With the decline of American roadside diners and boom of fast food restaurants the standard chrome and push-button tabletop jukebox has also faded into a thing of the past. But with today’s resurgence of retro and vintage items more and more people are decorating their homes with that nostalgic feel. Be it retro furniture that decorates your home, a complete vintage bathroom, or you just have a couple things around the house to remind you of the days long gone you’ll want to check out these reproductions of the classic chrome jukebox used on tabletops in 50’s diners.

Starting from the top of the line we’ve got the The Classic Diner CD Jukebox from Hammacher Schlemmer. This particular unit has a nice chrome finish, plays CDs and MP3-CDs with the option of selecting song tracks by letter and number, just like the original diner models. Also built in is a digital FM radio with 20 presets, various lighting modes and can be connected to an external stereo, amplifier, or headphones. It even comes with an MP3-CD with 100 classic songs from the 1950’s and 1960’s from the original artists such as Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline. With the ability to play MP3-CDs and hook up to an external stereo (think home theater system) this jukebox easily makes it the number one choice.

If you don’t need CD or MP3-CD capabilities there is a less high tech version that plays cassette tapes and has AM/FM radio built in. It boasts full range stereo speakers, lighted song chart, and selection buttons that fold down to reveal the dial scale for the radio and volume. The advantage is that this model looks more like the original counter top versions from the 1950’s. So if you are going for more of the authentic look then this classic diner jukebox is for you.

If you are interested in a little jukebox history there is a short explanation starting with Thomas Edison in 1877 to the present over at Starlite Diner.

Posted by Sean in Retro and Vintage, Splurge
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