where did you buy your records as a kid

I remember going into a W.T. Grant's in my home town, and buying a mono Sgt. Pepper, mostly because it was a dollar cheaper than the stereo LP. (Still have it, by the way! )

Once I got wheels, I preferred Belmont Records in Hartford, CT. Then Caldors because they had a great record section and had all-label or specific label sales. Later, Lechmere was the place.

 

in youngstown, ohio:

plaza records
woolco
jc penny
hills
ben franklin


plaza records was the only store specializing in music.

 

Extinct vinyl purveyors

Washington, DC area:

1960s
Sears (lps)
EJ Korvette (lps)
The Music Box (lps)
WT Grant (45s)
SS Kesssge (45s)
GC Murphy (45s)

1970s
Woolworths (lp cutouts)
Variety Records (all speeds)
Bialek's (lps & cutouts)
Roadhouse Oldies (all speeds/collectibles)
Empire Music (AMAZING stores...all the Tower label lps, etc. etc.)
Viscount Records (Got my German Apple Beatles stereo MMT there)
Hit & Run (short-lived but mind boggling)
Yesterday & Today
Rainbow Tree (in Virginia for import lps...all the Vertigos, etc.)
This tiny electronics store in Silver Spring, MD that sold reggae 45s

1980s
Yesterday & Today
Joe's Record Paradise
Roadhouse Oldies

1990s
Second Story Books
Joe's Record Paradise
Yesterday & Today

2003
Joe's Record Paradise

(Note the discouraging trend...)

 

Vallances in Otley, West Riding of Yorkshire. Boroughgate if I remember correctly. I used to catch the Samuel Ledgard bus there from Menston village.

 

Baltimore:

General Records
Modern Music
Yeagers
Murphy's
Luskin's ($2.49 for mono, $2.99 for stereo!)
Hecht Co.
Hochschild-Kohn


Mud,

Do you mean General Music, which was located on Baltimore Street, across from the Baltimore Civic Center? Also, do you remember Music Liberated in Baltimore City, Topps and Two Guys in Dundalk, and For The Record in Reisterstown Plaza? I remember all of the places you mention all too well, especially Modern Music, which was located in the Eastpoint Shopping Center, and the Luskin's store located directly across the street from Eastpoint.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

"Hit & Run (short-lived but mind boggling)"


Located in Kensington, MD, the store owned by Al Ercolani, one of the nicest people that I've ever met in the record store business. Although the store didn't last long, it was incredible while it lasted. I kept in touch with Al for many years after the store closed, but I haven't seen him in a few years.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Yeah, I remember the Record Factory in Fremont as I bought many an LP there in the mid '80's. Stop, Look & Listen was another store that I frequented into the '90's. Now there is nothing in Fremont since Tower and Wherehouse have closed shop. Have to go to Newark to visit Rasputin's or Cd Warehouse even though they don't have much selection.

 

Seems to me until I was about four years old, Penny's was the only place we'd go to shop for everything.

 

Hit and Run in Kensington, MD was quite mind boggling. Opened circa July 1977. My very first time in there I got a stereo/mono promo of Wizzard's "See My Baby Jive", a stock 45 of California Music's "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", a sealed but punched copy of the "Blow-Up" soundtrack, and the first Deccagone 45 of "Hello Little Girl". I may have spent $10.00 at most. Both Skip and Al are out of the retail end of things, but they're still around. Great store...

 

Revolver Records on Haight Street in San Francisco. Great place!
Tower Records on the Waterfront in San Fran.
Various department stores' $2.99 bins(bought all the Apple Badfinger LP's there, as well as many other delights. Those were the days!).

Evan

 

Took me a while to get back.

Paradise probably opened later (at least by the mid-80's), but there was another record store on Chimes Street, near the old Louie's Cafe location where I found my Heart "Magazine" Picture Disc.

Record Bar was exactly were I got all my Duran Duran import 12" singles too. It's also were I found the 2 Canadian Katrina and the Wave's Attic LP's released before their American Capitol debut came out - and an even earlier UK mini-LP they released when they were known only as The Waves. Too bad they became useless by the mid 90's.

Joel

 

Originally....
G.C. Murphy's/Murphy's Mart
K Mart
Woolworth's
Hills

Graduated to...
National Record Mart
Record Outlet
Camelot Music- only one which at one time had an incredible amount of Import album's & singles. I picked up Beatles for Sale, UK Rarities, German Beatles Greatest, Beatles in Italy gate fold plus a couple of the UK 20th Anniversary picture disc singles. I also remember looking at all 3 vinyl box sets (Single, EP's & Blue album Box) but on my little $5/week allowance I could hardly afford them.
When is someone gonna invent that time machine?

Unfortunately all of the stores, except K Mart, are long gone.

 

A local department store called Cornets
Licorice Pizza
Wherehouse
Sage records--local family owned but it usually had the best selection

 

Wide World of Music, K-Mart, Pay & Save, JC Penny, The Bon, Sears. To name a few.

 

Woody's Record Shop - on Washington Avenue in Endicott, NY

 

"Rather Ripped Records" in Berkeley.
I can still remember the first 45s I bought there: "In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry, "He's So Fine" by The Chiffons, and "Hey Jude/Revolution" by The Beatles. Another Beatles/Chiffons connection, for sure.

 

In the mid '70s, I started buying records at Woolco (Woolworth). I would hang out there while my mom was buying groceries at A&P around the corner. Woolco had boxes of cutout records for $1 or 2 for $1. Lots or original '60s and early '70s pressings.

In the early'mid '80s, my favorite record store was Folzcity Boutique. They carried tons of imports. That's where I got all my British Beatle albums. We also had Karma (which was also a boutique) that carried a number of "tobacco" products. They had a pretty cool used section and I could buy record sleeves (outer) by the roll there.

In the (old) mall, we had Records Tapes, and Tickets. They had some pretty cool imports from time to time.

Tim

 

Anyone remember the "Berkshire Record Outlet" in Lee, MA?

 

Harmon's
Kmart
Raspberry
Sound Off
Pegasus
Starbound

 

St. Louis Area :

Peaches Records & Tapes
Woolworths
K-Mart
Zayr
Gibson's (Walmart Bought Them Out In The 70's)
Mohr Value
And other asorted Department stores

 

NY area (Queens):

King Karol

EJ Korvette's

Alexander's

SS Lind's ...in North Flushing

 

Lincoln Stationery (little store where we'd pick up the Sunday papers after church, and a couple of the latest 45s, in the late 60s)
Woolworth's
Alexander's
TSS (Time Square Stores)
Korvettes

 

KMart
Woolco
Target
Dugan's Drugs
Budget Tapes & Records

Joe L.
Houston, TX

 

In Vancouver, B.C., there were SO MANY record stores between 1974 and 1980 that I couldn't keep track.

Ernie's Hot Wax
Quintessence
Kelly's--numerous locations, including three within 6 blocks of each other on Granville

Hudson's Bay Co.
Eaton's
Woodwards
(all dept. stores and ALL with vinyl)
A&B Sound--orig. Seymour Street locatikon.
Broadway Melody, where I bought Satisfaction in about 1967. Had to back order it!

Great place and time to be a kid. Just phenomenal memories.

 

G.C. Murphy, the 45's were packed in a cardboard sleeve; priced at 55 cents!!