CD shopping in Anaheim, CA area

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by Tom H, Jul 26, 2022.

  1. Tom H

    Tom H Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Kapolei, Hawaii
    I'll be in Anaheim, CA for a few days and I'm wondering if there are any good places to go CD shopping (preferably used) in the immediate area?
     
  2. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Buena Park record show, Freakbeat.
     
    Tom H likes this.
  3. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    Unsure when you are going to be in Anaheim, or how much time you have in terms of how far you can go. Unfortunately, Anaheim itself is pretty much a CD wasteland, just like many cities out there. Several OC vinyl stores have a few CDs as an afterthought but none have selections that would encourage me to recommend them to anyone with no interest in vinyl, just as I wouldn't make a special trip myself just for their CDs.

    The OC Record show (mentioned above) is not really great advice without giving you the details. The event happens to be today, July 31st and there will be no show in August. Seems to be a less-than-practical option unless you happen to be here today. I used to go to this show monthly for years but it has probably been a good 10-15 years since I've gone. Seems to me it disappeared for a while. Nevertheless, I have a friend who goes once or twice a year and he reports back on vinyl only so I have no idea how robust the CD market is at the shows.

    Freakbeat is terrific if you have a good solid hour and a half at the very least to drive each way if there is traffic which is highly likely in both directions. Freakbeat is in the Valley which is one heck of a drive from Anaheim.

    The closest great option Rhino Records which is in the process of moving from its longtime home in Claremont to the city of Montclair. Depending on where you are in Anaheim, this is likely to be a 30-45 minute drive, even with a bit of traffic that is typical along some stretches of the 57 freeway. The other thing is that Rhino is not expected to reopen until this coming Friday, August 5th.

    From there, the next closest superior option is making a trip to Amoeba in Los Angeles. That'd probably be about an hour each way depending on traffic and where you are in Anaheim. Once in LA and time permitting, you could always decide if going the extra miles to Freakbeat is practical. I rank Freakbeat at #3 in our region in terms of CD selection as measured by the luck I have when I go there, below both Rhino and Amoeba.

    Hope this helps Tom. As this is my home city, feel free to reach out to me if there are any questions I can answer for you.
     
  4. Duophonic

    Duophonic Beatles

    Location:
    BEATLES LOVE SONGS
    Book Off :righton:
     
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  5. Tom H

    Tom H Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Kapolei, Hawaii
    Thanks everyone for your recommendations. I may try to make it to Amoeba if the rest of my crew wants to venture into L.A.
     
  6. Partyslammer

    Partyslammer Lord Of The New Church

    Regarding the Buena Park record show, I go about every other month/show and there’s still a decent number of sellers dealing CDs. As for Book Off, there’s several locations in Orange County, they all have a large selection of used CDs but to be honest, I’d rank their selection as about 90% dollar bin quality (priced around $5 - $10) but I have found a few quality/rare titles. One record store that has some good collectable CD titles is a tiny hole-in-the-wall store called Factory Records in Costa Mesa on 19th street.
     
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  7. SJP

    SJP Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anaheim
    Book Off was a great stop about four+ years ago. They had an epic dollar bin where great finds could be had and their regular CDs were rarely priced above $3.00 which is were some real gems lurked. Then they must have discovered a version of Discogs that exists in an alternate universe where CDs sell for huge amounts. You can pull a cool title off the shelf only to find the asking price is something crazy like $26.00! This is the rule, not the exception.

    I even went about a month ago on a whim to the Lakewood location. Went through the entire dollar bin and found four keepers.
    • 999 - Separates
    • Shakespear's Sister - Sacred Heart (UK import)
    • Forgotten Gods - Suspended Memories (Steve Roach project)
    • Jerry Marotta & Tom Griesgraber (with Tony Levin) - Waking The Day
    Back in the day, there would have been at least twenty or more. Granted I was pretty happy with these four but an hour and a half combing through what seemed like more than a couple thousand dollar CDs, there should have been more finds (and very little gets by me).

    I really wouldn't recommend Book Off to any friend I want to keep unless they know what they are getting into. A massive time commitment with possibly little or no reward.
     
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  8. Tom H

    Tom H Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Kapolei, Hawaii
    I visit the Book Off near my home in Hawaii regularly. It’s worth the trip usually.
     
    SJP likes this.
  9. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Once these places hit eBay/Discogs, they are toast for finding the gems. Bookman's chain in Arizona was incredible. Those days are long gone.
     
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