While some folks were off celebrating a certain holiday on the 20th of April, I was preparing for a favorite of mine on the 21st, Record Store Day. As a music fan, I both love it and hate it, but it’s gaining undeniable traction in an age where iTunes downloads hold as much worth as any CD or record.

The premise behind Record Store Day is that artists will release limited quantities of exclusive content only to independently run record stores in order to bolster sales and as a thank-you to stores they would like to shop at. The premise is also first-come, first-served and only allows one copy of any given exclusive per person.

This year’s highlights included a three-LP set of Phish’s album “Junta” and a Paul McCartney 45 reissue of “Oh Woman, Oh Why” as promotion for his upcoming “Ram” reissue. Sara Bareilles also issued a 45 of tracks from her upcoming EP “Once Upon Another Night” and the ‘60s reissue label Sundazed released quite a number of singles from a bygone era.

I love Record Store Day because it’s one of the few days a year focused exclusively on independent stores of any type in America. The fact that it’s also all about music is just sweet-sounding icing on the proverbial cake.

While supporting our local store the Sound Garden, it was nice to see the store abuzz with customers happily picking through exclusives and non-exclusives alike. It was also nice to see such prominent artists doing their part to support stores, some of whom require the Record Store Day bump in sales to justify staying in business for another year. But there is a dark side: eBay.

A quick eBay search will demonstrate that some folks went into their local stores and plundered for profit. The Phish set I mentioned earlier is going for upwards of $150, double the asking price. This breaks the entire system, as emphasis is placed on supporting the record store only to profit further.

Some stores have also reportedly held stock for customers, which fundamentally tampers with the spirit of the day. Finally, some exclusives aren’t as exclusive as previously thought. In Record Store Day’s past, some hot ticket items netted those who had a ton of cash only to be released six months later in high stock, again putting a bad taste in patrons’ mouths.

For those asking if I’d like some cheese with my whine, I’m not upset that the day is flawed, only that a day that’s supposed to be Christmas for music geeks gets ruined by a few bad eggs. I still fully support and endorse Record Store Day, but cautiously. It’s grown from grassroots to be pretty huge in only five years and hopefully, it’ll still go on for many years.