Warm, welcoming, crammed with music and memories, bedecked in old-school button badges and smelling faintly of fanzine print.

But enough about me, let's talk about record shops.

It is Record Store Day this Saturday – the annual retail-focused celebration of physical records, counter-culture, grassroots labels and local community – so let us take a whistle stop tour of our CD and vinyl emporia, and examine the Scottish pop delights they have lined up this weekend.

Kicking off at the centre of the known universe, that is to say Stirling, Europa Music (Friars Street) houses Scotland's largest vinyl collection (make sure you go through to the deliriously stacked back room) and will host live in-store appearances including ace local indie tearaways FRANK and Miniature Dinosaurs alongside no less a pop heartbreaker than James Grant of Love and Money.

Further north, Groucho's in Dundee (Nethergate) has appearances from Fake Major, Silent Nothing, Colour Coded and General Judgement. Inverness's fab Imperial (Academy Street) welcomes Sara Bills and the Hasbeens, and Willie and Tabs Macaskill.

Back in the Central Belt, Love Music (Dundas Street, Glasgow) has live sets from Glasvegas, Woodenbox, French Wives, Three Blind Wolves, Washington Irving, Fake Major, Viking Galaxy and Young Aviators, and there will also be a free tea stall, classic rock cake and a pinball masterclass challenge (if you've yet to play on Love Glasgow's AC/DC pinball machine, then now is the time to reassess your life choices).

Monorail (King's Court, Glasgow) sees Subway Sect's punk renegade Vic Godard re-animating Velvet Underground songs with Davey Henderson's art-pop firebrands The Sexual Objects. Other live highlights include Ela Orleans and wired alt-rock radicals World Peace. There will also be home baking, face painting and DJ sets from David Barbarossa and Deena Jacobs, with 1960s soul, garage and effervescent indie platters courtesy of Brogues and Jenny Rollo from bravura club night All the Rage.

Oxfam Music (Byres Road, Glasgow) will host a Record Store Day party helmed by feminista pop collective TYCI, who celebrate their half-year birthday with a day of tremendous grrrl-dominated performances – Jo Mango, Siobhan Wilson, Kirstin Innes and Kitty the Lion among them – followed by a night of femme-powered thrills at Bloc, including electro-soul livewire Patricia Panther and tunes from Pretty Ugly DJs.

Rubadub (Howard Street, Glasgow) will be stocking loads of danceable exclusives and running deals on all other vinyl, while guest DJs and live acts include hot electronic diviner Dam Mantle, Trevino and Silk Cut.

Edinburgh gets in on the dance and electronic action thanks to black-wax haven Underground Solu'shn (Cockburn Street, Edinburgh), hosting day-long vinyl DJ sets from friends and colleagues such as Fryer, House of Traps, Colvin Cruikshank, Fudge Fingas, G-Mac and EH1.

Elsewhere in Edinburgh, folk wonderland Coda (The Mound) has live in-stores from the wonderful Karine Polwart and Jenna Reid, Elvis Shakespeare (Leith Walk) welcomes rabble rousers Saint Max and the Fanatics and Oi Polloi, and Avalanche (Grassmarket) has in-stores from Glasvegas and Admiral Fallow.

Betwixt shopping sprees, drop into the Bow Bar (West Bow, Edinburgh) to sample their special cask ale, Sid 'n' Nancy IPA.

But it is perhaps VoxBox Music (St Stephen Street, Edinburgh) that best celebrates, and unites, Auld Reekie's thriving grassroots community. They have teamed up with local labels Gerry Loves Records and Song, By Toad for an eclectic and stellar bill of live music shared between the shop and the neighbouring Last Word Saloon, featuring Magic Eye, Mike Heron Band, Rob St John, Adam Stafford and Honeyblood – not to mention a Fence Records alt-pop mutant hybrid in eagleowl versus Kid Canaveral (aka Kid Canaverowl).

As for records, this year's Scottish Record Store Day highlights include vinyl, tapes and treats from Orange Juice, Biffy Clyro, King Creosote, Young Aviators, Admiral Fallow, Adam Stafford, Randolph's Leap, Frightened Rabbit, Mogwai/Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, The Twilight Sad/Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells. There is also Song, By Toad's inspired Beer vs Records endeavour, which asks the brilliant, and pertinent, question: why do we resent paying £12 for a record, when we'll happily fork that out for a round of drinks? Why indeed.

Can't make it to a record shop this Saturday? No matter. Go on Sunday.

Go any day. Treasure them.

Visit www.recordstoreday.co.uk.