You know you’re in a great record store when …

Fair prices
Good selection across many genres
The place doesn't stink of BO or feral cats
Jack Black isn't employed there

 

You see Bruce Springsteen browsing through the Willy DeVille section

(it happened)

 

We should play guess the record store! I feel like I have been there before. Nashville; Memphis maybe?

 

Figured if anybody cared enough, they'd ask.
The Groove, in a house in East Nashville.
.

 

That's a good idea! Maybe do a New England region, West Coast, etc

 

... when a music store pays fair prices for used CDs. Music Millennium didn't when I was in there last, even though their selling prices have stayed the same, the amount they offer has plummeted. Yes, I know most stores buy and sell this way, so I just sell on Amazon now instead, and buy on Amazon, more and more. That means I don't support the brick and mortars like I used to.

 

Some pictures of some of the best stores I've visited:

Amoeba in San Francisco (still haven't been to the L.A. branch; I need to get there!):





Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, N.J.:





Twist & Shout in Denver:



Sound Garden in Baltimore:

 

Schoolkids Records in Raleigh, NC has 4 beers on tap in store. They don't carry cigarettes though lol.

 

...when...

The store is organized, but not anal retentive. The joy is in the hunt, after all.

Gradings are conservative, not optimistic

You can look open, look at, and touch the used vinyl. Look out when everything is sealed and marked not to open.

The new arrivals bin turns over frequently. Also, when you encounter someone's former collection in the same bin and score because he has the same taste as you.

There is a lot of inventory, but the store is not too cluttered to walk around.

You do not have an allergy attack from mold and dust 5 minutes after you walk in.

There is someone talented spinning the tunes striking a good balance between the known and the obscure.

You end up $150 poorer upon your exit!

PREX has my vote for the store that makes all of this happen...

 

“if you don’t got Mojo Nixon, then your store could use some fixin'”

 

When they have good records in excellent shape at bargain bin prices in specialty clearance crates. (and don't jack the prices up on anything else)

And when they showcase their vintage or high $$ equipment they're using to play music on for the overhead system.

 

Just a guess here as to which store this is below: Shangri-La in Memphis or Grimey's in Nashville perhaps?

 

Ding! Ding! Winner! Edit: Oops I didn't see you had two, it's Shangri-La. Grimey's is great as well.

 

My favorite Denver record store is Black & Read (w/apologies to the also awesome Twist & Shout)



There is zero crap in their vinyl selection. It's extensive, curated and cheap. If you like obscure 70's bands, prepare to pay $3 or $4 bucks for excellent condition vinyl. And the other side of the store is a massive used bookstore filled with cult fiction, tons of sci-fi, out there political stuff and more goodies.

 

Nice list, steelydanguy! And equally fun to see your shout outs to CD Cellar and Sound Garden. I grew up in Falls Church and although I moved before I really fell in love with vinyl, I got lots of CDs there when I was little. Now I'm in Baltimore for school and I love visiting Sound Garden. I haven't been to the expanded CD Cellar yet. How much bigger is it? Did it double in size and take over the building next to it (an ice cream shop I think?)

 

The new CD Cellar is really great- lots of room to browse.
What frightens me is that I've been to every store the OP lists but the one in Denver.
And he's right.

 

Okay...this AND legal weed ???? Really ????

.

 

A record store around here writes these little cards to organize albums by band name, and on the card for a band called Moonsorrow, they drew a funny crying moon

 

When the owner says hello with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Oh wait... It's not like that anymore.

 

I visited Ozone Records, in Portland, Oregon (1999)... They had the entire Mego and Touch (labels) catalogs. I got there an hour before closing and nearly had a panic attack trying to decide what to purchase.

 

I wonder what they did for Steely Dan.

 

Aquarius Records in San Francisco carried a lot of interesting/obscure releases, each one had a small write-up (made by the owner/staff) taped on the cover of the jewel case/packaging. Andee Connors (A Minor Forest) was one of the guys who ran the shop. A Minor Forest toured just last year, their live show is tremendous.

I recently visited Squidco in Wilmington, NC.. it's more of a online mail order sort of store, but they have all of their inventory organised to browse in the front. Staff were very helpful, they would put on anything I requested, and they had a small stage set up for frequent, local noise/improv shows. It was almost as if there was more focus on having interesting acts play in the store, but their inventory is like a dream for jazz/noise/improv/modern composition/sound art fans.