For generations of Portlanders, Music Millennium hasn’t just been a place to buy records. It has been a classroom, a sanctuary, a launchpad, and a second home for anyone whose life tilted toward music the moment the needle hit vinyl.
This week, longtime owner Terry Currier shared news on the Music Millennium Facebook page that feels both heavy and hopeful: Music Millennium is looking toward its next chapter. Not an ending. Not a goodbye. A careful passing of the torch. As Currier wrote, “First, thank you all for supporting Music Millennium over the years. You are why we are still here after 57 years along with all the great people that have worked at Music Millennium over the years.”
The store first opened its doors on March 15th, 1969, founded by Don and Laureen MacLeod alongside Danny and Patti Lissey. Terry noted that legacy directly, writing, “It would have never happened without Don and Laureen MacLeod, along with Danny and Patti Lissey, opening the doors on March 15th, 1969. We are looking forward to celebrating the official anniversary this March.” From the beginning, Music Millennium was built for people who didn’t just listen to music, but lived inside it.
Terry’s own story reads like a love letter to how music used to find you. Not through playlists or algorithms, but by accident, curiosity, and late-night radio. “I did not grow up listening to the radio or records. I played music and was looking to go to college on music scholarships,” he shared. That changed after his family moved from Seattle to Ridgefield, Washington, and a beat-up Mustang introduced him to the airwaves. KVAN, with its sunrise-to-sunset broadcasts, underground DJs, and nightly sign-off featuring the Beatles’ The End, cracked something open.
“KVAN played what was known as underground music… Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Spirit and anything any of the on-air DJs wanted. This opened my musical senses,” Currier wrote. That awakening led him to his first concert, Leon Russell & the Shelter People, an experience he described simply and powerfully: “That show was a religious experience to me.”
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Two weeks later, he applied for a job at a record store. He didn’t know much about recorded music yet, but that didn’t matter. “They hired me knowing I had little knowledge about recorded music. The record store became my university, and I never went to college,” he said. Soon after, a friend brought him to Music Millennium for the first time. “Millennium had all these import records we did not have. I found myself going to Music Millennium 2 or 3 nights a week after I got off work.”
That pull never faded.
In 1984, after years of managing record stores across Seattle, Everett, Honolulu, and Portland, Currier got a call that would change everything. The MacLeods were reclaiming Music Millennium after a failed ownership period that had left the store nearly buried. “With a ½ million-dollar debt over their heads and none of the suppliers selling them any product for almost a year, things were in bad shape,” he wrote. Together, they clawed their way back. “We took care of the debt over 3 years and moved forward.”
Now, 42 years later, Currier says the passion hasn’t dimmed. “I’m as excited about Music Millennium today as I was the day I stepped into the store.” But time has a way of nudging even the most devoted caretakers to think about what comes next. “Recently I turned 70… it’s time to find a successor to keep Music Millennium going for many years to come.”
What matters most is how that future looks. Currier has turned down developers for years. “I want that building to be a part of Portland’s landscape forever. Plus, I want Music Millennium to be in it for just as many years.” He’s open to selling the business, the building, or creating a long-term lease, all with one goal in mind: stability and continuity.
This message wasn’t posted as a business listing. It was posted as a conversation with the community. “I’m letting you know as you are all passionate music fans,” Currier wrote. “Perhaps you have an interest in taking Music Millennium into the future or know of someone that may be interested.” And he made one thing clear: “Rest assured, I’m good with working with the future owner during a transitional period, educating them on just how we make Music Millennium tick.”
Music Millennium has survived every industry prediction of its death. It has outlasted formats, trends, and tech revolutions. More importantly, it has shaped lives, built taste, and anchored Portland’s music culture for nearly six decades.
This isn’t the end of the record. It’s just the quiet lift of the needle before the next side begins.
