LA Record Stores

noise noise noise is gone
Goat Hill Records (the one on Harbor in Costa Mesa) is gone
Bionic in HB is gone - Cypress is still there.


there's always second spin! if in OC go to fingerprints, as far as i know, that's abut all that's left, and even if not all that's left, all that's any good.

vinyl solution on beach in HB is still there though, but unless you like hardcore I don't think there is much for you, but i haven't been there in years, though I pass it daily.

unfortunately the best record shopping these days is right in your own home, on the net! not as much fun, but you find what you want!

(yes, I'm still trying to convince myself of that...)

 

It is called Fingerprints

 

Bagatelle in Long Beach is still around I think.

 

When I first moved to LA, just before CDs hit, there was this Beatlemaniac music store near Venice, I think called Pepperland or something gitty like that. They had a slew of LP bootlegs, things like the Beatles in Italy, all the well-known imports. By the time CDs came in, they were goners....


...there was also a neat CD store out near where the Westside Pavilion is now, and I remember them having tons of cheap jazz cut-outs, including an seemingly endless supply of Blue Note and OJC discs. I'd kill for those OJCs now...

 

Compact Discount! First place I saw Nick Drake imports!
Long gone.

 

Funny thing about Compact Discount.
Right after it closed....which was before the internet BTW, the owner of the store next to him told me that the cd store got more business than his in 1 hr than he got in the whole day.
They bought cds at too high of a price and were selling to cheaply.

 

Yeah, the Valley is basically bereft of anything interesting anymore...I used to be able to spend a day going to Record Trader (Reseda Blvd near Sherman Way), the two Valley Moby Discs (Sherman Oaks & Woodland Hills), the Tower Outlet Store in Sherman Oaks, etc. Maybe check out the blowout used bins at the Wherehouse stores. Or spinning back the clock a bit more, there was that old used record store in downtown Canoga Park--I think Carl from Hip-O used to work there...

Anyway, now there's nothing of interest in the Valley. Second Spin is boring. I have to go over the hill to LA for something of interest, and usually I just go to Record Surplus, since (unlike Amoeba), there's easy parking there. I used to combine a Record Surplus trip with a visit to Rhino, but...well, you know the story.

Kwad

 

Speaking of OLD departed record stores in the Valley, anyone remember the place in Valley Circle shopping center [Mullhalland Dr., Woodland Hills] (closed probably 25+ years ago now). When they had their going out of business sale, I was shocked to find stuff in the bins from many years earlier that simply hadn't sold and hadn't been shipped back to the distributor (early Wailers [not Bob Marley] albums, '60s pressing Yardbirds and Who, etc.)

How about the record store/headshop a few blocks SOUTH of Ventura on Topanga? Another place with weird old stock in the bins. In 1978 I went to a birthday party and someone else had purchased the birthday girl a Beatles album from that store. She opened it and I was surprised to see a minty ORIGINAL rainbow pressing LP inside (with original sleeve, too). Yup, new old stock somehow in the bins...I remember getting stuff like promo Raspberries albums with press kits inside of them for a buck in the late '70s. THe guys running the place seemed more interested in incense and other mind altering activities than music Then again, I remember the same sort of thing at the Licorice Pizza on Topanga--back when they had a couch in the place and the people working there sometimes brought their dog in!

(And don't get me started with started on Music Odyssey on Santa Monica Blvd--an amazing used store [especially the bleacher section] for a while in the late '70s).


Kwad

 

For OC dance music stores, there are only 2.

Dr. Freeclouds Mixing Lab in Fountain Valley and DJ Culture @ Olde World in Huntington beach (owned by Ron D. COre and Simply Jeff, respectively)... The place to go is DJ Culture, if you are into that sort of thing.

I'd just rather go to Amoeba

 

Can anyone please tell me more about CD Trader? I've been meaning to go there whereas I see it advertised weekly.

 

Not to bring up an older thread, but I'll be in LA for the first time in awhile. I only have one day (this upcoming Saturday) to go shopping. I'm coming up from Orange County to the LA area. I'm staying in West Hollywood that night.

Let me say this: I am NOT - I repeat NOT - interested in vinyl. Just CD/SACD/DVD-A. Which of the stores other than Rockaway and Amoeba are on the must visit list?

Bagatelle (Long Beach)
Fingerprints (Long Beach)
Second Spin (Sherman Oaks, Santa Monica)
Poo-Bah Records (Pasadena)
Canterbury Records (Pasadena)
Freakbeat Records (Sherman Oaks)
Atomic Records (Burbank)
CD Trader (Tarzana)
Penny Lane (Pasadena)
Record Surplus (West LA)
Soundsations (near LAX)

Thanks!

 

Is Blue Meany Records in Woodland Hills still around?

 

From the list above, I would say 'CD Trader', 'Atomic Records', and the two 'Second Spin' stores will be your best bet other than Amoeba.

 

HA! The Record Collector is worth going into just so you can say you've been yelled at by the owner! Remember The "Soup Nazi"? This guy is WORLD famous for being the grouchiest record shop owner EVER! I met someone in Amsterdam who knew about this guy's rep! Don't ask about prices, Don't question the often OUTRAGEOUS amount he asks for, if you ask about a certain title he'll say stuff like, "you don't look like you could afford it anyway". He's HILARIOUS! I got so flustered the first time I went in I left a package of postcards in there, and was too scared to go back and get them!

 

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/bfs/431443095.html

 

The Record Collector is a total waste of time.

The last time I was in there, was about a year and a half ago when I first started buying used vinyl again after a long hiatus, the owner is sitting on the floor going through some old LP's, and I hand him an Aerosmith 'ROCKS' LP that is in VG+ condition at best, and he says to me "Aerosmith 'ROCKS' in mint condition, $20". I literally laughed in his face as I turned to walk out of the store.

 

Not sure what ind of music you're looking for, but you can probably safely stay away from Pasadena: Penny Lane is fairly crap for CDs, though they have a fair bit of vinyl. (Sorry!)

Poo-Bah is a little better in both areas, but leand heavily to indie rock and experimental stuff. They do have a decent selection of jazz, blues, soul, etc.

Canterbury is essentially an oldies store. Deep selection, but only a small used section.

I think you won't spend more than two or three hours in Amoeba, so I'd recommend hitting Fingerprints in LBC on the way there first (lots of used stuff--way too much for the bins, so there's stacks everywhere--perfect environment for finding cool gems!), head up to Amoeba, and then go to CD Trader.

 

Seeing as it's been a year since last post, I wanted to ask...can anyone tell me if these (other than Amoeba obviously) are still there?
I'm visiting LA for the next few days, and hope to snag some gems if I can find any. I'm in Burbank, and don't want to get in over my head traveling too far (Thank goodness for GPS)

 

Freakbeat is still there and I've been finding great stuff lately.

Poobah's as well. These two stores are about 15 to 20 min. away from Burbank.

 

Just to update, I believe this store is gone now...

 

why do y'all forget about Soundsation in Westchester.
fine store, with plently of new arrivals.

 

Rocket Records is in Burbank. LP heavy, though.

All three Pasadena stores I mentioned are still there: Canterbury's, Streetlight (on Colorado, not the one on Lake, which is DVD), and Poo-Bah's.

Fingerprints in Long Beach is better than all three put together, but then it's much farther from you.

 

Have any of you been to Mr. C's Rare Records in Orange, CA? What were your impressions?

I went in there to kill some time a few years ago and was amused by the selection (almost exclusively 40s - 60s rock, pop, and a little blues) and the prices (pretty high from what I remember). It is a small store, but every record seemed cherry picked by the owner - and the place sort of had the vibe of an antique/vintage store more than a record store. Old Towne Orange creeps me out, but Mr. C's seems unique...

 

Good list. If you're on the west side toward Santa Monica or Rancho, record surplus is a god one, it was featured in Knocked Up.

Amoeba is the best store in the world, prepare to be amazed. You'll glaze over after fifteen minutes or so from sheer ecstasy.

Atomic and Canterbury are my two sleeper picks. Atomic is owned by an guy I became friends with who is a jazz 78 nut, serious collector and very cool guy.

Canterbury is a story to itself. You sort of have to live there to take full advantage because they don't always have stuff and there are acouple of collectors that make the rounds everday scoring the good stuff. They price amazing stuff in the twenty five cent to a dollar range there and could care less. I bought five LPM series Elvis Presley records there that were in VG+ for a quarter apiece.

 

I used to frequent that place several years ago (around 2000/2001). I used to restore scoped radio airchecks as a hobby to put on my internet radio station. Mr. C was a nice fellow. I had a chance to talk with him about his store and music. It turns out that the record store actually is his personal record collection! He's even stated that he'll never run out of vinyl to sell. Alas, I stopped going there because of the high prices and not having enough time for my former hobby. The place is still open but I have no idea if Mr. C still owns the store.

Old Town Orange is mostly antique shops and Watson's drug store these days.