Yes, the World’s Largest 8-Track Tape Collection is in Quincy, IL

My first stereo had a turntable and an 8-track tape player. I have a fond place in my heart for that era of music. Did you know the world's largest 8-track tape collection is in Quincy, Illinois?

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This massive 8-track tape collection has been here in my own backyard all these years and I had no idea until I came across a new article by Only In Your State telling the story of "Tracker Bob" in Quincy, Illinois and his collection of over 93,000 8-track tapes. A few years ago, he gave KSDK a tour of his place.

The Only In Your State article says that Bob's collection has now grown since that tour 3 years ago and his collection has now passed the 100,000 mark. That is a ton of 8-track tapes. Dang.

If you are not old enough to have been around during the 8-track tape era which happened between the original vinyl albums and cassettes, let me describe it for you. My JCPenney stereo that had an 8-track tape player in it would get hot as it played the tapes. There was a distinctive smell of 8-track-tapes that I will never forget. It also sadly would sometimes "grab" the tape and pull it into the player potentially ruining whatever album it contained. I became an unofficial expert at repairing 8-track tapes that had gotten caught in the capstans in those early players. Good times.

I've reached out to Tracker Bob in Quincy requesting an interview so he can add to this story of his record-setting 8-track collection. A fascinating era of vintage music storage.