Record Stores

((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

Pooly stocked in some categories (especially electronic/dance). Surprisingly well stocked in contemporary classical, I'll give them that!

As for decent places, Probe in Liverpool is good but not as good as i used to think. Also, Concepts in Durham will always hold a special place in my heart.

(Oops, way off-topic! You can track me down through my ILX "user info" page if you ever want to hear the whole story...)

I'm also fond of Other Music and Mondo Kim's, even though the staff there is probably the least friendly I've ever come across.

I'm not its biggest fan, sadly. But the Brazilian sandwich guy is a riot.

I have also been to Lou's and Off the Record in San Diego. Nice stores.

*bump*

this thread is almost certainly due for an update.

anyplaces in portland, oregon? i know of jackpot and ozone....any others i should look into?

Mississippi and Discourage.

Twisted Village, Cambridge, Mass.!

are you looking for vinyl in Portland? If so you should got to Crossroads (it's on Hawthorne, forgot the cross street, but maybe 3-4 blocks west of the jackpot etc. over there).
It's a building that houses a bunch of different vendors. This means there are like 30 separate sections to check for any genre, and condition and pricing vary. Some vendors have awesome stuff that's cheap, some have awesome stuff that's expensive, and some have regular stuff that's overpriced. Towards the front though there's a section that someone has for prog/psych/new agey stuff that's great. I've always found some cool stuff there, generally for $5-$10 (Steve Hillage, Curved Air, Tangerine Dream kinda stuff).

My favorite store in Portland is Exile Records on like 49th and Hawthorne. Some of the members of Eat Skull work there.

They've got psych, drone, experimental, noise, sublime frequencies type stuff covered.

If it weren't on the expensive side I could truly love Volcanic Tongue.

Off topic-ish, sry... I live in a small town that can't really support record stores, but what's it like in bigger cities that can these days? I mean, with online buying/stealing as big as it is, are they sort of going away / getting more specialized? At one time I thought they'd become more popular than ever, people would discover more music with greater ease and therefore buy more, but I think that's just me / people like me. What's the skinny, yo?

I don't know. A friend of mine just opened a record shop in South London (The Dream Machine in Dulwich - obligatory plug!) which seems like a brave move when so many record shops are closing down. I shall be interested to see how it fares.

A new experimental/avant-garde record store just opened in Seattle (Ballard).

Dissonant Plane.

http://www.dissonantplane.com/

there's abs. nothing here in upstate NY (binghamton). we had a record fair the other day that wass decent but nothing special really.

drive to rochester and go to the bop shop.

i've got family there, so i'll "pop" into the bop shop next time i'm there, thanks!
if anyone's got other suggestions (closer to bing) that'd be cool.

Any good ones (2nd hand too!) in Cambridge, UK? Going to see a friend in March, won't have that much time for recordshopping but would like to scour for a bit if there's a good shop...

So... what advice does ILM have for starting a small record store?

I have the space, which is free (part of my house - and local regulations allow businesses in the home), a Visa Merchant account, Paypal, an eBay account, a Discogs account (which I'm thinking can function as a de facto web site for stock listing), and a fair amount of stock. I know I need a business license, business cards, a land line, and some physical modifications to the space (wall shelves, crates, etc). What I especially need more info on is distributors, and distro contacts. I'm basically going to be working on the small-but-good model of Wall Of Sound in Seattle, TD's in Bloomington Indiana, Exile in Portland, etc. I am interested in how people typically set up accounts with distros, how to contact ones people think are good, and what the usual minimum orders are.

I'm also sure I'm missing other crucial details, which is why I'm asking.

sent an e-mail to your efn account...

http://www.wosound.com/images/specialties.gif

i like how that reads like it's one genre. it would be funny if you went into their store and they only had 5 avant-garde japanese noise industrial art-rock indie alternative free-jazz folk experimental ambient world electronic electro-acoustic neoclassical records and nothing else.

scott you just made me laugh.

thanks ian!

When I first read that I thought it was an ad for scott's new store.

Twisted Village store in Harvard Square is closing tomorrow.
http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/onthedownload/archive/2010/07/15/harvard-square-s-twisted-village-to-close-july-25.aspx

Ear X-Tacy in Louisville is closing

Dear Louisville, and all who have shopped, supported, and loved ear X-tacy over the years,

It has been a dream come true...actually, a dream exceeded, to be part of your musical lives here in Louisville for the last 26 years. My life was changed forever, and guided by the power of music since I can remember. Music has been the soul, the heart, the passion of my life for my entire 56 years. The record store experience has been the only child in my life. Now, it's time for me to let it fly.

Thank YOU...for allowing me to be part of your musical universe. Louisville, you made me feel like I was truly HOME when I moved here in 1976. It's been a great ride, but as George Harrison knowingly said, "All Things Must Pass." It's with sadness, but also with great pride I say to you now...

ear X-tacy is no more

Long live ear X-tacy!

Please keep the music alive. Support the incredible music scene and independent businesses we have here! Until you leave this great city, you cannot realize what a unique treasure we have here. Embrace it, celebrate it, and promote it. Love it.

Thank you all for making my dreams come true. Thank you for making ear X-tacy the wonderful place that it was. I thank all of the staff that made this store THE hub for music in Louisville for the past 26 years. Please take pride in knowing that YOU have been the heart and soul of what this store became. Thank you for sharing my dream and exceeding all of my expectations! To all of the musicians who have graced our store and stage, I cannot tell you what a thrill it's been. From the local newbies to the incredibly huge national artists...THANK YOU for gracing our store and sharing you incredible musical talents with us all...that's what I like to call: "earX-tacy".

Love, peace, music and ear X-tacy to you all,

John D. Timmons
President, ear X-tacy, Inc.

Every record store is closing and it's fucking depressing.

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.