Kyle Cook, co-owner of Hitt Records, has been collecting music for decades beginning with records he found in his parents’ basement as a kid. It wasn’t until he was old enough to purchase music for himself that he really started to expand his collection as well as his music taste. Cook’s decades of collecting music media have resulted in him now owning several thousand records and close to 1,000 CDs and cassette tapes.

“One of the first records I bought with my own money [was] an album called ‘Buckingham Nicks,” Cook said. “So it’s like Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks three or four years before they joined Fleetwood Mac. It’s just like one of those albums to this day that is really hard to find and on CD is practically non-existent.” 

Cook isn’t just finding rare records for himself anymore. As co-owner of Hitt Records, Cook currates the store’s record selection for Columbia’s community of music lovers .

Cook’s weekdays often consist of ‘record expeditions.’ On these expeditions Cook and his co-workers travel to different cities in hopes of finding music to stock the shelves inside his establishment’s lime green walls. 

“We basically just tried to do our best and carry the most diverse and eclectic, and also accessible, collection we could possibly have,” Cook said. 

Inside Hitt Records, visitors browse the vinyl records and CDs that fill the shelves on the store’s two floors. Cook said he does his best to supply the store with a diverse collection to appeal to all customers, dividing the store up by genre. Hip-hop, metal, rock and new releases can be found on the first floor, while classical and folk music can be found upstairs. 

“It’s hard to try to carry everything that everyone wants,” Cook said. “Every day, people are asking for bands I’ve never heard of, or new pop artists, or even old things I’ve never heard of, but I feel like there’s enough in here top to bottom that someone is going to find something no matter what.”

Cook strives to bring people together through Hitt Records, letting the establishment act as a venue for smaller artists in the Columbia area to host performances. The establishment is connected to Ragtag Cinema and Uprise Bakery. The three locally-owned businesses co-exist with one another as they often organize events and parties for locals and loyal customers to attend.

“We strive to be a cultural hub downtown — not just a place for retail business, like a place where people hang out and collaborate,” Cook said. 

When he’s not running Hitt Records, Cook enjoys music and finding new connections. Cook met Kylie Dokken at a dance party right before the COVID-19 pandemic at the True/False Film Festival. Cook said the two connected over a shared interest in music and the similarity between their first names. At the time, Dokken worked at Ragtag Cinema, but she would often go next door to speak with Cook during shifts and hang out in the record store. 

When Cook saw that Dokken could check people out at the cash register, he hired her on the spot. Dokken explained Cook’s character and how it has carried into what Hitt Records symbolizes in the Columbia area. 

“He’s my best friend.” Dokken said, “That’s my brother …  Kyle is just so nice and so welcoming, he’s just a very warm person. And I feel like Hitt [Records] is also a very warm and welcoming place.” 

Since Cook came up with the idea of Hitt Records with his co-owner, Tyler Bacon, in 2012 he had always hoped that people would not only come to their establishment to get excited about music, but that Hitt Records would become a safe place for people in Columbia to talk about the art itself. 

“Just hanging out and kind of like shooting the breeze about music all day long. It’s kind of all I ever do,” Cook said. “And anyone who comes in here pretty much is the same way – they want to talk about music or listen to music, and it’s just the kind of place that fosters just an interest in all recorded media in general.”

Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Bella Zielinski and Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com