las vegas record/CD stores

hello folks,

i'll be in vegas for a few days next month celebrating a friend's birthday, and was wondering what, if any, record shops there were to hit while i was there.

i'll be staying on the strip, next to the bellagio, and kind of near UNLV. i'm guessing some small, indie shops will be near a large, major university like that.

i've checked the citysearch-las vegas website, and have come up with a number of results; your national chains (tower, virgin, warehouse), your local chains (record city), and what sound like indies (philthy rich records, odyssey, alegria).

anyone who can offer any advice would be extremely helpful. i thank you in advance.

later, chris

 

I was just in Vegas about a month ago and hit a few record stores while I was there. Probably the most interesting of those was Record City on E. Sahara Ave(not far from the Hilton). Lots of vinyl, decent selection of rock, pop, and r&b(LP's, 45's mostly, some 12" singles), CD's, DVD's. It's kind of a shack and looks like it's been there since the beginning of time but you'll probably find some cool stuff there. I also went to a store called Big B's on S. Maryland Pkwy. More rock and pop oriented, mostly CD's with some vinyl, new and used DVD's. There's supposed to be some other stores in the north end of town that I didn't get to that might be worth checking out. Maybe any other forum members who have visited recently or live there can give you a more detailed picture.

 

thanks for your reply. big b's and record city are definitely on my list of places to visit along with balcony lights, if they're still open.

thanks, again.

later, chris

 

There are 4 Record Citys scattered around town, including another one only 2 blocks east of the previously mentioned one on Sahara. The others are on Charleston, quite a bit east of the strip and a new location on Commerce near Charleston and the I-15. As for Big B's, it used to be hands down the best store in town. It had a friendly and knowledgable staff and the best selection (as far as Vegas record stores go) however it must have recently changed hands or something as every single person who worked there up until about a month ago is now gone and the selection seems to have taken a nosedive. It still is worth a look if you're in the area and is located close to the UNLV campus near Tropicana and Maryland Parkway. Happy hunting!

 

I hope when I go back I'll get to check out more of the stores in the area. My family lived in Las Vegas from 1969 to 1973, and I hadn't been back since we moved to California. OMG has it changed!!!

 

well, i'm back from sin city. i had time enough to hit only one place, BIG B's, a fine shop run by a very friendly staff. highly recommended.

with the exception of a 2 disc brian jonestown massacre comp, "tepid peppermint wonderland", which i bought new, everything else i found was used:

HERB ALPERT & TJB "sounds like"
QUINCY JONES "walking in space"
BOARDS OF CANADA "geogaddi"
TOMMY BOLIN "private eyes"
EARLY MAN "closing in"
SONIC YOUTH "goo" deluxe edition
ROKY ERICKSON "i have always been here before" anthology

thanks, again, for everyone's suggestions.

later, chris

 

Hope to get to Lost Wages again very soon myself.
Did you go to Wax Trax / are they still there?
How many locations of Record City are left, and did you get to more than one of them?

 

Just when things were looking bleak here in Vegas (Big B's has gone downhill recently IMO) I discovered a new music store and it's by far the best in town. It's called Zia Record Exchange, located at 4225 S. Eastern Ave. I guess it's been open a few months but I hadn't heard about it until I just happened to drive by a few days ago. Apparently they have a few stores in Arizona too. Here's their website: http://www.ziarecords.com/Home Highly recommended to anyone visiting Vegas. Big B's is still worth checking out but can't hold a candle to this place.