Great little NJ store for new vinyl

The Camp moved to East Rutherford at some point in the early 80's and Sound City closed a few years later. The Camp is now a bagel shop. The original guy in Collectors World, Kevin, sold rare/import stuff. Lots of Beatles and Stones stuff. I still have a lot of that stuff that I bought from him. The guy who cam in after him had the boots. I forgot his name but he did not last that long there. Later on in the mid-'80s one of the guys selling baseball cards or something like that in the front of the store stocked some boot lp's but also had collection of bootleg tapes in his display case. These were tapes made off of the boot lp's. The Pyramid sold the same ones, there must have been a guy in the area supplying them. At $9.99 for a single tape you got an awful low bias hiss & crackle filled boot. I picked up a lot of Springsteen tapes and I would be so upset when I got home to here how bad these tapes were but I kept going back for more because I knew of no other source until I went to my first Sunday morning record convention in Montvale at the Ramada around '86. That was the end of my Collector's World/Pyramid days. I still went to the Record Mill for CD's up until my collection became larger than their stock. I then started to go to CD World on the highway until the internet boom.

 

That sounds like him. He knew a ton about music, but his real love was painting. I have a portrait he did of me (from a Polaroid he took in the store).

In the early 90s I tried to sell them back a big stack of vinyl Collectors Items (because, you know, it was a totally obsolete format). Thankfully, they turned me down.

getting back OT, I'm glad to see there're new places for vinyl. And now I know where I'm going next time I visit my parents.

 

I never knew anyone's names -- I was only 14 when I discovered Collector's World in 1982 -- but that was where my eyes were opened to vinyl boots. The first ones I bought were both Beatles: "Not Guilty" and "The Abbey Road Show" -- both "classic" vinyl boots with plain white sleeves and xeroxed inserts/covers. They also had one of the early "next level" LP boot classics -- the 10-volume "Blind Boy Grunt" Basement Tapes series. I never got those, but I did get a lot of Bruce boots there, including a couple of very expensive multi-LP box sets. They were never able to score the "Ten Of Swords" box for me, though. God, the money I spent there....

I never bought the tapes, but The Pyramid in particular ushered in the "golden age" of vinyl boots for me -- slick, full-color sleeves, "real" labels on the discs, and great sound. I have about a dozen such Beatles titles -- some of which are still better than any CD boots -- like the classic LPs of "Sessions" and the Strawberry Fields material. The Pyramid was great for awhile, and then eventually I relied on Beatlefest and record conventions -- I went to the ones at the Ramada for years!

Record Mill was great because it was so close, and their prices were better than Tower on Rt. 17. My first son was born in 1998, and I work at home, so I could zip down to the Record Mill and back in about 10 minutes on a new release Tuesday. CD World -- the one on Rt. 17, right? -- was another great store that is no longer with us, and Tower got all "Sam Goody" with their pricing a few years ago, so I reluctantly rely on Amazon and Best Buy for most purchases these days. Sigh...

 

I was 14 then too but my parents would take me over there to shop when I was like 10. The first LP I ever bought was Billy Joel 52nd St. when it first came out at the Record Mill. Then I got Wings Greatest Hits at the Camp when it came out so that had to be '78. I also used to visit Village Records in Tenafly back before CD's. They always had a deal on new albums. I remember riding my bike there to buy The Wall for $6.99 when it came out. They had $1 video rentals also. If I was lucky my parents would stop at Disc-O-Mat on Rt. 4 on their way home from one of the malls so I could drop my allowance on something there. (I'm seriously reviving some old brain cells right now, wow!)

Do you remember the guy who ran the Pyramid, Ray? I heard he passed away a year or so ago. His wife still runs the store on the north end of Washington Ave.

My art teacher told me about the conventions when I was a senior in high school. He also drew me a map of Bleeker st. in NYC with all of the stores noted on it and directed me to this old guy who sold used albums out of his garage in Hillsdale behind the Kings supermarket. That was the best place for used classic rock.

I don't recall the names of the women that ran the Record Mill but they knew me well. The old guy who owned it was Stan I believe. I too was there every Tuesday after work for new releases and Saturdays for old stuff.

Did you ever go to the store in New Milford by the railroad tracks/train station? I forgot the name, all used vinyl. That dude's name was Frank, he had some great stuff but never stuck to his store hours, you had to call first to assure he was there.

CD World was great when they started the Club CD. To me they were the final brick & mortar I would frequent. I would tell my wife I was going to Home Depot and come home with a can of paint and sneak in a bag of CD's in after she went to sleep. Now I order everything over the internet, mostly from cduniverse and amazon (shipped to my work) and download all the boots from dimeadozen. Once in a blue moon if I really have to have something I go to Borders or if a new release is on sale I will hit Best Buy. I don't set foot in Tower anymore.

 

You WERE lucky -- I don't remember my parents driving to any record stores. I had to ride my bike all the way from New Milford to Saturday morning bowling (yes, bowling...) and then sneak over to Collector's World afterwards. Disc-O-Mat -- I had forgotten about that one! Do you remember when Crazy Eddie's occupied the space now filled by Tower?

It that the same lady who was always there at the counter all those years ago? She was always very cool. I know that The Pyramid still exists (in a smaller shop, mainly as t-shirts and Ticketmaster), but I haven't been in there in ages. I take my kid right next door ("Headliners") for his haircuts...

You had a very cool art teacher!

Yeah, I liked them a lot, and they knew me pretty well too. I was a good customer! I felt a little sad when compact discs took over and they had to dump all their vinyl at rock-bottom prices. I scooped up a bunch of it, but I knew it was the beginning of the end...

I did! I can't remember the name, but my mom thought it looked "dangerous" so I had to check it out! I found "In A Gadda Da Vida" (the LP) there after a relatively lengthy search. Frank was a huge Deadhead if I recall, and his shop was very much a "Cheech and Chong" type of experience.

Club CD was great -- they were the last stand for b&m record stores for me. Lots of imports, good prices, and used CDs -- just about the exact opposite of what Tower had become. I don't go into Tower much anymore -- they jumped onto the $18.99-a-CD bandwagon, and I jumped off -- but I'll still be depressed when they finally go under and the building goes dark.

 

I see the North Jersey gang is reminiscing. Anyone remeber
Harmony Hut in Willowbrook Mall? Crazy Rythyms in Bloomfield?
Pier Platters in Hoboken?

And one I'd love to remember the name of it was a primarily used music store, in I think the lower level of a mall. Maybe Paramus Park or the old Garden State Plaza near the old Alexanders? a real dump, but as a kid without too much money I bought some used 8-tracks there.

as for my neck of the woods, anyone remember the old Vintage Vinyl in Irvington? or the failed 2nd Vintage Vinly down the shore?

Crazy Eddies and Platterpuss both on route 22

Sears and Pathmark both selling albums?

another place I forgot the name of, in Livingston, in a tiny little red store, that also had a vacuum repair store attached to it, I bought many a springsteen bootleg there.

Korvettes and Two Guys also on route 22 in Watchung

 

Man, I wish I'd known about that place (I was obsessed with Stones boots back then).

Speaking of strange places to buy records, in Madison there was a camera store that also sold records. I got a cutout of Television's Adventure there. From an impossibly beautiful girl who played bass for a local band (Paper Men, I think).

 

It was on the same side of the road as the roller rink, just before it if you were heading towards Livingston.

I went there between '80 and '83 as far as I can remember.


Oh yeah, there also was a guy who had tons of old vinyl in what i think used to be a small Diner on French Street in New Brunswick, in my mind I can still smell the mildew.

 

Well Crazy Rhythms was in Montclair. It was a favorite store of mine - I even worked there some nights for cash cataloging records since the owner knew I was pretty knowlegable about music. R. Stevie Moore (the great underground talent) worked there and he made me a few of his very own mix tapes at no cost.

I used to go to a lot of the Crazy Eddies, not only on Route 22 but other locations also. For awhile they had a great selection of music.

Korvettes in West Orange, NJ is where I bought most of my music before I could drive a car. I used to ride my bicycle and buy records and ride home with them in my "saddlebags".

There were a few other great record stores, one in South Orange, NJ where I purchased my first record albums ever. It was on-top of a "hippie" clothing/head shop right on South Orange Ave.

Another was a store called Maple Tunes in Maplewood, NJ - got my first Bob Marley album there and was hopelessly hooked on reggae after that.

 

There's a name I haven't thought of since the first Reagan Administration.
Somewhere I have a Maxell XLII of his I mailordered from the back of the Aquarian.

 

"as for my neck of the woods, anyone remember the old Vintage Vinyl in Irvington? or the failed 2nd Vintage Vinly down the shore?"




Where down the shore? I don't remember that. We did have a Harmony Hut,
that someone mentionred earlier.


i

 

Vintage Vinyl in Irvington. I was actually one of the first customers the week he opened. He didn't even have a register, just a cigar box where he kept his money. I was going to Seton Hall University at the time and he put up flyers on campus, as the part of South Orange where SHU was located was very close to the part of Irvington where Vintage Vinyl was located.

Next to Crazy Rhythms this (Vintage Vinyl in Irvington) was probably my favorite store. Most, if not all, of my import vinyl at the time was purchased from Rob at Vintage Vinyl. I even have a few of the self released EP's he put out on his own label. I was so broken up when he closed that store and moved to southern Jersey. Now he is more than successful with the store in Fords (Edison), NJ - it is just more of a drive for me than I want to take most times. I keep saying I am going to get there some day soon.

 

Thanks for the link. I remember now, after reading his bio, that he did work at Sam Goody in the Livingston Mall. I remember going in there and asking him if they had a copy of the Hersham Boys Import vinyl (2-disc set) by Sham 69 and he laughed. The store had actually gotten a copy in and he was hiding it so that no one would buy the record so he could buy it. He went and got it and let me purchase it! He said that he could probably get another one in for himself. Then later in time I see him working in Crazy Rhythms and we would talk music. He was a real eccentric, but a great guy. I can't say we were really friends, just two people with similar tastes in music always passing in the night at the same record stores.

 

I live nearby there. Flipside also has very odd hours, like 3 - 6 pm.

Sound Exchange in Wayne has lots of stuff, but they are way expensive.

I grew up in Ridgewood, which had a decent used place next to the railroad tracks. But the guy who ran it was a major jerk, and the store has long since gone.

There was a pretty good place in Lodi, right next to the Lodi police station, which had a lot of vinyl and rare CDs. But it's been years since I was last there.

 

I remember that Hoboken had a Vintage Vinyl.

 

Flipside is only open Thurs, Fri and Sat (11am - 7pm/6pm on Sat) - he couldn't sustain himself just selling records, so he has a "regular" job the other days of the week.

Sound Exchange was better in the day. I was just there a few weeks ago, after not visiting that store for a good 2 years+, and there was very little I could find I wanted to purchase. The vinyl selection was much smaller than I remember it to be. Even the CD selection was nothing special, as anything I would have wanted I already had - and yes at cheaper prices via on-line stores.

 

Do you remember Ridgewood Books in Ridgewood? Today it's called Bookends, but before that they had a downstairs record department. I spent a months' lawn-mowing allowance to buy Marshall Crenshaw's "Downtown" the day it was released.

 

Sound Exchange got busted selling boots about 12 years ago, just after the Beatles' "Anthology" was released, Before the bust, I was amazed to see all these incredible Beatle bootlegs that the place sold: Unsurpassed Masters, Ultra Rare Trax, etc. Then "Anthology" was released and Sound Exchange got caught in a nationwide anti-Beatleg dragnet. I went there a few months ago, though, and saw that a "Anthology 4" beatleg had slipped through into their inventory.

 

For used CD's, there used to be a great place in Madison called CD Express - they also had a shop in Dover (which I never made it to) - the Madison store is definitely gone - but I'm not sure about the Dover branch -

 

Great local thread!

Hey,

has anyone gone to the "Second Saturday" show in Wayne lately? I gave up a few years back because of the selection, but would go back if they've improved.

I grew up a few years after some of you guys. The two stores in Hackensack in the early 80s were where my first purchases were made. Hackensack Record King is still there I believe... great selection of 45's.

 

Vintage Vinyl on Route 35, not sure of the exact town Hazlet?

 

The record store in Riverside Square was good for some things also, especially for a mall store. I think it was called Record Town. They had some imports and good multi disc cut-outs back when vinyl was still king. I got the Last Waltz and Tusk there cheap.

I do remember Crazy Eddie's - I bought a tape deck or some component there and I also bought The Alarm - Declaration for $3.99 (special of the week or something) after seeing them open for the Pretenders at The Capitol in '84. I still have that record w/shrinkwrap on and the Crazy Eddie price sticker affixed. Thinking back, my parents were cool about driving me to a lot of places, I'll have to thank them for that. I bowled at the Bergenfield Rec up until it closed recently (not in a league, just for fun)

Yes, I was in there a few years ago for the Ticketmaster and she had grey hair which was weird to see. She worked at the Pizza place next to the Pyramid before she married Ray and began working at the Pyramid but I'll be damned if I can remember her name. I remember her having the appearance of a real deadhead.

I always remember that he had Jazz playing and he was tapping away on a drum pad with his sticks all the time. I never really found much in that store but I liked to check it out whenever I could.

Tower still has a great magazine selection.

Did you ever go to the flea market at the drive-in on Rt. 303 ? That was another source of records back in the day. I saw the Return of the Pink Panther and the Bad News Bears there (in the back of my parents car).

 

Someone told me today of a place called Tunes out in Cherry Hill. Has anyone
ever been there?

 

I'll always remember Record Town, because it was the last-ditch, desperate stop in my quest for Elvis Costello's "Out Of Our Idiot" import LP -- and they had it!

Naw, I didn't get out that far. I got a bunch of my early records at Two Guys or Sears or places like that. I do remember seeing a couple of movies at a drive-in, but I don't remember where it was.