The strong smell of Nag Champa incense, one of the most noticeable features of the soon-to-close record store Downtown Discs, permeates the store.

“We burn it sometimes but rarely,” said Leslie Carnahan, manager of the store at 866 W. Lincoln Highway for five months and an employee for two years. She said having the incense in the store causes the odor to linger, even on her clothing when she leaves at night.

Her friends ask her about the smell, and she often has to explain that it comes from her work.

But Carnahan and the eight other employees of Downtown Discs soon will leave the fragrance behind.

Downtown Discs will close its doors before its lease is up in August, Carnahan said. She said she is unsure when the last day will be.

“When I started here two years ago, it was crazy busy, but you notice a decline a little bit,” Carnahan said.

Carnahan said she blames the hard time the store fell into on a shift in the music industry.

“Everything eventually is going toward downloading,” Carnahan said.

However, Carnahan said the decline was happening regardless of file sharing.

“People just don’t buy them anymore,” Carnahan said. She said she thought artists were not putting as much effort into producing quality albums. Instead, they try to produce many of them in hopes of making money. The result is CDs with only one or two quality songs.

“I’m not going to buy a CD for a few songs on it,” Carnahan said.

At least one other CD store has heard of Downtown Discs’ closing and also has seen a decline in CD sales over the past couple of years.

Downtown Discs offers many different things besides music including movies, posters, jewelry and skateboard supplies.

“You want a lot of stuff in here but usually end up buying a CD,” Carnahan said.

Carnahan said she has enjoyed her time at Downtown Discs.

“This is the best job in the world,” Carnahan said. She likes that the job is easy and that she gets to meets so many “cool people.” Often, people will come in and give her free CDs of music they are trying to promote.

Downtown Discs owner Nick Tsiftilis was unavailable for comment at press time.