Best and worst record stores you have visited.

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by vinyl13, Aug 30, 2015.

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  1. steelydanguy

    steelydanguy Forum Resident

    I'm in my mid-30s and missed the heyday of record stores, but I still love checking them out wherever I travel.

    I collect CDs and vinyl records but more so CDs, and the two best stores I've been to for CDs -- and it's really not a close competition -- are the Amoeba branches in San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif.

    The San Francisco store is a little bigger than the Berkeley store and probably gets the edge (it also has a great music book section), but both were awesome when I visited them earlier this year. Both have huge, wide-ranging offerings of new and used CDs, with a lot of cool out-of-print items in the bins. The CD selection was so outstanding and consumed so much of my time at both locations that I didn't have the chance to check out the vinyl offerings, though they looked substantial as well.

    I have yet to visit the Hollywood branch of Amoeba, which I hear is the biggest and best of the three Amoebas.

    Besides the Amoebas, other outstanding stores I've visited in the U.S. and heartily recommend include:

    -- Twist & Shout (Denver; one of the biggest and best stores I've visited anywhere)
    -- Electric Fetus (Minneapolis; I grew up in the Twin Cities and picked up a lot of my collection at this store)
    -- Treehouse Records (Minneapolis; smallish store but almost always has interesting, collectible stuff on vinyl and CD)
    -- Cheapo (Minneapolis/St. Paul; branch with three locations in the Twin Cities area)
    -- Waterloo Records (Austin, Texas; great vibes and huge selection; occasionally free beer is offered in the store)
    -- Music Millennium (Portland, Ore.; it was more than 10 years ago that I visited, but the selection was stellar)
    -- Jerry's Records (Pittsburgh; huge all-vinyl store)
    -- Sound Garden (Baltimore; I lived in the Baltimore area for two years and loved this place; great CD selection and prices)
    -- Banana's Music (St. Petersburg, Fla.; a regular store plus a warehouse with a huge selection of LPs, including some rarities)
    -- Rock & Roll Heaven (Orlando; good selection on vinyl and CD if you're an oldies fan)
    -- Park Ave CDs (Orlando; near Rock & Roll Heaven but offering more modern music)
    -- Grimey's (Nashville; good in many categories, not just country)
    -- Ernest Tubb Record Shop (Nashville; excellent for country music)
    -- Jazz Record Mart (Chicago; awesome collection of blues and jazz)
    -- CD Cellar (Northern Virginia; the D.C. region is where I live now, and so far in my year-plus here this branch with two stores is my favorite; nice used offerings)
    -- CD Alley (Chapel Hill, N.C.; small but well-curated store on the University of North Carolina campus)
    -- Vintage Vinyl (St. Louis; big selection on CD and vinyl)

    Some stores I visited and really liked but they no longer exist:

    -- Let It Be Records (Minneapolis; does still have an online presence, but the brick-and-mortar store is dearly missed)
    -- Aron's (Los Angeles)
    -- Tower Records (I visited a few Tower stores in California, including what I believe was the original one in Sacramento)
    -- Virgin Megastore (San Francisco)
     
    Gramps Tom likes this.
  2. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    you heard correctly and it still is one of the better record stores anywhere, and it's always been better than Aron's, which was guilty of gouging years before the vinyl renaissance. for example, I can vividly recall them selling copies of the Beatles Anthology vinyl releases in probably May or June 2000 for $50 a copy with stickers on the plastic sleeves proclaiming them, "VERY RARE!!"
     
  3. Orthogonian Blues

    Orthogonian Blues A man with a fork in a world full of soup.

    Location:
    London, UK
    It may not have had any 'cool' cachet, but the giant HMV on Oxford Circus will always have a special place in my heart. When I was getting in to my record buying addiction, to me that place was like a cathedral crossed with the finest opium den. I still miss it.

    The worst? Well the remaining, smaller branches of HMV are very disappointing, now that they have about one aisle of music and the rest given over to video games, DVDs and headphones. I know that the world has changed, but still....
     
    dino77 likes this.
  4. I LOVED Rose Records in Chicago, HMV on Oxford Street, Virgin Megastore in Paris,
    for reggae shops: Dub Vendor in London (I have fond memories of their very tiny shop just under the Ladbroke Grove train station)

    Nowadays: Patate Records in Paris, Deadly Dragon in NY

    but nothing beats JAPAN
     
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  5. Adamski777

    Adamski777 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Worst - Black Monk Records in Vienna, Austria.

    I was in Vienna for one day at the end of June, and figured out that 3 record stores were in close proximity to each other (and near to where I was staying) and checked them out. The three were Substance, Black Monk and Moses Records.

    I left the hotel limiting myself to a spend of 100-150 Euros. I scored a really nice Talk Talk / Spirit of Eden for 10 Euros in Substance, and then went on to Black Monk which I had read online had a massive selection. Got to the shop and the owner or manager was the most unfriendly, unhelpful record store person I've ever encountered - and I've met a fair few having collected since the mid 90s. The store was narrow and you had to climb over boxes to move back and forth. Told the chap what I was after and he just said "yeah they're all in cardboard boxes over there" - I just thought f-this and walked out. He probably thought oh its some tourist timewaster.

    Went on to Moses Records, spent 2 hours in there and dropped the remaining 140 Euros - was a night and day difference - helpful friendly staff, discount at the checkout, massive selection, turntables for playtesting etc.

    The moral of the story is (and this goes for anybody in business) the person who you are being rude or arrogant to might be in the mood to spend a decent amount of money in your store if you treat them with some respect.
     
    Gavinyl likes this.
  6. uncarvedbloke

    uncarvedbloke Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK - SOT
    Funnily enough I went into my first worst record shop just this week - BPM in Derby - it seemed to be a huge collection of the records you find endlessly in charity shops, priced up to £7.50 - £10. Very disappointing.
     
  7. Telegramsam

    Telegramsam Forum Resident

    Not counting record fairs the best I know is LA Amoeba. I´ve never been to the SF one.

    The worst was a shop in Neukoln, Berlin. I went, I came in, I ran away, it was a health hazard.
     
    Adamski777 likes this.
  8. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Oddly enough, the Rasputin's Fresno is pretty good. I'm looking for different stuff, but a lot of spill-over from the Berkeley store lands on the Blackstone Avenue outlet. Rasputin's is the kind of store where one is grateful to have a functioning vacuum RCM. Got an old 2-LP album of Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter Songbook in Rasputin's 50¢ bin, after a few spins on the VPI 16 it beats any CD copy.

    I'd have to place The Musical Offering in Berkeley very high, though I suspect that it was a lot more active when Joseph Spencer was still alive and running the music side of the operation, back in the 1990's. Similarly, Amoeba Berkeley in the 1990's was hopping all the time, refugees from Leopold's and Mint Platter being absorbed into what was doubtless the best record store in the world, at that time, Tower and Virgin and Rasputin's included. But Berkeley Amoeba is now the red-headed stepchild of the chain.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2015
  9. Spanish Prisoner

    Spanish Prisoner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central New Jersey
    The Princeton Record Exchange is my favorite record store. There prices on used cd's have dropped tremendously. I regularly find gems in the bargain sections priced between $2 and $5. I find that they regularly mis price items. About 9 months ago, they got in a large southern rock collection and I got some very rare cd's for under $5.
     
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  10. goodboyfred

    goodboyfred Forum Resident

    I also think that Princeton Record Exchange is one of the best. Great selection of new and used vinyl and cd.
     
  11. telepicker97

    telepicker97 Got Any Gum?

    Location:
    Midwest
    My fave : In the Groove Records, Jeff City

    Special shout outs to :
    Record Echange, KC
    Euclid Records, St L
    Vintage Vinyl, St L

    Least fave : Vinyl Renaissance in KC/CoMo
     
  12. ubertrout

    ubertrout Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    My absolute favorite, like the others above me, is probably the Princeton Record Exchange. However, to highlight one store no-one has mentioned, the Bull Moose in Salem, NH was one of the biggest surprises I've had - extremely large with a good selection at very fair prices.

    Least favorite is hard...I even have a soft spot for the soon to close hoarder hell that is Rainbow Music in NYC (aka the Birdman store). The one I don't like and don't patronize anymore is Red Rose Music near Union Square in NYC - terrible eBay pricing, but a lot of stores do that. What puts it over the edge is the staff's terrible attitude - not just the usual condescension, but the sense that they clearly don't want to be there or talk to anyone.
     
  13. doublenaught

    doublenaught Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    The best store I've ever been to is now out of business. The Specialty Record Shop in Richmond Indiana 1947 - 1980. I frequented the store in the 70's until they closed in 1980. Unfortunately I was a college student and couldn't afford many records at the time. Most of what they had in the store was new old stock from the 50's and 60's priced at about $5 per album. Before they closed all remaining stock was half price. I bought a lot of 1950's Bebop Jazz records there and received an education on the genre from John the salesman. Here is a link to an article about the store written by the granddaughter of one of the owners: http://soundstudiesblog.com/2012/01/16/the-specialty-record-shop/
     
  14. spridle

    spridle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland
    I have liked almost every store I've been in. Even when I've only found one or two things in their entire stock. The Cleveland area doesn't have any one store that is all things to all people, but we have several really great, really friendly stores. For new Indie releases I go to Music Saves. For new and reissues of the harder rock variety I go to My Mind's Eye. There's a place called Loop that sells coffee and records and the selection is most assuredly the smallest in Cleveland, but if I'm trying to make rounds and Loop is my first or second stop, I'll be out of money before I leave Loop. Their used records are more than fairly priced and in great condition and their new and reissue stock is full of surprises. For used records Blue Arrow and A Separate Reality have treated me really well.

    I always go to record stores when I go to other cities. I have liked almost every store I've ever been in save one. Graham's Records in Erie, PA. It's a hoarder hole. I'm okay with those, but there were a ton of records around that were unpriced. I found a few I was interested in and the guy tells me they aren't for sale because they weren't priced yet. So I asked what he wanted for them and he said, "They aren't priced yet, so I'm not selling them." He was busy reading a magazine at the counter and I was the only person in the store so I said, why don't you look up what you think you'd want for these four albums and I can help you move some stock. No go. I left with nothing. The priced stock was all common and expensive. If you're going to keep your not ready for sale stock in the same place as the for sale stock and not be willing to use your own knowledge to price things, then I'm not interested. The goal should be to move stock. I had a reasonable 50 dollars worth of records, overpriced 65 and I'd have paid it because they looked like they were in decent shape. If he had bought 100 records from someone and those were part of that, the other 95 albums would have been pure profit. Man, I hated that place!
     
  15. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    My favorite record store is also the one I miss the most, which is weird because technically the place still exists.

    Does anyone remember when the San Jose Streetlight store was just a little house packed to the gills with AMAZING stuff? Everyone there knew who you were if you were a regular, and they always had your back. I remember getting a really uncommon Split Enz record there for next to nothing because they set it aside to give to me the next time I came in without even putting it on the floor at any price. It stayed pretty good for the first little while that they moved into the big building next to where Quement used to be (now a library), but it's just not the same anymore.

    Least favorite was Rowe's Rare Records across the street from where Streetlight used to be - now the Record Barn (which is an experience in and of itself). The guy at Rowe's was *so* difficult...

    Now displaced in Minneapolis, Electric Fetus is really good, Cheapo has to do in a pinch sometimes but is kind of a drag, but I really like Mill City Sound. They might charge a little bit more on some stuff, but It's worth it to support a local store, plus it's about the most welcoming music store I've ever set foot in (I could have seen old school Streetlight not being welcoming if you weren't "in" with them, which I was, so it was great for me!).

    Then there's Japan, which is probably another thread unto itself.
     
  16. jfire

    jfire Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missoula
    the worst have all been in malls - crummy chain stores with high prices and no selection.

    I also love Amoeba and Rasputin's in Berkeley, though it's been many years since I've visited. Everyday Music in Seattle is good.

    I have good memories, also, of Tower in Seattle and HMV in London. There was also a great shop in Zurich, Nena's, that specialized in jazz. Don't think it's there anymore.

    Here in my town, Rockin' Rudy's is a great store, as is Ear Candy. Back in the 1980s, when I went to school here, Rockin' Rudy's would rent LPs! It was great - you'd get some oop stuff and a bunch of cassettes. They eventually were forced to quit.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2015
  17. Tom B

    Tom B Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ojai
    How about that VNYL place in Venice Beach? I hear that place is amazing - good mail order too.

    :p
     
  18. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Yeah, the Rasputin's in San Lorenzo used to be worth going to back in the 80s and 90s. When it first started, that place nearly rivaled the Berkeley store's selection, but started waning very gradually over the years. I think the last time I went there (at its second San Lorenzo location) was in 2005 or thereabouts.

    You're correct about the Berkeley Amoeba being a bit outshined by its siblings. The SF store does seem to get more interesting new used stock in each week. The Berkeley new arrivals bin is a small, pale shadow of the SF one, and even of what the Berkeley's new arrivals bin used to be.

    But still, I go there every week, and I nearly always walk out with something, and I find more stuff there than at Rasputin's up the street. So, it's definitely still a worthwhile destination, even if its glory days seem to be behind it. Plus, its prices on used stuff are nearly always cheaper than the SF store, so at least there's that.
     
  19. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Tell me more about this one. I don't think it's been around for a long time.
     
  20. royzak2000

    royzak2000 Senior Member

    Location:
    London,England
    Met Bleeker Bob some years ago he came every year to London, to a second hand record shop I worked in and bought up all our cheap records.
    Boxes and boxes of stuff we could not sell.
     
  21. royzak2000

    royzak2000 Senior Member

    Location:
    London,England
    When Beano's closed a few years ago, the sale was not as good as I hoped it would be but still got some great bargains.
     
  22. Gramps Tom

    Gramps Tom Forum Resident

    Oh, boy, lessee if I can recall.....

    Yep. I was a student there between 1976-78. It was North of the U. on US-51 within short walking distance to campus, really close-if not next door-to the Gold Mine pizza restaurant. The prices were fantastic, and always were really well stocked.

    Plaza Records was also an OK store, (I bought Hotel California in it's first week of release for $4.76 here), was a little further downtown, just past 710 Bookstore and Lowell's Dept. Store, but was not as well stocked. Wuxtrys was good for used lp's-$2/each.
     
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  23. NUNZI

    NUNZI Forum Resident

    I have been buying music for over fifty years and Vintage Vinyl in Fords, New Jersey is hands down the best EVER.
     
  24. johnaltman

    johnaltman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
    I was at the Louisiana Music Factory today, first time there.
    It was great, definitely a major focus on zydeco/Cajun, trad. jazz though
     
  25. Blue Gecko

    Blue Gecko Peace

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Love Electric Fetus, Minneapolis.
     
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