Pat Feeney has been selling albums and recommending tunes to folks who have stepped through his doors for almost two decades.

He's kept pretty low-key throughout the years. So imagine his surprise when he received word that Pearl Jam - one of the world's most recognized rock bands - chose his small Main Street shop to be the group's exclusive independent music retail partner at its four concerts at Philadelphia's soon-to-be-demolished Spectrum.

"They made the decision to have independent retailers come out and do their vendor sales for them," said Jaime, an employee at Feeney's Main Street Music, who declined to give her last name.

Main Street Music will sell Pearl Jam's new release, Backspacer, in CD and vinyl at a stand next to the band's main merchandise kiosk during the concerts, the final two of which are Oct. 30 and 31.

The announcement could be viewed as a plug for Feeney as well as all those other locally owned independent music stores suffering in the era of music downloads.

"Kids don't want to pay for music anymore," said David Decca, a Manayunk business owner who always has his ear to the local music scene.

Decca praised Feeney for his longevity on Main Street, saying it's refreshing to see someone survive that long in a difficult business climate.

"I give Pat great credit," he said. "He's part of a whole crew of people here who are good at what they do. We should be nurturing that store."

Main Street Music was originally located at 4404 Main St., but moved to its current location, 4444 Main St., in 1997. It's fitting that the store was chosen as Pearl Jam's exclusive music retail partner; their second album, Versus, is the biggest-selling album in the store's history.

Feeney recalled being at the original location, which described as the size of a phone booth, during his first-ever midnight sale. Employees sold 80 copies of Versus that night, and an additional 90 the next day.

"With Best Buys and stuff, you can't do that anymore," Feeney said, referring national chain store.

While Feeney said Main Street has been good to him through the years, things have changed in the decades since Manayunk's revitalization. There's not as much foot traffic as there used to be, and Feeney agreed with Decca that people aren't buying music as much these days.

So how has Feeney managed to survive? To Mark, another store employee who also declined to give his last name, it has to do with customer service.

"I think that's the biggest thing," Mark said. "Customer service makes a huge difference."

Mark also said you don't get personalized attention at big corporate stores like you might at independent shops. This helps when cultivating a loyal customer base.

"If you've shopped here ever, and have gotten recommendations from Pat, you come back," he said. "Pat's definitely like a music institution around here."

Mark also said the music selection is often much better at independent record stores.

"If you get good service from somebody, and you go to a store and they have great taste, it's a no-lose situation," he said.

To help stay afloat, Feeney has had to try his hand at things like online sales. Today, selling through Web sites such as Amazon.com is an important part of his business.