Record Stores

Brizzy seemed to have lots more used recd stores, and was overall better than Melbourne.

The other week I was back in CT and felt gutted when, pulling into the parking lot, I realised that where it had been is now a bakery or laundry or something.

Some faves in MI: Record Time/Roseville, Neptune/Royal Oak, Encore/Ann Arbor, Wazoo/Ann Arbor, Desirable Discs/Dearborn...

Amboeba, yes. Is there any better music geek experience than walking around inside w/ $100 store credit in your pocket? It does lack something as far as atmosphere (the one on Haight used to be a bowling alley) but makes up for it in ever other way.

The most underrated record store in SF is Open Mind Music on Divisidero; that's definitely the best place to buy used vinyl.

Douglas, you knocked me for a loop with the FBC reference. I grew up in East Lansing & I've been going in there since the 70s (well before I bought records; it was just a cool place to hang out as a kid. They always had rare records arranged thematically in a display case, rotating every month, plus they had that cool entry arch made from 45s.) Are you from Michigan? How did you end up at FBC? The store has only improved w/ time. I always thought of it as a classic rock haven, but dropped in a couple of years ago to see them stocking Force, Inc. 12-inches!

Here in Richmond there's a great shop called Plan 9, again w/ great used vinyl (that's how I measure a good record store these days. I'm cheap.)

Oddest record store I've seen is a place called Remember When on High Point Road in Greensboro. It's this ugly building on a terrible strip- mall-packed road, and inside is the best collection of used vinyl I've seen. This is where I found Bo Hansson’s Lord of the Rings thing. They have everything old -- jazz, soul, folk, odd soundtracks, tons of out-of-print stuff -- but the owner must read Goldmine because it's all super expensive. It's in the middle of nowhere & no one is ever in there & it's still crazy overpriced. Weird.

And if I ever felt the need to go to E. Lansing (though I can pretty much bet the farm that I never will), a trip to FBC would definitely have to figure into the plans.

When in Toronto, do check out the following:
Soundscapes: Not the biggest store in the city, but it has the best-edited selection of CDs in the city. New releases are often less expensive here than they are at the big-box locations.
She Said Boom: Maybe not the broadest selection, but it's still pretty good, and the staff add a pretty good snarky ambience (hi Simon)
Rotate This: Biggest selection of indie stuff in the city, both CD and vinyl, generally at pretty good prices too. As someone else pointed out else-thread, you can sometimes feel like they're looking down their noses at you, but who cares what they think, anyhow, as long as they have what you want?
HMV 333: If you HAVE to hit a big corporate megastore, this is the place, with the deepest selection of anything in the city. If you're looking for those old ELO albums, they're likely here. If you want those old Stranglers, they're here. If you want Firesign Theatre reissues, they're here. So it's faceless and expensive, but you've got a much better chance of finding what you're after. Plus it's got one of the biggest classical and jazz sections in the city now that Sam's has hit the chute.

What about Rasputin's in SF? I didn't have enough time when I was there, but they seemed to have a pretty good selection.

I used to go to Aron's in Los Angeles. I hope they don't go out of business because of Amoeba.

Is Parasol Records in Urbana a real store? They sent me a free compilation and they updated me about five times on shipping.

That's Herm Baker's (???) new shop, isn't it? I've heard good things from co-workers, and the two times I went to VS were very memorable and hard on the wallet. You know the place is unique when you're greeted by a Chameleons section that resembles most stores' Grateful Dead selection. Does Dave F. still have his place in GR?

The rust belt honor roll: Stormy, Neptune, Car City (Detroit), Bent Crayon, My Generation, My Mind's Eye (Cleveland), Used Kids (Columbus), Paul's (Pittsburgh), Everybody's (Cincinnati).

Penguin Records (2 McCaul St)

If you want reggae...go to Eglinton west. There are some of the best stores there and they all have some of the best new stuff on 45.

Montreal in the Plateau Mt. Royal area...:

The best store, in my estimation, is L'Oblique. I wish I could remember the cross streets....This is the only store in Montreal that stocks punk, indie rock, weird random stuff alongside reggae, electro, and other funkiness. The staff are lovely and very helpful-- not condescending at all.

On St. Laurent:

Disquivel: a used LP lovers paradise--but they also have some new stuff. It used to be a good source of simply vinyl stuff, but since sv tanked, they've got less. Lots of weird stuff and used/new cds too.

Inbeat: House, house, and more house.

Noize: Not a bad selection, but heavy on the electro, techno, housey funk, and breaks.

Rotation (just off St. Laurent on Prince Arthur): The folks here are rather nice--they try and cover a few too many genres, but are mostly strong in IDM, techno, house, hip-hop, and other funky chunky stuff.

DNA (just off of St. Laurent a wee bit east on Pine): bunch of assholes who like to pretend that they know tons more than you. I actually had someone in there (the first and last time I went) tell me that the record I asked for was "so two weeks ago"

Mojo: This is such a lovely store. They specialize in funk, reggae, and jazz, but also stock books and comics. It is just a pleasure to go to. I go once a week just to enjoy the atmosphere.

Rayon Laser: They used to rent CDs, now they just sell a great selection of used stuff and new funky shit.

In twenty years, when me knees finally give in, I will be able to blame Car City. I've spent plenty of time on my fucking knees while digging through their discounted used section. Biggest score had to be the reissues of the first six Durutti Column records at $4 a pop (cheaper than any Bloodrock vinyl!). Otherwise not the funnest place to navigate.

Nope, the movie's fictional record store, Championship Vinyl, was located in a space at Honore and Milwaukee, in Wicker Park. The space has remained vacant since the shoot.

Vintage Vinyl in Evanston has some nice stuff occasionally (albeit at sky-high prices), but the older guy who works there is a total jerk.

The Wicker Park continuity was mostly maintained throughout the movie, although there's one bizarre moment where Cusack is riding the Blue Line train, then all of a sudden is on the Red Line, up by Graceland Cemetary.

Continuity or not, it was a lousy film, but that's another thread, probably.

As far as MI goes, Record Time and Wazoo are also great, though I find the quality of the stuff at Desirable Discs has really went downhill in the past couple of years. Dearborn Music has been surprisingly good at having some really great stuff in their used section, lots of brand new releases and really eclectic stuff.

I'm actually glad I don't live in SF, because I would be destitute from spending my paycheck at Amoeba. I'd love to go back there one day.

Dans la mason in Halifax, Sams The Record Man on Barrington is perhaps your best bet as is the Urban Sound Exchange next door. The Sams features past heroes from the pop exlposion and has No Distribution renting out its upstairs office space. Blastoff in Moncton was the coolest store on the east coast but went belly up this year, sigh.

Gaslight??? You've got to be joking. It's an awful, awful store. They never have what I want and when they do it's woefully overpriced.

The best stores of all are Dixons Recycled. Ohhh Second-hand CDs *drool*

Those other stores you mentioned are good though. Also quality: Raoul in St. Kilda for a usually smashing selection of second- hand quite-recent releases; Collector's Corner on Swanston St for likewise and new dedicated dance section (I picked up "Monster Movie" for ten dollars there last week); Greville Records for their general coolness and JB Hifi for the cheapest non- second hand stuff anywhere.

Almost nowhere takes secondhand CD singles anymore. Not surprising really, since whenever I go through the secondhand CD singles I look through about 300 before finding one I'd even consider buying.

I'd also forgotten about Raoul - and it's just round the corner from my house too. I'm off there after work.

And another one: These Records, in London. It is bizarre, and you have to know EXACTLY where it is and when it's open (it's not visible from the street, and keeps weird hours), but they have lots of things I've never seen anywhere else.

((still kicking myself for giving my copy of 'tony fletcher...' to a long-since-ex boyfriend...i got it at the old vinyl sol))

alas, now i am in saginaw mich and must travel for such things.

s.

There's nothing quite Amoeba-sized up here, but the closest store that comes to that is probably Zulu records in Vancouver, BC. Otherwise, most stores in the Northwest are a mish-mash of small stores.. and I kinda like it that way. I'd hate to have to see the same exact store every time I had the urge to shop, even if I wanted to dwell into a different genre.

Seattle has the following:

• Sonic Boom records -- pretty much the 'indie' store
• JAM records -- my favorite... lots of dance vinyl, very interesting rock selection, and other things... kinda like the NoiseNoiseNoise of Seattle
• Wall of Sound records -- for weird world music, electronic, experimental, and other difficult things
• Beats International -- dance vinyl store.. most genres covered
• Zion's Gate records -- also in Portland, too. Very thorough selection of electronic, dancehall, reggae, etc.
• Fallout records -- lots of garage, punk, postpunk, oddities, and undeground comix
• Singles Going Steady -- punk punk punk crust etc.
• Bud's Jazz records -- basement jazz record store. Pretty decent selection, though don't expect it to be into just all that Zornish stuff.
• A shitload of second hand music store chains, almost everywhere you walk

• Rodeo records in Ellensburg, WA. I WANT TO VISIT THIS STORE. Apparently, it's one of the best of the northwest. Owned by Mark Pickerel, who used to play with Pell Mell and Screaming Trees. (Hopefully, it'll open by the time I swing by there on my upcomin road trip!)
• Scratch records in Vancouver. Very thorough selection of most rock genres. Friendly staff, too.
• Beat Street records in Vancouver. Huge vault of old soul, dance, and disco records for cheeeeaaap
• Ditch records in Victoria. Mostly indie and punk, but a great used rock vinyl section.
• Ozone in Portland. I heard rumors this store was closing(?), but pretty much the best store in Portland, last I checked.
• Platinum records in Seattle. For 'serious' DJS. A couple of really nice dudes work there, but otherwise watch out for some DJ attitude there.
• Frequency 8 in Seattle. Mostly trancey type dance vinyl. But the TRON-esque internal decor is amazing

Here's why I was surprised - posted this on Twitter last week:

https://twitter.com/halfpintpress/status/806635754520801280

That looks great Tim – are you taking pre-orders yet?

Thanks - and not yet, I will do so when I find 0out whether I can persuade someone to do a little exhibition of the thing first (and if so coincide "publication" with that. If you want me to drop you a line ahead of publication then mail me on my ilx mail or at halfpintpress at gmail dot com.

Apols everyone else for spamming the thread up, will keep it to ILB if I can.

Thanks, I've followed you on the twitter so hopefully will hear from that in due course.

LP cover, second row down, second album in.

What is that one? I dimly remember having it... Girl on the cover, head shot. Didn't her boyf die in suspicious circ?

It's "Colors" by Claudine. I wouldn't know about her bf I'm afraid.

REDRUM! i found pictures of the old store i had with my pal lance in the 90s in philly. we sold clothes and books and videos and comix and magazines but i sold more records than anything else. that store kinda freaked some people out a little. it was very basement-y. and completely red inside. and we had black trash bags on the ceiling.

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21192945_10156207637772137_4168535241986185944_n.jpg?oh=4e82a4cd1adfa5b6fcabc638344e8b03&oe=5A242613

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21230953_10156207643142137_1012430721860737343_n.jpg?oh=587420ebd8e70067998fbcf08ad790e0&oe=5A53FB30

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21232128_10156207643702137_9196441755436104735_n.jpg?oh=044d0a15fa1648bd286198e4a20a6571&oe=5A21BDFB

now i'm all normal...

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21192451_1851257631854547_2935703198262718714_n.jpg?oh=835b3cd662d1d105282ef86dd51e6753&oe=5A1E6C49

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21271337_1851257685187875_1866175346887371085_n.jpg?oh=742b2644d6f6ca1361b696112cffacb2&oe=5A605F61

both versions are awesome, thanks for sharing.

Cool stuff, Scott!

scott your place looks awesome. i wanna sit on those lime stripe chairs. old school philly store looks a little like my favorite spot in new brunswick

http://www.spinarecords.com/

my dollar dungeon is almost ready for invited guests. ilxors are allowed. you just have to say: "I'd like to play some D&D."

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22519423_10156313784732137_286891511766496723_n.jpg?oh=9aeedc6df2ae243a205d0ee573f890fb&oe=5A693EA1

looks extremely fun

heaven is a multistory record store with endless floors

Anyone familiar with a record store called Burning Airlines that was somewhere in New Jersey a few decades ago (looks like it might still exists as a band t-shirt dealer)? I somehow got ahold of a thick catalog of theirs in Ohio in the mid-'80s that I was obsessed with. Typewritten and photocopied with thousands of punk/postpunk/new wave records, shirts, posters, buttons, etc. As a student at a school where a tie was part of the dress code I was particularly interested in the "skinny tie" section of the catalog and still regret not getting the Siouxsie and Ultravox ties that I had my eye on. Anyway just wondering if the store was as cool as I imagined it being at the time.

yep I remember Burning Airlines catalogs, I think they advertised in MRR back in the day. I ordered a few things for sure.

I was not aware that it was an actual brick-and-mortar store, though!

You know I guess it's possible that it wasn't -- just assumed it was an actual store at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pU6MoJSBY

record store lolz

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/every_crate_diggers_nightmare_record_store_has_whipped_cream_and_other

my kid put me on the instagram!

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/23435252_10156385962822137_7648578309546049142_n.jpg?oh=faab304cd5eb8cd977b8ba8b9a52707b&oe=5A9CE8D4

https://www.instagram.com/johndoejrrecords/?hl=en

Nice to see King Crimson

Fantastic.

*drools*

scott do you ever sell on discogs/musicstack or anything?

my home away from home.

https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33049905_10215060059806797_7404161032869904384_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=cab7f544faf2f4c6124d8f277fabdcb5&oe=5B87D1E5

beautiful

yeah, that looks lovely

my summer record store look...

https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33621335_10156899364217137_199183746916679680_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_eui2=AeHjWVEHgYYy2sq9YO0THqDyDgymFQmDlt2MvJpT9TO8h1Lh4Rf6kUjE3k1xBeJXD_lSjFIEiqPhMZ3b3kMsI70X7iWPRzVK07S-ViCkQToAig&oh=70f10e9cc208fbd2246626235a3c5681&oe=5B8A3450

https://www.yuppiegadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gnome-Light-Blue.jpg

https://ktla.com/2019/06/25/amoeba-music-set-to-be-torn-down-replaced-with-complex-after-l-a-council-votes-to-approve-zoning-changes/

i haven't been in years but i spent a lot of hours there .

We only have ourselves to blame

it'll be opening in another spot in Hollywood somewhere but i'm sure they'll be gone for a few months at least while setting up.

Oh I didn’t know that! Have to make a point to get out there and check out the new digs when it’s done.

There will reportedly be weed, if that’s yr bag

no idea where it will be located but i feel like it's gotta be pretty close to that. they just need to find another sizable place with a decent lot.

Was always a bit miffed that Tower and allsuch stores went bust but Amoeba was able to have such prominent real estate. The vinyl heads tend to more trade in than put in.

My guess is Eagle Rock, over on whatever that main drag is. Yorke. Havent lived there for years but remember lots of tenants splitting on the raising rent.

All the (5?) Dimple records locations are closing in Sacramento

They all kinda sucked for music anyway

You may have heard something about the future of Amoeba in LA. Rest assured, we are NOT closing. We are planning to move to a new space in Hollywood in about another year and will let everyone know when we have news to share.

Please read our full update: https://t.co/8GdZmJbUTk pic.twitter.com/gNCxEAda3Z

— Amoeba Music (@amoebamusic) June 26, 2019

Chicago folx — a friend’s brother recently opened this store in the Portage Park neighborhood: https://www.facebook.com/tonedeafrecschicago/

Check it out if you’re so inclined

Warren from Little Ax in Portland OR has moved to the city next door to me in Springfield and opened a store there, supposedly tons of African records but I have yet to make it in.