Boston vinyl shopping

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by ashulman, Oct 20, 2009.

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  1. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    He gets some good stuff for sure, but on my last visit (earlier this month) he let on that he saves a lot his best stuff for Discogs.
     
  2. Harbins_Grave

    Harbins_Grave Untitled Original 11383

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I didn't know that - that's good info. SG's Discogs for sale list isn't very long (around 100 items) - which is pretty small compared to Armageddon or Planet's thousands of items...I'll ask him about that the next time I stop in (he might also sell stuff on a personal Discogs account for all I know). I've definitely bought some high-priced, relatively rare stuff in the shop over the years, but I understand it if he needs to maximize profit by going online with the rare stuff that doesn't move in the shop. Still, I hope there's a balance so that the casual browser/shopper can still find gems in the stacks - it's a shame when all the good stuff is "behind the counter" in a shop.
     
  3. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    If you're taking the subway, take the B branch of the Green Line to In Your Ear, located near the west edge of Boston University.
     
  4. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    Damn, didn't know that they sold on Discogs too! But I guess I should have assumed that. I'm sure it's a necessary evil, but as a brick & mortar customer it's frustrating. Of course, I buy online as well so I guess it's one of those living in a glass house and not throwing stones kinda things... o_O
     
  5. Harbins_Grave

    Harbins_Grave Untitled Original 11383

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I think it's just a fact of life at this point that brick & mortar stores are going to have an online presence too if they can swing it - even with the vinyl resurgence and the amount of foot traffic a Boston-area store gets, it's probably sound financial sense to increase your possible customer base by listing online.

    One nice thing about Armageddon is that let me purchase something via Discogs from the Providence store and brought it up to Cambridge for me to pick up - gotta love saving shipping $ and not worrying about stuff getting damaged or lost in the mail. :righton:
     
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  6. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    The day that Deja Vu goes online is the day I quit! :p
     
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  7. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Specifically the Pleasant Street stop.
     
  8. havenz

    havenz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Also, don't skip In Your Ear in the Square! Kind of a dusty basement vibe, but some of my best (and best priced) finds over the years have been there. This also goes for the aforementioned In Your Ear near BU. Those guys are great AND price very fairly, usually well below market.
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2017
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  9. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    I had been wondering if that store was still open... but I was in the Harvard Square neighborhood day-before-yesterday, and sure enough, there it was In Your Ear! Didn't have time to stop in, though.
     
  10. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    Putting that store on line would violate the laws of physics!
     
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  11. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    :laugh::laugh::laugh:
     
  12. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Bear in mind that if you use a credit card in the Harvard Square store, they have to call the Allston store and read out the number to them over the phone so they can process it there. It's better to have cash.
     
  13. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Speaking of Deja Vu...

    Every time I go in there, Eleni asks me to write down my want list and contact info, but I have never gotten contacted by her. I suspect no one else ever has either!
     
  14. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    She has a lot of lists in her binder(s). Some of them are quite elaborate. I'm not sure how often she acts on them. I think they come into play when she buys large collections from serious collectors, not the day-to-day, man on the street collections she usually gets. Not sure how often she gets the really big ones though.
     
  15. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    I moved away from the area recently and this is exactly how and where I used to shop. Also "Nuggets" which is toward Fenway. There used to be many more, but like everywhere else there are less stores to shop at for music.
    I love Newbury Comics, but it is getting really expensive for new vinyl.........
     
  16. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    I hit Newbury Comics in the Square this past weekend and there were a couple of decent things on sale. I picked up the Pallas-pressed Nirvana Unplugged for $21.

    Also went to Armageddon Shop and picked up a vintage pressing of Presence for $9 and my daughter had fun looking through the $2.99 bin. She picked out a Brenda Lee record!
     
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  17. audiohound

    audiohound Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Thanks, everyone, I was away from this thread since last week. Wow...I leave for Boston tmw and I'm overwhelmed with all the great info folks have posted. Boston sounds like a great vinyl town...can't wait!
     
  18. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    The $2.99 bins at Armageddon are great because if it's not in their core constituencies (they're mostly a hardcore and metal shop, for those who have never been, with a decent sideline in experimental/noise stuff as well), they mostly just want it out of the store. So I've picked up some great post-bop jazz and '70s R&B records there in excellent nick for short money.
     
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  19. Phishman

    Phishman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upper Volta
    You are right. I have provided my "list" and contact info multiple times but no dice.....on the other hand, Bob from Garnick's calls me every other week or so....

    I did visit Looney Tunes a couple of times. They are in the process of unloading and pricing boxes full of records. Prices are very fair with a great Jazz section/selection. Cash only at this time.
     
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  20. marmil

    marmil It's such a long story...

    Sure. For the brief time that I was a poor student and wanted to get into Jazz and Classical music, I'd usually go there. I had a good friend who worked there and he would knock the price down when he could. Bought most of my Toscanini collection there.
     
  21. Harbins_Grave

    Harbins_Grave Untitled Original 11383

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Hey y'all - I had the opportunity this past weekend to visit a new-ish (open 1 month or so) in Brookline Village (85A Harvard Street in Brookline) called "Village Vinyl & Hi-Fi." They're on Facebook and their info (some news articles as well) will show up on a Google Search, but there's no store website at the moment. Anyway, it's a cool basement shop with an interesting selection of Punk, Metal, Soul, Jazz, and lots of Rock. They also sell and service vintage hi-fi equipment (turntables, speakers, receivers, etc.). It's definitely worth a visit if you're close by (it's on the 66 Bus line, and is not too far from Coolidge Corner). One warning - they're still pricing stock in the bins so not everything is priced, so you'll have to wait while they look it up for you - this wasn't off-putting for me as I was spending a long while browsing and enjoying chatting with the owner and staff (friendly fellows, BTW), but it might be annoying if you're in a rush. Happy digging!
     
  22. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Hm, and my wife is getting her hair cut in Brookline Village on Wednesday afternoon. I'll have to stick my head in before we meet for dinner.
     
  23. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    Yep, been hoping to get there. Interesting article here:

    www.vanyaland.com/2017/11/07/the-brookline-beat-village-vinyl-hi-fi-is-serious-about-your-stereo/
     
  24. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Interesting! I wasn't aware of Village Vinyl. The article mentions some other stores that are new to me: Armageddon Shop in Harvard Square, Tres Gatos in Jamaica Plain, and Somerville Grooves in Union Square. I guess I need to budget an afternoon for a record shop crawl!

    Did Looney Tunes ever open up in Allston? I find a skeletal web site for them, but it looks like hasn't been touched since February... and it's not clear what year that is. The phone number listed there is "xxx-xxx-xxxx", and it references an invalid Facebook page, which doesn't bode well.
     
  25. Phishman

    Phishman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upper Volta
    Yes, Looney Tunes is open.
     
    Vinyl Addict likes this.
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