Arizona and New Mexico record stores

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by jlc76, Apr 7, 2011.

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  1. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Since I just did a big vinyl buying trip to these two states I'll leave some reviews. I really didn't look at CDs so don't use my comments as a guide for how good their CD stock is, those digital things have zero value to me now:

    Tucson
    Toxic Ranch - good if you want new copies of punk stuff, used vinyl selection was limited. bought nothing.

    Bookman's - really a bookstore, most of the records are things that shouldn't even be in stores as no one wants them on vinyl anymore i.e. Streisand, Boston, J Geils, Pablo Cruise, etc bought the following:
    http://www.discogs.com/Robert-Margouleff-And-Malcolm-Cecil-Tontos-Expanding-Head-Band/release/212965
    http://www.discogs.com/Various-Electronic-Music-IV/release/121426

    Twist and Shout - tons of Blue Note reissues...that's about the only nice thing I can say about this store. I did find one semi-rare psyche record and I passed on an 80s German press of Ziggy Stardust that looked really clean which I probably should have bought. Again, it was mainly a bunch of titles that just don't sell on vinyl anymore. Here is what I got:
    http://collectorsfrenzy.com/Details.aspx?id=370241857047

    Zias on Speedway - the best store so far, had a decent used selection but they were all under the bin and hard to flip through. I bought this:
    http://www.discogs.com/Franz-Ferdinand-Take-Me-Out/release/296294

    Zias on Oracle - a few gems like an original french pressing of Primus Sailing the Seas of Cheese but it was VG- so I passed.

    PDQ Records - looked awesome but for some weird reason was closed, phone disconnected and all.

    Summary: avoid Tucson if you are a serious vinyl collector.

    Tempe

    Eastside - was supposedly the best, but now closed. The owner is going to open up a shop in L.A. in the future.

    Zia's - about as good as the Zia's in Tucson, found this:
    http://www.discogs.com/JJ-Fad-Supersonic/release/230203

    Hoodlums - probably the best shop in Tempe, a surprising amount of jazz (used and new) and a decent selection of alternative/punk with not a lot of the crap 70's and 80's rock/pop that seems to permeate stores now. I got these:
    http://www.discogs.com/George-Russell-Sextet-At-The-Beethoven-Hall/release/1903577
    http://www.discogs.com/Thurston-Moore-Psychic-Hearts/release/1190945

    Rockzone - lots of 70s and 80s rock...which I'm not that into. A few punk titles and a bunch of jazz that no one wants. I got:
    http://www.discogs.com/Depeche-Mode-Violator/release/46905

    Phoenix
    Stinkweeds - name sounds like a head shop but it was a tiny store full of lots of new indie/alternative/punk vinyl. It was hard to differentiate the used from new because the used were in loose shrink so I couldn't check conditions or get pressing info unless the jacket was obvious. I don't know why stores do this. I bought nothing.

    Tracks in Wax - this was probably the best store in Phoenix years ago but sadly the owner is now very sick and as the good stuff sells it's not being replenished. After much digging I found a few minty Cure 45s UK Fiction label press as well as a really clean first press of Neil Young On the Beach. After asking if there was any better stuff, she told us that the owner has the prime stuff at home (he had sold $600 of it the week before at a local record show) but she was willing to bring a few crates up the next day (they were closed) for us to go through. Well, she did and it was the absolute prime stuff we were looking for. Lots of local and regional punk and indie stuff but the downside was most of it was higher than the highest ebay auctions. I was a little bummed but found a few bargains (btw these were all NM, unplayed vinyl and mostly VG+ jackets) including:
    http://www.discogs.com/Birthday-Party-Prayers-On-Fire/release/2462415
    http://www.discogs.com/Cure-The-Head-On-The-Door/release/1740049
    http://www.discogs.com/Cramps-Gravest-Hits/release/2135873
    http://www.discogs.com/Butthole-Surfers-Psychic-Powerless-Another-Mans-Sac/release/368996


    Revolver - I walked in and they were playing some wild free jazz...that was the high point. This store too seemed to suffer the afflication of having a large quantity of crap pop/rock that will never sell on vinyl especially for the $3-8 they were asking. They did have lots of interesting new vinyl including a metal and noise section. My best finds here were from their room of oddball pressings where I found a bunch of medical instruction, science, regilious sermon, a record about primate sex, and the gem of them all, a record about homosexuality. I collect these oddball things and it was nice to see them for $3 or less.

    Albuquerque
    Apparently most stores are closed Mon and Tues and even the ones that aren't are only open from 11-6. We arrived Mon night at 6 so we only hit a couple stores.

    Charleys - again more crap rock/pop with a smattering of good stuff thrown in. My main complaint about this store was all the used records were sealed tight in shrinkwrap...WTF is wrong with people? Is this preventing theft or further damage? They had gradings on all but most were VG which I won't even consider unless it's something truly rare. Besides, how do I know their grading is similar to mine? I bought nothing.

    Nob Hill - they were closed but one of the employees agreed to open up and let us shop (on his day off...he's a keeper). It had some decent stuff but it was all priced accordingly...no steals to be found. He says they get in a lot of weird electronic and free jazz but it's apparently hit pretty hard too when new stuff goes out (who knew there were record fiends in Albuquerque?). Anyway, props to him for opening up but it sounds like a lot of the stores in Austin where you just have to be there at the right time. I still managed to get yet another clean copy of On The Beach first press this one has a better jacket that the one I got in Phoenix. I also picked up some weirdo record by Jeff Greinke which I will check out later.

    Lubbock
    Hit the new arrivals, my friend found some decent stuff like Ramones and a few Texas artists. I found zero. The new arrivals were the only thing organized, the rest of the store had records stack on builtin shelves (I can't look at records that way) that went from floor to ceiling (they had a ladder) and the jazz section was shoved under the CD bins and I had no desire to even look.

    That concludes my big trip. The best quote from my friend was "if you took all the best records in phoenix, you'd still have the worst store in Austin" that may be a stretch as we do have a couple of really bad record stores here but it's not far from the truth. Either the stores get hit hard or there just isn't much interest. We did have a lot of fun driving through some of the prettiest scenery (I'm a geologist so I love AZ and NM for that) and we managed to eat at some great restaurants and drink some good local brews.
     
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  2. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    As someone who lives in Arizona, I enjoyed reading your reviews and found most of them to be spot on.

    I do have an update on PDQ Records. The store closed sometime within the past year. You really should have gone there 15 to 25 years ago. They used to have an amazing selection of vinyl. I bought many of my favorite Japanese pressings there, and they used to have boxes full of MFSL records. About four years ago, the original owner sold the store to someone who apparently had no clue on running a record store. The new owner drove a once amazing store into the ground in a matter of a few years.
     
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  3. kippy

    kippy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, USA
    PDQ records in its prime was the largest used record in the country outside of California.
     
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  4. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Both branches of Bookmans, one on Speedway and Wilmot, and one on Grant Dr. both are pretty worthless. They just have the usual top 40 commercial stuff, mostly from the 70s and 80s. If that's what you want, you might find something of use, but most of us already have what they have, so...

    Too bad. That's my favorite spot because they specialize in R&B. The thing about T&S is that they have a high standard of what they will sell. And, the guy who usually works there is really nice. Not so great for those looking for rock or jazz, but he's really good with R&B. The other guy who works there sometimes is a rock guy, but he's rarely there when I go in.

    They do have a decent selection of new vinyl, but I hate going under the counter for the used stuff.

    But, they have a nice selection of used 45s, mostly from the 80s.

    Yeah. There's a story about that one. It's changed owners a couple of times over the last decade. The original owner was a real music guy. That was when the used market was booming. They even had a program where you could buy a used record, take it home, record it, and sell it back and exchange it for another one to do the same. They hired a lot of knowledgeable people and all that, and had an awesome selection so big that had two extra rooms for them all. I used to literally spend hours in that place! It was musty and dusty, and came out with sinus headaches, but it was worth it!

    However, when he sold, he sold to a woman who ran an antique shop next door who knew nothing about, and cared nothing about the used record business. The fired all the original people, changed the name of the place, priced records way too high, and would not buy used records. The place went to hell. Two guys she fired, or who quit, opened Twist & Shout.

    Now: I was told by those who say they know that she either gave, or sold the place to her son. I actually talked to him on a rare occasion and he told me he wanted to turn the place around, even create a place like Amoeba with live bands...just a happin' place. He hired some nice people and changed the name back to PDQ. But, the economy went south, and I don't know what happened, but I understand he still owns the place and still plans to follow through with his plans. I was told that someone hung a sign there saying that they will return soon. I went by there a couple of days ago and didn't see the sign.

    Just depends on what you're looking for. But, I agree: These days, it's not worth the trip if you don't already live around here.

    Tempe

    They had a big selection of the usual stuff, nothing out of the ordinary. But, it was a very crowded, small place.

    The best one in the East valley is in Chandler on Chandler Blvd. and Dobson.

    The last time I was there, it was mostly a good place for local indie punk and black metal. Nothing there for me.

    I have yet to really spend time in there. I looked through their 45s and didn't realize the the record holders were just sitting on a narrow board. I accidentally knocked one over. oops.

    The guys is nice, but if he sees something you want, he'll try to remove it, up the price, or do something to it to make you no longer want it.

    Revolver - I walked in and they were playing some wild free jazz...that was the high point. This store too seemed to suffer the afflication of having a large quantity of crap pop/rock that will never sell on vinyl especially for the $3-8 they were asking. They did have lots of interesting new vinyl including a metal and noise section. [/QUOTE]

    I'll have to check them out one day.


    All in all, it just depends on what music you're looking for.
     
  5. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    Sorry, I have to correct you here. My friend Tom Struck is the owner of Twist & Shout. He never worked at PDQ and was never associated in any with the woman who owned PDQ. Tom also owns Fantasy Comics, which is and has been the best comic book store in Tucson for 25+ years. Michael is the manager of Twist & Shout, and he may have worked at PDQ at one time, but I am not sure about that.

    I do not think this is true. I have been told the ownership of the store reverted back to Jack, the original owner. He is apparently looking for a new buyer.

    Oddly enough, Jack hated music, but he did hire some very knowledgeable people to work in the store. That store in its heyday was truly amazing. Prices were all over the place, but the selection was the best I ever saw in the southwest. It was sad to see it decline so far so quickly.
     
  6. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!


    I got my information from Michael. I see the guy there about once a week.

    That's the confusing part. I was told the woman's son was still the owner. If Jack has retaken the ownership, that's good news.

    I understood jack was a music lover, but he is a great guy, and I agree, the store had an awesome selection. If you went to the room with the mostly jazz records, that still wasn't the end. There was a hallway that connected the main building with another building that housed easy listening, country, comedy, and other cool things.

    I recall one guy who worked there. He was excellent at grading records, and was an expert on classical recordings. However, he was let go because he was treating the customers poorly, often near insulting them.

    I also liked that they had a stereo that people could audition records on. Unfortunately, kids would come in after school and steal and vandalize it, so he took it away.



    I'll say that, in the days before the most recent closure, the owner had indeed started work on that stage for bands. In the second room where they used to keep some vocal recordings and jazz, they had set up a small stage and I spotted a drum set on it.
     
  7. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Wow, thanks for all the great info on PDQ. If anyone knows who the current owner is, please PM me with their contact info, I might have a serious buyer for them.

    One of the best stores here in Austin posts all their new arrivals on youtube, go check them out if you want to see what my standard is for what kind of stuff a store should have:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/EndofanEarATX

    Be sure and check their previous new arrival videos. They posted one the other day and I caught it late and half the stuff (Pavement, Polvo, Superchunk, etc) was gone by the time I got there. Their secret to great stock? Lots of consignors, they allow customers (including myself) to consign records with the store getting 30% of the sale. So Austin is full of people scouring the yardsales, estate sales, craigslist etc for this kind of stuff and then flipping it in the store. I mainly consign the stuff from collections I buy that I don't like or if I find a duplicate that's in nicer condition I will keep that one and sell the other. It's a great system. Oh and they do get some great stuff from tradeins too as they pay the fairest prices not like some stores that give you $1 per record.

    Anyway, it was a fun trip but I think Austin is probably the best vinyl buying area (for what I'm looking for) other than NY or CA (haven't been to Seattle but I've heard some good things).
     
  8. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    One Tempe store that recently closed is Memory Lane on University. No great loss. Even though they had an interesting selection, including lots of Beatles and jazz albums, the prices were ridiculous. They geared everything to selling on the internet. That just wasn't good for a failing economy and being so close to a university campus.
     
  9. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Yep, we looked in the windows of that place and all that was left were the shelves. It seems everyone is going the internet route. It's the best way to get the most money for your records (if you don't mind the high fees of ebay/paypal and the fact that the seller eats the costs of bad transactions). As a collector I hate it because I like to look at conditions for myself before buying and I hate paying ebay prices. My collection would be a 1/4 of what it is if I paid those high prices all these years but it looks like I will soon have little choice but to pony up the money and hope the condition is good.
     
  10. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    I went to that store once a few years ago and quickly decided I never needed to return again. They did have a sealed Dave Pratt record that I needed, so I was able to make one purchase.
     
  11. shinedaddy

    shinedaddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Valley Village, Ca
    Well, I have lived in Phoenix for almost 30 years, went to college in ALBQ for 4 and currently work and live in Tucson 2 weeks a month, so I can comment on some of these stores. I worked at Zia's in Phoenix for years and years, and I can tell you that most of us collected the good stuff before it ever hit the floor. You should not really bother there unless one is your local and you can go 2-3 times a week. I also worked at Rockaway for years and before it moved it was a KILLER place for LP's. I worked the trade counter so I got a LOT of great stuff, but after the move in 98 it went to mainly cds and a LOT less space. I was gone that month! Eastside was ok selection wise but everything was always trashed IMO. Stinkweeds is pointless, for punk kids who are buying vinyl new and dont know anything about pressings. The only 2 stores I can say I bought a lot of real nice vinyl at are Tracks in Wax on Central and the newer Revolver store, which moved from 7th and Indian School to downtown. Other than that Phoenix is a bust. When I lived there if I shopped Bookmans, Zia and the 2 good ones I could maybe add 10-15 records to the collection a month, but once you have the common titles in EX shape that would slow WAAAAY down to 2-4 good titles a month, maybe!

    In Albq there used to be a lot of cool record stores. I worked at a Hastings Music, but this was in the days of cds. There was Merlin's near Menaul which was great. Bought a lot there. There was a real cool store near Central and Wyoming, cant remember the name but it was great, a mom and pop if there ever was one. Lots of great stock. There was also a shop n Central in Nob Hill, lost the name too, but they had a zillion records too. These are all gone now.

    In Tucson, PDQ really did have the largest selection of vinyl I ever saw. Back in the heyday, it was FREAKY how big it was. Now all there is is Twist and Shout. I buy more from them at shows than I do in-store, the owner is real nice and SO CHEAP too. I got a Cream Disraeli Gears on Reaction for $6 in VG+++ shape!! But they are few and far between....overall, bought about 15 records here total. Toxic SHock is worthless, and never seem to be open. I live 4 blocks away. Zia and Bookmans are a JOKE in Tucson, and one of the Bookman's actually had the worst vinyl section I could have ever imagined. Worse than any garage sale or junk dealer you have ever seen. I actually wanted to ask a clerk if it was a joke but I just walked out, totally mystified.

    All in all, those three cities, which have been my home 3 cities for 30 years or so, are really bad for records. Despite that all, I have managed to put together a real sweet LP collection in the last 4 years, amazingly!! LOTS of work but it was fun, however I much prefer buying where I do now.
     
  12. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Used records on the internet is causing me to lose interest in collecting. There's just no fun in looking at a web page. I like to inspect the item.
     
  13. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    In their better days, I literally knew of every single album in that building! That's just how thorough I was in looking at their inventory. I even knew most of the 45s in there too. they have the largest collection of 45s I have ever seen in one place!

    I sure hope PDQ reopens soon!
     
  14. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    Wow, you must have gone there even more than I did! Unfortunately, I don't think PDQ ever will reopen, and if in the slim chance it does, it will not be anywhere close to what it once was.

    I agree with what most others have said about Arizona pretty much being a wasteland for vinyl these days. As Shinedaddy pointed out, Rockaway Records was at one time the place for music shopping in Phoenix. That is the place where I first found out about bands like the Velvet Underground and Mott the Hoople among others. The people who own Rockzone Records bought Rockaway out, but by the time they did, the best inventory was long gone.
     
  15. shinedaddy

    shinedaddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Valley Village, Ca
    Yeah, I loved being a manager at Rockaway. My favorite job EVER as far as fun goes. If you knew 1% of what went on there you would now that during my tenure there it was EASILY the most politically incorrect record store of all time. The stories I tell make my girlfriend's jaw drop!
     
  16. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    By the time I learned of Rockaway, they had ceased to exist in Arizona.
     
  17. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Yeah, I worked in an indie store too for 5 years and it was sick the kind of stuff we took home. Same is true for the Austin Record Convention, use to be the dealers were in there 3 hours or so before the general public and all the scores were made during that time (like an original Neu record in a dollar bin etc.), then they started opening a day early for load-in meaning the dealers and early buyers get an entire day to pick through, and of course there are always dealers in the parking lots before the show is open (some who don't even have tables) and the real action happens at a motel that that a lot of the dealers stay at the night before where everyone cruises from room to room buying (I've never done that...it's just too cutthroat type behavior). Another example, Half Price Books employees use to come into our store and show us some amazing stuff they scored but now they have some kind of new policy where they are limited on what they can buy, of course they have jacked their record prices up into the stratosphere for common crap, it's known as Half Price Books-Double Price Record amongst the vinyl crowd.

    The stores with the best stock are the ones that have the owners working there making sure the employees don't take all the cool stuff and the owner couldn't care less about most of the rarities for their own collection. The one I worked at was somewhat like that, the owner was mainly a CD guy by the mid 90s's and use to bring his vinyl up for sale when a CD came in. He also didn't let us score all the cool stuff and if we wanted something he had to price it for us, we got a discount but didn't get it for free. This kept good stock for the customers. I could tell right away looking at the Zia employees that anything good was going home with them and when I did find a decent title in the bins it was usually trashed which just confirms it.

    I hear ya, but it's inevitable. More and more I am going digital just because I can get a decent sounding jazz album on CD for $5 (especially McMaster transfer Blue Notes) wheras the original LP is hundreds (or thousands) and the 2nd and 3rd pressings can be $20-50 as well. My rule use to be pay no more than $10 for any title but now I have bumped that up to $20 and occassionally $30...often the 90s stuff that I want most is no better on vinyl than CD so it just becomes a geek out thing and I don't know financially how much longer I can keep that up.
     
  18. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    Two of the five FYE stores in the Phoenix area are apparently going out of business: the one in Chandler on Alma School Road and the one on Northern and 59th Avenue. They were both lame stores with only a smattering of customers, so it was no surprise to me.

    I have noticed the FYE in Tempe on Rural is stocking more vinyl. I haven't seen anything in their vinyl stock I can't live without there yet, but I have not looked through it too much.

    LOL! The sad thing is that I have been to the three Bookman's in Tucson, and I'm not even sure which one you are talking about, because all of those stores have terrible vinyl sections. The Zia stores in Tucson have a pretty lame selection of CDs as well as vinyl these days. I wouldn't be surprised if the one on Oracle went out of business eventually.
     
  19. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    Rockaway morphed into the Rock Zone. The original owner of Rockaway was the brother to the owner of Rockaway in LA. They moved a couple of times from the original location on Alma School and Southern to Warner and McClintock and then by the new owner to the current location on University and the 101 Freeway.

    I am not a vinyl guy so I can’t really comment on the primary topic of this thread. Locally my favorite shop is Hoodlum’s. There are two more Zia’s in town that the OP didn’t hit and I think the one on Thunderbird might have the best selection though I primarily shop the Chandler and Tempe locations (much closer to me).

    My favorite store of all in AZ is long gone and was Hear’s Music in Tucson on Campbell.
     
  20. googlymoogly

    googlymoogly Forum Resident

    Ralph's Records on 82nd Street in Lubbock sometimes has a good selection of new and used vinyl...hit and miss. I did find an original pressing of Van Morrison's "Too Late to Stop Now" in excellent condition, and a couple of equally good original pressings of R.E.M.'s "Murmur" and "Reckoning". Sometimes their new release vinyl pricing is pretty competitive with the online retailers.
     
  21. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Yeah, we hit it at a "miss" time. I think my buddy found one Ramones record for a decent price but being from Austin we don't get too excited unless it's some really rare stuff. What's funny is we asked if there was any rare stuff in back (seems to be a common practice now of not having the best stuff out for customers...stupid if you ask me) and they said we'd have to come back when the owner was there but since we were passing through we both lost out. I'm sure he may have a different idea of "best stuff" we weren't looking for old rock like stones and beatles (well if it was cheap we'd buy it to resell) but were looking for old punk, new wave, avant-garde, good jazz (50s-60s), psyche, garage, etc. Basically the only vinyl that IS worth money these days. Van Morrison is a good score but R.E.M. records are a cool but a dime a dozen in Austin. Anyway, after the traveling my friend and I have done I feel that the best record stores are in Austin, New York, and a few in Calif. I am continually amazed at the stuff one of our local stores turns up, mainly due to good consignors who bust their butts finding this stuff. More stores need to do that.
     
  22. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    I don't mind traveling a ways for a record store, but Lubbock is a bit too far from Phoenix or Arizona for that matter to make it worthwhile :D.
     
  23. googlymoogly

    googlymoogly Forum Resident

    True dat. :laugh:

    And yeah, Austin's hard to beat if you're into vinyl, new and used. The selection's both large and diverse, due to a hep local clientele. Whetstone Audio's a really pleasant place to check out a small but quality selection of audio equipment and some nice vinyl too.
     
  24. LordThanos1969

    LordThanos1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA
    How is Austin for CDs?
     
  25. jlc76

    jlc76 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX, U.S.A.
    Well, cheapo has the largest cd selection you will ever see, most of it used. They have a new arrival area for every day of the week. I use to always find targets, sacds, DVD-a, etc there but lately it's been bleak. I don't know if it's due to people hitting harder, not getting as many tradeins, or if the store pulls the best stuff aside for eBay/amazon. Their used prices are stuck in the 90s with most discs being $8-10. That being said if you find something collectible like a Neil Young Harvest target it'll be in that price range.

    Waterloo has a lot of new CDs including a lot of eclectic releases. The used selection is decent but nothing good makes it out of the new arrivals. Now they have been pricing collectibles higher lately, mostly using amazon as a guide so the good deals are scarce now. They do have a lot of good used CDs for $5 or $6 which is their avg.

    End of An Ear, very diverse cd selection even though vinyl now reigns supreme there. Lots of indie, jazz, weirdo, and world music. Used CDs have really really good prices, not as numerous as other shops but a good selection. This is my favorite shop but more so for vinyl. The owners are great guys and I urge folks to give them business while in town.

    Backspin use to have great jazz CDs used for $5 or less and they often had 20% off sales. I got a lot of McMaster Blue Note CDs there. Since they got bought out by the vinyl only store Friends of Sound the cd stock has plumetted as I don't think they buy anymore. The vinyl stock has also taken a hit in quality, maybe they lost their good consignors, who knows.

    There also a few half price bookstores around town but the cd selection is hit or miss and they too are using amazon as a pricing tool.

    I don't think breakaway carries CDs and I've never been to whetstone (I think it's more of a hifi shop) or trailer space (heard there's illegal dealings going on there at times, might be rumors but I don't want to find out).
     
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