It’s been a good run.”