Good Record Stores in Atlanta Area?

I am going to be in the Atlanta Ga area this weekend and wanted to pick up some vinyls off of labels like Classic Records, Sundazed, and Speakers Corners... Anyone have any good suggestions where to go?? I will be staying in the Tucker area to be specific..

thanks

Mark

 

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=104016

Take a look at this thread....I went to Wuxtry, Wax n Facts, and Criminal last year, in the Decatur part of town, which isn't too far from Tucker...as I remember, Circle Sky was in another part of town.

 

Don't know much about the immediate Tucker area, but Wax'n'Facts and Criminal Records in Little 5 Points (also in Dekalb County) are well regarded. Others can probably fill you in on other good stores that may be more local.

 

Be aware that Eat More Records (which was recommended by myself and a few others in the previous thread) is gone now.

Audio Alternative is close to Tucker but IMO they have a very limited selection of LP's.

Wuxtry in Decatur has a much better selection, but you'll pay for it.

 

Best bet is the Little Five Points area...Wax N Facts then Criminal, then round the corner to Ella Guru's new store. A few blocks away on McLendon is the also excellent Full Moon Records run by Ted, who is in the Seventh Ring of Saturn band.

 

Wuxtry is rude, can't stand the people there. I do not participate in that circus.

 

Decatur CD is a good shop. What vinyl they do have is very good. It's not too far away from Tucker. Circle Sky is close. FYI if you got to the old thread Eat More Records is sadly no more.

 

They do have used and new LP's, but are limited. They mainly sell used and new hi fi equipment...nice guys.

 

Circle Sky is very near Tucker, so you will definitely want to check them out.

It would be worthwhile to go to the Little Five Points area, Criminal Records and Wax n Facts are both there, within easy walking distance of each other. Ella Guru in its new location is prettynear there too (although I'm not sure how much vinyl they have).

Wuxtry has a good amount of vinyl as well.


Where is Audio Alternative? I've never heard of it. Do they sell CDs?

-George

 

They've just got a handful of CD's, as I recall. They're in Lilburn on Indian Trail Rd.

 

Decatur CD has the best jazz selection in the city. Tell Warren I said hello. Great place.

Audio Alternative gets LPs in waves and has the best selection of Speakers Corner LPs but just a few. Some Classic and Cisco as well. Fun store to visit as well, loads of Macintosh, soon to add Audio Research.

 

My brother recommended Circle Sky...Are they pretty good?? I am looking to get a couple of things - Dylan, Elvis, Cash and CCR..

thanks!

Mark

 

Circle Sky is good and run by very nice people.

 

I was in town this past weekend and could have sworn Criminal had moved out. If anyone knows something different, please set me straight.

 

I mail ordered my Nitty Gritty through them...very nice guys. I'll visit one day...

 

I don't live near there, but their website is up to date, it appears...as I recall they had the better new record selection than Wax N Facts, which had a much stronger used collection. It's great having two stores so close to each other!

http://www.criminal.com/Home

 

Criminal has moved to a new, larger location. They are still in Little Five Points, but are further up Euclid, towards the Variety Playhouse. They have added more vinyl and now sport a used vinyl section.

Definitely go to Little Five Points, though. There are at least three record stores in L5P and another (Full Moon) isn't a bad walk, weather permitting. You should be able to find at least some Sundazed stuff in one of these stores.

About the earlier threads that were linked above:

Is the YoYo store or whatever still open? I remember that place from when it was still in Athens. I would love to check it out.

Also, can people give me their opinions on Fantasyland? I just noticed this one last week when I was driving by and haven't had a chance to check it out in yet. (I've only lived here for 2 years. I live within walking distance to L5P, so I've been going there for my brick and mortar fix.)

 

it was called Lo Yo Yo - or something like that - next to the 40 Watt

 

I'll second that. They've got a very good selection, but the owner and his staff are awful people and I've stopped going.

I work in Tucker, and the closest, and really only place, is Circle Sky. It's very small with a limited but decent selection with fair prices.

I recommend you get out of Tucker and head into Decatur. Go grab lunch at the best bar around, http://www.brickstorepub.com/home/, then walk on down to see Warren at Decatur CD. He's got a great new and used CD selection and now carries just about all of the new vinyl coming out. Keep heading towards Atlanta and go through Candler Park to check out Full Moon Records, http://atlanta.citysearch.com/profile/2998182/atlanta_ga/full_moon_records.html. Crates and crates of new and used LPs. From there, it's a straight shot into Little Five where you can hit Criminal Records in their new location and Wax 'n' Facts. Maybe see if there's a show you want to catch at Variety Playhouse, http://www.variety-playhouse.com/. Welcome to Atlanta!

 

Are you talking about the Fantasyland on Peachtree in the same block as a Fellini's Pizza?

It's worth a look, but I don't highly recommend it.

They have a lot of bootleg/gray-market CDs and DVDs there, if you're into that sort of thing. They also have some unusual collections of stuff like t-shirts, posters, VHS tapes, etc.

Most of the store is used LPs in a variety of genres, but in my experience the selection is thin on the "good stuff," and everything is way overpriced (at least the stuff I was looking at) for condition and rarity.

For example, I was in there just over a year ago and they had a stack of MFSL vinyl (and some other audiophile stuff like MasterSound, Nautilus, etc.), but it was all of the least-wanted titles, in average condition, with fairly high prices.

I think I've been stopping in Fantasyland off and on for 20 years (I used to live in Atlanta and now go back 1-2 times a year to visit family/friends), and I can't recall ever buying anything there. Maybe I bought a couple of mundane used CDs there once. Maybe.

I recommend many of the places previously mentioned: Wax n Facts is always my first stop and where I find the best treasures at good prices. Criminal is best for new products (as opposed to used). Wuxtry is a good mixture of new and used, and you only get the snotty attitude at the checkout if you don't need to ask them questions and prefer to keep to yourself.

Sorry to hear of the demise of Eat More Records. I was a frequent customer of their satellite location in Marietta (long gone) nearly 25 years ago!

Craig(VC).

 

Fantasy is very hit or miss for me. They can be good for MFSL titles but the pricing is among the higher of the local stores. Decent rock and classical selection and lots of inventory in jazz and classical as well.

 

Warren's got all three of the new Van Morrison Warner LP reissues and has recently expanded his LP display racks with an IKEA storage unit.

For a nice, relatively cheap selection of used LPs & CDs, Records Galore on East Ponce de Leon in Clarkston is a good place, as it's just around the corner from Tucker.

 

Thanks for all the input!! I am only going to be there on Late Friday / Sat... and now I have a FULL DAY!!!



Mark

 

I grew up in Tucker in the 70's and 80's!! I used to regularly visit Record Bar in Northlake Mall and Turtles across the street in the village shopping center. Then there was the big Peaches on Peachtree St. near downtown (couldn't visit this one on my bike unfortunately). All are long gone now.

As for now-a-days my usual route when I visit my folks is to hit Wuxtry on North Decatur Road, then pop into the Book Nook just down from Wuxtry off Clairmont (can't remember the street) and then over to Wax-n-Facts in Little 5 points. I never come home empty handed.

Some say Wuxtry is rude but I've learned to ignore rude people. What does it matter if they have that near mint LP you have been hunting high and low for? I've bagged some good vinyl there over the years for reasonable prices. Good coffee shop next door too.

 

I went to school in Atlanta during the '90s and for me, Fantasyland was known as the place to find bootlegs. The big attraction was that they would play any of those CDs for you so you'd have an idea of the sound quality before you committed your money. This was a much better option then waiting every few months for a record show to pass through town (and where you usually couldn't listen beforehand) or even worse, blindly sending crazy amounts of money to strange sounding addresses in Germany and hoping that you received something back.

Of course the bootleg scene has completely changed now and virtually all of them are available as a free download. That's mostly for the better but there's still a sense of appreciation that is missed when you can download shows 24 hours after you've attended the concert. The sense of awe and wonder that my friends and I had after receiving "The Saint, the Incident and the Main Point Shuffle" (Master Plus!) in the mail after months of waiting just isn't duplicated over the internet.