where did you buy your records as a kid

Korvettes and Caldors, both defunked.

 

'60s
Certa-Bond (Torrance-area membership store)
White Front
Fedco
Gemco
Sav-ons
Builder's Emporium (?!)
Wallich's Music City
Crane's (Inglewood indie - you could record your own 4-tracks there!)

'70s
Wherehouse
Licorice Pizza
Tower
Music Plus
Westchester Music
Grammy 'n' Granny (Westchester indie which became Soundsations)
Rhino Records (Westwood)

'80s - '90s
American Pie (singles exclusivley)
Record Rover (took over AP's retail singles business)
Jane Hill's House Of Records
Record Surplus
Aron's
Rene's All-Ears
Cantebury Records (Pasadena)
Other Side Records (across the street from Tower Sunset - great for Japanese imports)

'00s
GEMM!

 

Are you talking about the Tower store at Columbus & Bay? That's one of my favorite stores from the days i lived in Northern California.
In my adolesence, i bought records from the Tower stores in Sacramento (the original Tower Records at 16th & Broadway and the one at El Camino & Watt).

 

When I was growing up in suburban Philadelphia, I always bought my records in discount/department stores, because they were ALWAYS cheaper than the "regular" record stores.

The places that got most of my allowance money in the 1970s were:

Grants / Grant City
Woolworth's
Woolco
Jamesway
Kmart
King's

Closer to the city, north or south, were:

Sears
Korvettes
Laneco (Allentown area)
Leh's (Quakertown/Allentown)
Hess's (Quakertown/Allentown)

When I did have to go to a "record store" to fill in a gap, I went to:

Listening Booth
Music Scene
Sam Goody, which even then had the highest prices

 

Yes, indeed! I remember I also bought my first CD there(Billy Joel's 52nd Street).

Evan

 

There was something thrilling about seeing albums for the first time and actually being able to own one back in those days (early 70's).

2 albums I always remember looking at when I was 15-16 was Steely Dan's Katy Lied and Aerosmith's Rocks. The height of cool albums. Plus both stand the test of time.

Cd shopping just doesn't have the same thrill these days.

 

I quite agree, John. Not to hijack the thread, but i've long felt that that's one of the bigger downsides to CDs as opposed to vinyl. With a vinyl record, you had at least a square foot of space for art. Granted, not all album covers were works of art, but for those that were, it's a lot easier to appreciate 144 square inches than a mere 25.