I was almost 17 when I finally passed my driving test, and there was reason for celebration. We’d hit the town Friday night, Eric and I, in a lipstick red Mercury Topaz. But we didn’t have girls to take out, we were too young to even get into the under-21 dance clubs.
We went instead to Desirable Discs, a thriving independent record store in the metro-Detroit area with three locations. We went to the first, drove twenty minutes to the next. Blew some money on a Deftones t-shirt and a Braid split. It was 1998. Such were the times.
Desirable Discs closed its final location several years ago with little fanfare. The loss wasn’t great—Detroit has numerous record shops, and in recent years my taste had evolved. But the entire experience seems surreal now; 16, Eric, Desirable Discs. It’ll appear moreso to legions of 16 year-olds-to-be. Independent record shops aren’t yet extinct, but they’re increasingly rare, pushed out by a downtick in the industry, an uptick in downloads, and pricing strategies unavailable to niche market record providers.
The over-indulgent, under-funded music fans of America (and if you’re reading this, welcome to the club) grew up in these shops. We have some of our best moments there, moments not always directly related to record buying. Below, Stylus pays tribute to some of our favorite shops. Many of these stores are thriving, and we’re grateful. Some have moved on. Here’s our five-part guide to the best of what’s out there, the little communities that have sold us our lives, $13 at a time.
[Andrew Gaerig]
East
The Thing
1001 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn NY
About: A huge secondhand store in the Greenpoint neighborhood, The Things is famous for (supposedly) having the largest collection of vinyl in New York City. Walk into the messy, cramped back section that barely allows room for one to walk amongst the vinyl and you begin to believe it. Downstairs yields even more treasures—despite being hot and possibly unsanitary. Be sure to watch your step, the ceiling is only a little over six feet high down there.
Specialty: $2 records. There isn’t a piece of vinyl in the store that isn’t priced at 2 bucks. The main floor holds singles and albums mostly for disco, new wave, R&B, and house, while there is some more rock and pop blended in downstairs.
What They’re Missing: A year or two back, The Thing used to be *the* place for 70s/80s/90s club music, including many ridiculous rare Italo, rare groove, and disco/Hi-NRG singles. After the owners/staff/cratediggers (delete as appropriate) sort of caught on to the value of these records, The Thing began shipping/selling the best stuff over to another local NYC shop, A1 records. Other problems: the in-house turntable was without a needle last time I was there, and of course, there is really no organization whatsoever on either floor, which makes even approaching the store very daunting.
Why We Love It: Even though the amazing finds of highly coveted dance classics have become few and far between, you can still find a great deal of interesting stuff ranging from '80s disco boogie, old and new school rap, weirdo soul and new wave also-rans (synth pop covers of Bachman Turner Overdrive anyone?), and a ton of other stuff you probably didn’t know existed.
[Michael Gill]
Junk
Intersection of North 9th St. & Driggs Ave
Brooklyn, NY
About: A thrift store in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn that hides a large vinyl section.
Specialty: It’s got a fair enough selection of standard A-Z rock/pop/soul, but like The Thing, most collectors go to dig through the large and mostly cheap selection of dance and hip-hop 12” singles. Deep house and freestyle are in abundance, and you probably won’t go through one rack without coming across a Strictly Rhythm or Nervous record.
What They’re Missing: As with most thrift stores, organization and like-new quality aren’t always a priority, and placing the vinyl right next to the store window where sunlight easily pours in can’t be the best maintenance procedure.
Why We Love It: A rarity in stores these days (let alone thrift stores), Junk has a working turntable and headphones available to preview the vinyl. The vinyl section is manageable enough to go through in an hour or two, and I’ve yet to visit without leaving with a few disco discoveries, the latest being the remix 12" for CeCe Penniston’s “Finally,” and a great dub remix of Claudja Barry’s “Down & Counting.”
[Michael Gill]
Mondo Kim’s
6 St. Mark's Place
New York City, NY
About: Although it has a few locations in New York, Kim’s at St. Mark’s is the only one worth visiting for music lovers. Serving as a hipster emporium amid the dregs of one of Manhattan’s strangest streets (there’s Chipotle! And a bunch of dirt-punks busking for money!), Kim’s is where record store cliché’s come to life.
Specialty: It’s hard to say that Kim’s has one particular specialty, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better spot in the city for hip-hop mixtapes (before last year’s bust), rare Krautrock imports, and the latest Erstwhile release. Oh—and whatever Drag City has coming out this month as well. While you won’t always find exactly what you’re looking for, you’ll undoubtedly come out with something you didn’t know you needed—often from the (by New York City standards) decent used CD section.
What They’re Missing: Record clerks with a pulse. Aside from some notable exceptions, the people working at Kim’s inevitably pull a Paul Rudd picking up his plate from Wet Hot American Summer move if you ask a question.
Why We Love It: Possibly because of those same record clerks. Possibly because if you go upstairs you’re greeted with a cineaste’s wet dream and a host of vinyl (used and new). Possibly because it’s simply one of the stores you have to know in New York City.
[Todd Burns]
Rebel Rebel
319 Bleecker Street
Manhattan, NY
About: A tiny West Village hole in the wall amidst a neighborhood equally comprised of upscale bakeries peddling five dollar lemonade and sex shops.
Specialty: A deep vinyl selection of electronic and dance music—gobs of New Order remixes—complements the across-the-board indie rock selection. Rebel Rebel keep most of their store stock in shoeboxes in the back room; a good question from a customer will send the ultra-attentive staff to the back for serious stretches of album digging.
What They’re Missing: A large soul and funk collection. Browsing space. Any immediately visible selection of hip-hop (though Canal Street’s mix-tape merchants are a hop, skip, and a jump away).
Why We Love It: Even with the limited dimensions, most every customer—from a Chelsea Boy scouring for cheap lounge mixes to a gentle, to nebbish Lower Manhattan dad guiding their equally shy son into Five Leaves Left to a college kid heeding a clerk’s recommendation on The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically—can get in on the fun. It’s a wedge of war, awkward, human messiness, that, on a good day, typifies everything truly cool about the Village.
[Evan McGarvey]
Other Music
15 E 4th St.
New York City, NY 10003
About: One of New York’s record shopping institutions. If you’re a fan of independent music—and have open ears—you’ll already know about it. And the fact that they have a staff that’s attentive and willing to give you direction? Icing on the cake.
Specialty: New music. Old music. Everything-in-between music. In all seriousness, Other Music is probably the one place to shop for music in New York if you’re visiting and don’t have time to go anywhere else. They’ll have your new indie release, the import of the Burial record, the new Trapez 12”, that new 3 CD set from the Chilean psych band you’ve been hearing about—everything.
What They’re Missing: Well, OK. Not everything. The shop is incredibly small—and they have a less than stellar used section, and their hip-hop section leaves a lot to be desired, but it all evens out in the end, right?
Why We Love It: Put it this way, I was once asked by a fellow Stylus writer the following question: “What’s it like living near Other Music? How do you do it?”
[Todd Burns]
John Doe Books & Records
347 Warren St.
Hudson, NY 12534
About: The name fits the description for this legendary record store in Upstate New York. Actually the residence of Bunny Brains mastermind Dan Seward, John Doe is tucked away on the main drag of Warren St. and has only a small guidepost that signals the location of this vinyl sanctuary. As this is Seward's home, all of the contents of the store are his collection, with virtually no organizational pattern whatsoever. The shop is, therefore, strictly for serious vinyl lovers—those willing to spend hours sifting through stacks and stacks of records in order to find what they're looking for.
Specialty: An outstanding collection of jazz, along with a profusion of classical, rock, punk, psych, funk, noise, soul, and anything else imaginable from before Sony dropped the Discman.
What They're Missing: John Doe's interest is mostly in used records, most of which are pre-1990. If you're looking for hip white label house releases, then turn your big city ass around and shell out bucks downtown.
Why We Love It: The first time I walked in to JD, I entered the downstairs shop and sifted through a fairly average collection of records, until I was told that there were more upstairs in the apartment. When I ascended the narrow staircase and turned into the man's abode, I happened upon a vinyl lover’s wet dream: walls and walls of literally thousands of classic and rare records. Oft overlooked is the terrific book collection, also boasting some choice selections and seldom seen titles.
[Tal Rosenberg]
Fat Beats
496 6th Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10011
About: With additional locations in L.A. and Amsterdam, Fat Beats motto is "The Last Stop for Hip-Hop," and they certainly come close to holding that title down. Once located in a basement in the East Village, the new location, closer to NYU's central campus, is still somewhat hidden from the general public. Check around the street, though: once you see the crowds of freestylers and b-boys hanging out in the front, sometimes including legends like Percee P and J-Zone, you’ll know you’ve found it.
Specialty: One of the flat-out best collections of underground and classic hip-hop vinyl and CDs. Also sports a pretty good assortment of breaks, funk, and soul.
What They're Missing: Though much better than a few years ago, Fat Beats could use an improvement with their mainstream and southern rap stock.
Why We Love It: For rap 12"s and independently released hip-hop music, there isn't much of a comparison in New York City. But much of its success is due to its reputation. The first time any head comes to NYC and asks where to get good hip-hop, this is usually the first place that gets mentioned.
[Tal Rosenberg]
Cafe Soundz
320 Bloomfield Ave.
Montclair, NJ 07042
About: Not so much a "record store" as a cultural emporium—growing from its humble beginnings as the Jersey-area source for Techno, Goth & Industrial CDs, Cafe Soundz is also your one-stop in the greater Metro area for Docs, sexy boots and shoes, T-shirts, Guerilla bondage gear, etc.
Specialty: Since its inception, Cafe Soundz has made no bones (hee-hee) about its focus on the darker corners of electronic music—hard-tech, darkwave, EBM, UK/US Industrial, and classic Gothic all find room on the well-stocked shelves. Outside of Generation Records in NYC, you won't find a shop that covers these much-maligned genres with as much accuracy and love as Soundz.
What They're Missing: A little more vinyl would be appreciated (but that's a tall order in the genres that are the obvious focus here). That being said, this is the odd rarity of a record store that you don't want to have a broader selection—the music that gets high priority here gets next-to-nothing everywhere else, so we praise Cafe Soundz for precisely what would be condemnable in others—a narrow body of artists with a deep discography to represent them.
Why We Love It: Beyond the deep catalog of featured artists who rarely get so much as a divider elsewhere, we love Cafe Soundz for main man Bobby Lisi, who is one of the most admirable owner / operators anywhere. A deep impression was left on this child when I sent my parents to Cafe Soundz for Xmas gifts and they discarded my list for the (highly superior) selections made by Mr. Lisi. It's rare to see a record store that knows its customers better than they know themselves.
[Mallory O’Donnell]
Princeton Record Exchange
20 South Tulane St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
About: In the heart of sophisticated downtown Princeton, PREX is less a shop with a staid inventory and more a fluctuating nexus of hipster heavy hitters, oddities, and cut-rate deals. Good prices and high turnover accounts for an always-engaging, ever-changing menu.
Specialty: Budget CDs and Vinyl abound, the used CD selection is Jersey's finest (no mean feat), and their coverage of pretty much every genre, from Folk to House is journeyman-at-worst and intensive-at-best. That being said, the Indie / Avante-Garde Rock and Jazz catalogs shine, as is only appropriate considering Princeton College's solid freeform radio station, WPRB.
What They're Missing: The Vinyl selection, though outstanding for rock and oddities, lacks a certain heft in the hip-hop and dance departments, although the odd gem lurks amongst the rubble. My strongest complaint is against the Dollar Bin stickers, which are excessively adhesive and still mar the mugs of my entire Talking Heads discography.
Why We Love It: Even for someone who could kill hours in a favorite record shop, PREX has a nearly tactile warmth—there's a feeling one could curl up atop the ridiculously extensive Dollar Bins and take a quick nap. NYC-rich at NJ prices.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Mystery Train
12 N. Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
About: Going to school for three years at Hampshire College, nearby Amherst was always a bit of a bust as a town. Luckily, Mystery Train and the branch of B-Town-based biggie Newbury Comics brought enough flavor to make it a worthwhile stop on the way to better boutiquery and eats in sister town Northampton.
Specialty: The used CD and vinyl selection at Mystery Train (not to mention, back in the day, their used videos) was always enough to get me in the store. But it's in the realm of black wax that these cats truly excel—multiple listening stations in the DJ-store mold, a new arrivals bin, and respectable, high-turnover prices make for a great digging time.
What They're Missing: New stock is non-existent and the employees have mastered that peculiar art of the record shop clerk being simultaneously invisible and offensive.
Why We Love It: Well-filed, extremely well-bought used vinyl always tempts this crate-Betty. Also, the outstanding dollar LP section has deals on relatively common records, providing bargains not usually seen in the Northeast outside the NY/NJ axis. The behind-glass rarities and overall wallet-friendly vibe of the used pricing give Mystery Train the edge in the crowded Valley market.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Plan 9
3012 W. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23221
About: Hip Carytown (the Haight-Ashbury of decidedly non-hip Richmond) plays host to the flagship of the Plan 9 record chain. It's not so much the best record store in VA's capital as the only one.
Specialty: Indie Rock, Jazz, Techno, used CDs, and subculture knicknacks all play a part in Plan 9's funky oeuvre, but it's the sordid pleasures of the basement that really make it shine. Budget compact discs and a deep vinyl catalog with a heavy turnover rate and user-friendly pricing make for an environment on which even the most hesitant of music buyers will feel tempted to lavish a bit of cash.
What They're Missing: The staff can be somewhat distant and the music is often waaaaaaaaaay too loud, but the main complaint lies with the Broadtime listening stations, which crap out more often than rock out.
Why We Love It: Besides the delightful Deanna upstairs and the aforementioned downtown pleasures of the basement, the fact that anything in the store can be listened to before buying (whether CD or wax) pretty much seals the deal. Factor in a truly respectable, deep catalog of classic artists and indie favorites and you've got the best record store in Timbaland's home state.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Tom’s Tracks
281 Thayer Street
Providence, RI
About: The weathervane of Providence’s independent record shops, perched in the middle of Thayer Street and Brown University’s campus, Tom’s Tracks (Yes, still owned and operated by the original Tom) was dishing out quirky indie pop and drone-heavy rock back when Brown really was the quirky, dirty Ivy.
Specialty: A rounded, deep enough selection of vinyl to outfit any neophyte’s dorm room. An unexpectedly good selection of underground and otherwise neglected rap (Kool Keith’s back catalogue, always a copy of El-P’s Fantastic Damage in stock). Always on top of Providence’s blustery noise scene, Tom’s is a great place to check out a band from kids at the Rhode Island School of Design before they get, you know, freakin’ huge (Talking Heads, Black Dice, Les Savy Fav).
What They’re Missing: A decent helping of most canonical band’s CD discography. They’ll either have Let It Be or Tim in store, never both.
Why We Love It: Because even as the East Side of Providence slides down the slope toward the Starbucks/Volvo kingdom, Tom’s Tracks keeps dishing out downtown art rock and affordable vinyl for the suburban kids left of the dial.
[Evan McGarvey]
Newbury Comics
332 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02115
About: Independent chain with 26 locations throughout New England, with storefronts on eBay and Amazon.com.
Specialty: Comprehensive selection of current independent/major label releases, as well as hip-hop/electronic/rock/punk vinyl.
What They're Missing: Back catalogue selection depends on location.
Why We Love It: Few things say Boston like Newbury Comics' smile logo. The vinyl selection is surprisingly deep; I've found rarities there I've never seen anywhere else. Their eBay and Amazon service is amazingly fast and professional, the best I've ever encountered online. The Harvard Square location has a great T-shirt selection. The Newbury St. location is a fixture on Boston's Rodeo Drive (Aimee Mann used to work there); be sure to enjoy some homemade ice cream from J.P. Licks next door.
[Cosmo Lee]
Cheapo Records
645 Massachusetts Ave. (moving soon to 538 Massachusetts Ave., across the street)
Cambridge, MA 02139
About: One of the oldest and largest vinyl retailers in the Boston area, located in the basement of a building across from the Central Square train stop.
Specialty: A diverse selection of vintage soul, pre-1960 oldies, rock, blues, country, vocal, and pop on vinyl and CD. Also has a decently sized disco, reggae, and world music section.
What They’re Missing: New stuff. You’ll rarely find anything from the past few years in stock. Occasionally the vinyl crates placed on the floor cramp the walkway and can be a bit of a nuisance for your back.
Why We Love It: Friendly (and occasionally gossipy) staff, including store owner Alan who has extensive knowledge of doo-wop, gospel, rock, country, and soul. Cheapo has also got an amazingly diverse and deep collections of genres you don’t usually find in your average store (soca, doo-wop, early blues, vocal pop/easy listening.) There are many soul, funk, doo-wop, world, and AM radio compilations I’ve never seen anymore else, as well as lavishly cardboarded 3-cd box sets of early country and folk artists I’ve never heard of. It’s all priced decently, and the incoming vinyl selection has lately been even more selective and plentiful than usual.
[Michael F. Gill]
Mass Muzik (formerly Satellite Records)
Currently Relocating (formerly 49 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115)
About: Retail and mail order store dealing in electronic dance music. Former sister store to Satellite Records in NYC, now solely run by local DJ Pat Fontes. Their previous location right near Newbury Street and Hynes Convention Center closed down at the end of August, and is looking to re-open at a new location in October. Check out their website for updates.
Specialty: Boston’s only store dedicated to house, techno, and underground dance music on vinyl.
What They’re Missing: The clientele can be a little intimidating, especially when there is a line of people previewing material on headphones and staring you down, and the prices can add up quickly when buying new and imported vinyl. The CD selection is very meager, with only about 30 to 50 CDs at the Mass Ave location.
Why We Love It: While the verdict is still out on the new location, Mass Muzik has been becoming more and more in tune with current dance trends. Where it once stocked mostly prog-house, trance, and deep house, now you’ll see plenty of minimal, electro-house, hip hop, disco breaks, and even some dubstep. With plenty of turntables and an up-to-date stock, it’s very easy for the electronically-inclined to spend an hour or two just previewing and sifting through all the new releases on any given weekend.
[Michael F. Gill]
Twisted Village
12b Eliot Street
Cambridge MA 02138
About: Mail order, retail store, and record label located in a downstairs booth in Harvard Square, next to Charlie’s Kitchen. It has a welcome sign saying “We Sell Weird Music.”
Specialty: Boston’s main spot for improv, noise, psych, modern composers, avant-jazz, and many other fringe genres. The owners are not only on Jandek’s Christmas card list, but also were interviewed for the recent Jandek documentary.
What They’re Missing: Mainly anything approaching MOR or anything on a major label. There isn’t that much popular indie rock either. Also, I’ve found that with such obscure items, a lot of things are only stocked once, so if you missed out on buying that Magick Markers vinyl or the Italian tribute to Bach Bacharach, you are probably out of luck.
Why We Love It: Boston’s best answer to NYC’s Other Music, you are always bound to hear some ridiculously out-there music playing when you walk in (last time I was there they were playing some gospelish krautrock,) and amusing and/or smug banter from the customers (“Oh, I’ve been over Sun City Girls for years now.”) There is also a growing selection of reggae and dance music on vinyl, mostly courtesy of local distributor Forced Exposure. I’ve found some great oddities over here in the past few years, like the complete works of musique concrete fiend Todd Dockstader, as well as albums of voodoo drumming, vegetable orchestras, and acapella cowboy songs.
[Michael F. Gill]
In Your Ear
957 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, 02215
72 Mount Auburn St #A, Cambridge, MA 02138
About: A large store for used vinyl and CDs, with two locations in the Boston area: in the basement of an ATM booth next to the Paradise Rock Club, and in a basement booth a couple blocks from the Harvard Square mini-mall The Garage.
Specialty: Rock/Psych/Prog-Rock/Noise on vinyl and CD, as well as cheap mainstream pop/soul CDs. New vinyl reissues and compilations turn up too. The Boston location is bigger and has more 12” singles then the Cambridge location.
What They’re Missing: A clear sense of order to where each genre begins, ends, and is located, especially in the dollar/fifty cent bins.
Why We Love It: You can feel the sense of division between the rock/psych nerds and the few soul/dance freaks, but there is something of interest to both. The rock/post-punk/imports section is often filled with local college students, and there is usually some guy going on about his latest find (“Have you heard that Chubby Checker psych record? I’ll burn it for you.”) over at the front counter. Meanwhile, the dormant soul/R&B/cutout bins are rarely gone through, so some gems have often fallen through the cracks to the few dance collectors. I’ve gotten great copies of Musique’s “Keep On Jumpin,” C-Bank’s “One More Shot,” Patrick Adams’ “Freek” LP, and Akufen’s remix of Craig David for little more than a dollar or two. There’s also a decent vinyl section for old 80s/90s goth and industrial, which is hard to come by in Boston.
[Michael F. Gill]
South
Waterloo
600A North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
About: A well-oiled indie machine, Waterloo looms large over Austin, effectively blocking corporate chains within a twenty-mile radius of its Sixth Street location.
Specialty: Variety. Waterloo features a decent cross-section of most any genre operant today and is the perfect place to start branching out into new musical territory. The staff is friendly, and the classic works of house/funk/noise/free jazz/world music can usually be found.
What They’re Missing: Jack of all trades, master of none. Subgenre zealots will dislike Waterloo’s style, but given the store’s palatial size and high-dollar location, it simply can’t afford to exclude demographics.
Why We Love It: Waterloo’s the musical epicenter of Austin, and one of our most prominent businesses. It sets the tone for an eclectic, laid-back city.
[Bryan Berge]
Soundwaves
3509 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
About: Houston's largest independent record store chain, with nine locations.
Specialty: Comprehensive independent/major label CD/DVD selection, with some locations dedicated to surf/skate gear.
What They're Missing: Not much. Any store that, at one time, carried the entire Volume and Trance Europe Express series deserves props.
Why We Love It: I can only speak as to the Montrose branch, which has changed since I frequented its previous location. Now you have to fight your way past surf/skate gear to get to the music, and evidently now there's also a coffee house on the premises. But the selection is still huge, with decent prices. Once I came across an ultra-rare Future Sound of London release there at the same time as someone else. We had a brief confrontation, but I lost. Before shopping there, be sure to print out coupons from the website.
[Cosmo Lee]
End of an Ear
2209 South First Street
Austin, TX 78704
About: Rising from the ashes of the mighty Thirty Three Degrees, End of an Ear has staked a plot in the sweetest stretch of South Firs—a street rapidly replacing Congress as Austin’s symbolic center.
Specialty: The psych and experimental sections slay local competitors. Krautrock fans in particular will be thrilled by the bounty of Cluster, Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, and the like. Noise and industrial, amazingly enough, are equally billed with the tastefully picked rock sections.
What They’re Missing: The staff plays it safe with the electronic section, sticking mainly to the Warps and Kompakts of the world, and the vinyl could be filled in a bit.
Why We Love It: End of an Ear supports Austin, showcasing local visual artists and hosting a full calendar of in-stores, ranging from absurdo-pop to dead-serious eggheads. There’s nothing like cruising the stacks near the keg, pulsing to the drone of a local unknown.
[Bryan Berge]
Wuxtry
197 E Clayton St.
Athens, GA 30601
About: The first used CD store of its kind to open in the Southeast, Wuxtry sits dead center in the downtown area of America's definitive college music town. A short walk from UGA's Arches and agonizingly close to a Wachovia ATM machine, students and town folk alike can blow through a week's budget on Elephant 6 rarities and then head upstairs to Bizarro Wuxtry, the infinitely jaw-dropping clearinghouse of pop culture detritus, to blow an entire month's on Yo! MTV Raps trading cards.
Specialty: Athens' biggest and most diverse collection of used CD's and vinyl, it caters to the cash-strapped undergrads and the most discerning tastemakers in town. Plus, Jeff Mangum probably shopped here.
What They're Missing: Though their back collections are impressive, if you want the latest major/indie release when you roll out of bed on a Tuesday, you're probably be better off going to Best Buy.
Why We Love It: Some will chalk it up to southern hospitality, but Wuxtry does its part every day to combat the ill reputation High Fidelity to the record store clerks of the world. Doesn't matter if you're buying Spiderland, Heavier Things, or anything else not by the band the dude at the counter is currently in. He's just happy as fuck that you went to Wuxtry.
[Ian Cohen]
Full Moon Records
1653 McLendon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
About: Nestled within a neighborhood strip, Full Moon is a paragon of organization with every cubic centimeter of space utilized to dizzying effect. CDs are thankfully an afterthought, as the counter is the only site designated to a decent selection of used and new discs. Vinyl, on the other hand, is king, lovingly alphabetized and cradled in crates that seemingly never age.
Specialty: Extraordinary attention is given to rock’s lesser knowns—and that extends to all genres. Captain Beyond, Twink, Randy Holden, and Bobby Callender are as readily available as are The No-Neck Blues Band and local misfits such as The Rattler, Bon Vivants, Black Lips, and Deerhunter. Mainstays are also given their due, as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Grateful Dead, and MC5 LPs never run dry.
What They’re Missing: Stock reflects the interests of the owner, which fails to affect me as we share tastes. White belts searching out the Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens will have to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: The “second story” dollar bin has provided broke schmucks like yours truly with the essentials—and at an opportune time. Before “post-rock” could gum me with its poisonous molars, I landed ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, and Duguello in one fell swoop for $1 each. There’s nearly always some choice jazz hidden amongst the Lawrence Welk and Barbara Streisand; I can thank Full Moon for playable copies of Coltrane’s Ole and Ornette’s The Shape of Things to Come.
[Stewart Voegtlin]
Midwest
Bent Crayon
11600 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
About: Founded in the fall of 1995 by local music lover John Cellura (who has run the place basically single-handedly ever since), Bent Crayon manages to pack a healthy amount of indie, electronic, and experimental CDs and the area’s widest selection of vinyl into a small corner shop on Cleveland’s West Side, as well as doing a wealth of business through its Web site.
Specialty: Though there is a very respectable indie section (in fact, the best in the Cleveland area), Bent Crayon’s specialty is undoubtedly electronic dance music, and the latest cutting-edge European and domestic labels (Kompakt, Trapez, etc.) and everything in-between are available in force, as well as a very solid selection of back catalog.
What They’re Missing: Major labels are notably absent (except for imports and vinyl), but it isn’t like you’d miss them. They could also stand another turntable for listening purposes—there’s only one, and you could end up waiting a long time to use it behind the wrong customer.
Why We Love It: When Cellura founded the store more than a decade ago, the cards were stacked against him. There were a host of other indie-minded stores around, and the local press and hipster gossips were equally divided between loving and hating Bent Crayon—and Cellura himself, whom many labeled snobbish. Cellura gets the last laugh, however, as he has outlasted the rest of the shops and is now the only game in town. Say what you will about his personality, Cellura knows his music and his devoted clientele, and that is what has kept him in business while the larger, flashier stores have wilted.
[Todd Hutlock]
Magnolia Thunderpussy
1155 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Founded in 1970, Magnolia Thunderpussy is one of the longest-running independent record stores in the country. Despite being south of the campus area, it does fine—it’s located between two of the cities most well-traveled music venues: High Five and Little Brother’s.
Specialty: If you simply went to the store’s MySpace page, they might have you believe that they’re a vendor simply interested in getting you whatever you’d like. But with the amount of goth, metal, and EBM shirts lining the walls and a quick perusal of their weekly top sellers, it becomes quickly apparent that the store specializes in anything “dark.”
What They’re Missing: While Magnolia pays lip service to the idea of used CDs, they’re easily outclassed by the nearby Used Kids. Additionally, if you’re looking for anything dance-y that isn’t on Metropolis Records, you might want to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: Much like Mallory O’Donnell’s favorite, Café Soundz, Magnolia caters to one demographic incredibly well. While they do have a nice selection of many genres, they have a bread and butter and stick to it.
[Todd Burns]
Used Kids
1980 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Owned by Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments lead singer Ron House, Used Kids is the record store for discerning Ohio State students. Located outside of the recently renovated “Gateway” area, the store retains a charming old Columbus charm. Or is that stink?
Specialty: Used CDs. While the store is more than happy to stock the newest indie rock releases on CD and vinyl, Used Kids (as the namely clearly indicates) is primarily a haven for those looking for a deal on a classic—or a promo copy dropped off by a local writer. The secret to a successful experience? Go in without a plan and let yourself be surprised.
What They’re Missing: The hip-hop is thin, but the main sore spot is electronic music. After having a paltry selection for a long time, the last time that I went into the store I couldn’t find the section at all.
Why We Love It: With a huge turnover, cheap prices, and an unpretentious staff, Used Kids is Columbus in a nutshell.
[Todd Burns]
B-Side Records
436 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
About: Nestled in a small alcove on State Street, the main artery running directly between the Capitol building and the University of Wisconsin’s Library Mall, B-Side Records has been supplying college kids and campus visitors in Madison since 1982.
Specialty: In addition to a well-stocked indie and classic-rock selection (both requisites on the youth-and-granola-friendly campus), B-Side also carries an impressive collection of R&B, soul, and jazz, arranging discs by genre in sturdy wooden crates arranged in strategic, Tetra-esque locations throughout. Can’t find something? Look below or above you: lesser-known discs by popular artists are often kept underneath the crates or on shelves affixed to the wall (I completed my J.J. Cale and Savoy Brown collections in college by digging down a little closer to the carpet).
What They’re Missing: Due to size constraints it’s impossible for B-Side to house the entire catalog of most any band, even your most beloved. You’re oftentimes just as likely to find a piece of arcana as you are a classic, but they’re cool about ordering what they don’t have in stock.
Why We Love It: The staff: A variety of laid-back aficionados are regularly found behind the counter, proof positive that not all people working in independent record stores are supercilious dicks. Years after I finished school there, many of the same knowledgeable staff remain, ready to ring you up while chatting about most any sonic subject. You have to love any small store that inspires that kind of employee loyalty.
[Drew Miller]
Reckless Records
1532 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
About: With another store situated in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the Wicker Park location is doubtlessly the store’s flagship, if for no other reason than the neighborhood. Catering to the area’s famous (or infamous) hipster scenesters, Reckless is a competent, if somewhat disheveled, way post for Chicago music lovers.
Specialty: Completeness. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here, from indispensable CD’s and LP’s in virtually any genre to music magazines, concert tickets, rock memorabilia and obscure DVD’s.
What They’re Missing: Organization. No doubt due to the threat of shoplifting in the area, Reckless removes all CD’s and jewel cases from albums, leaving only the covers for customers to flip through. The result is that albums often get placed virtually anywhere, sometimes never to return to their rightful home. I’m no neat-freak, but if you suffer from OCD-like symptoms, you might want to go elsewhere, as finding what you’re looking for can be a frustrating effort in futility.
Why We Love It: In addition to a host of well-informed staff working behind the counter, Reckless tries to make sure its clientele remain similarly well-informed. Album covers oftentimes have a succinct review and trustworthy rating appended to them. I have more than once been turned on to artists about whom I knew nothing simply by poring over the attached mini-reviews in their ‘featured’ section above the pop/rock aisle.
[Drew Miller]
Dusty Groove America
1120 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
About: Simply put, if you’re looking to get your groove on in the Midwest, you need to visit this store. Dusty Groove America is a wonderland of all things funky and smooth, with lots and lots of new and used vinyl and a healthy selection of CDs. Also a fantastic Web site for mail order peeps.
Specialty: Soul, R&B, jazz, funk, etc., and lots of it, from the classics to the obscure and everywhere in-between. Dusty Groove also carries one of North America’s best selections of Brazilian music.
What They’re Missing: While Dusty Groove is a fabulous place to engage in a few hours of obscure crate digging, their selection of popular standards of the genre (like say, Stevie Wonder’s back catalog) is occasionally a little thin, especially on CD. Hardly a complaint, though. Also, expect to pay collector’s prices for some items, but nothing excessive or outrageous.
Why We Love It: The vinyl is generally in amazing shape, the store is kept clean, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and the selection is impeccable. I have never been in Dusty Groove and come away without an armful of records, usually things I had never actually seen or heard of until I walked in the door. There’s also a fun selection of turntable and record junkie accessories—ask about the Vinyl Killer!
[Todd Hutlock]
Wazoo Records
336 1/2 State St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located above a head shop in the middle of the University of Michigan campus, Wazoo makes the most of its pencil-thin space, using old wooden crates to house a surprisingly large slice of indie rock’s catalog.
Specialty: Volumes and volumes of rock’s back catalog, Wazoo makes hay off the classics other shops miss: The Pogues’ If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Syd Barrett’s Barrett, as well as stocking British imports before virtually everyone else: The Go! Team and Bloc Party come to mind.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection could be stronger; they seem to be about two weeks behind on important electronic releases.
Why We Love It: The best moment every semester: strolling out of the Science Auditorium after your last final, walking across the street into Wazoo, and blowing a week or two’s worth of wages in celebration. Freshman year I strolled in, picked up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Califone’s Sometimes Bad Weather Follows Good People and carried that last-day-of-school feeling throughout the summer.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Encore Records
417 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located just off the University of Michigan’s campus, Encore Records is a grungy little joint that doesn’t fuck with anything shrink-wrapped: the store’s labyrinthine shelves house Michigan’s largest selection of used CDs and LPs.
Specialty: Encore leaves no genre un-turned, but a heaving selection of rare ethnic music on vinyl sets the shop apart. Their devotion to the greater Detroit area’s thriving local scene is impressive: your search for that rare Wolf Eyes cassette-only release ends here.
What They’re Missing: They’re a second-hand shop, so forget finding anything new.
Why We Love It: Make an afternoon out of it: Show up with a crumpled list of records on a grey Saturday afternoon, hobnob with the Ann Arbor indie elite—members of Saturday Looks Good to Me, Dykehouse, and Nomo call the shop home—elbow your way around the other hardcores. The best part? The front counter is surrounded by two walls of used CDs not yet shelved, virgin plastic towers not yet picked over. Show up to the counter with a fistful of records and realize that you’ve still got 20 minutes of browsing to do. Sweet Saturday afternoon…
[Andrew Gaerig]
Stormy Records
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
About: A boutique-style shop owned by wife-husband ambient duo Windy & Carl, Stormy Records recently moved into a space above the venerable Green Brain Comics. The shop often hosts shows, from Frog Eyes and Destroyer to a recent Will Oldham gig, as well as sporadic appearances by the owners. A true indie, with a limited selection reflecting the tastes of the owners.
Specialty: Stormy specializes in underground ambient and experimental music, so while you can always arrive and find the latest indie releases, the true pleasure is flipping through the new releases rack and walking away with something you’ve never heard of. Hands down Detroit’s best place to gamble on cool cover art.
What They’re Missing: Lots, really. Stormy’s a specialty shop, so anything that falls outside the realm of underground rock/experimental music is thin: the store has meager selections of jazz, hip-hop, and blues. Even classic rock records—Dylan, the Stones, etc.—are in short supply, and while these holes are partially filled by a dirt-cheap selection of vinyl, Stormy is not where you go to find the staples.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the record-shopping equivalent of Cheers: Everybody knows your name. Pick the Carl’s brain about early Creation releases, let Windy go on about Durutti Column, hang around for an after-hours performance. Stormy is a community.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Flat Black and Circular
541 E. Grand River
East Lansing, MI 48823
About: Michigan State University—home of the second-largest undergraduate population in the United States—has but one passable record shop, located off Grand River, doors down from a Barnes & Noble, an Urban Outfitters, a Taco Bell, and just about every other stereotyped campus amenity you can dream up.
Specialty: A surprising amount of vinyl hip-hop caters to the DJ population, while rank and file indie kids will find few better places to dine on that distinctly 1990’s brand of post rock.
What They’re Missing: A respectable electronic section and any semblance of a back catalog—please don’t make me hit that Barnes and Noble to find a PJ Harvey CD. It belittles us both.
Why We Love It: FBC is located in an unassuming, office-space type of building, but make your way up the stairwell and you’re greeted by a seven foot tall arch of old 45’s. St. Peter should count himself lucky to guard a port so alluring.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Vintage Vinyl
6610 Delmar
St. Louis, MO 63130
About: Located on a block of bars and restaurants that serve St. Louis’s Washington University, Vintage Vinyl cradles the area’s local scene as well as offering waves of jazz, blues, and rock music.
Specialty: Vintage Vinyl seems particularly proud of St. Louis’s rich jazz history, as well as prominently displaying its local artists. It’s also the only game in town.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl, strangely enough. Those waves of records all come on plastic.
Why We Love It: So admittedly, this has very little to do with record shopping, but about a block down from Vintage Vinyl lies Blueberry Hill, a salty BBQ joint with a drinking problem, a wall of dart-boards, and enough famous patrons to wallpaper its halls. Stylus heartily recommends the Hickory Burger. Your St. Louis experience begins and ends on Delmar.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
About: The Electric Fetus is a Minneapolis institution, stranded above Highway 35 amongst the dying brick store-fronts along Franklin Avenue, since 1969. Not only is it enormous for a non-chain record store, visitors receive their own free patchouli dousing upon entrance.
Specialty: The Fetus’ specialty is really in its completeness: they carry well-rounded selections of everything from the standards—jazz to R&B to pop—and they’ve even added an experimental music section in the past few months. They go out of their way to make sure they don’t “specialize,” so they can just carry everything you might ever want.
What They’re Missing: Their import selections need improvement (TVotR has taken far too long to come in), and their electronic music selection typically lacks the prominent European releases.
Why We Love It: As one can imagine, the Minneapolitans on Stylus have spent their fair share of time traipsing the Midwest, and Chicago included, we’ve still never seen a record store that can keep up with the Fetus’ overall selection.
[Derek Miller]
Treehouse Records
2557 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55405
About: Treehouse Records is a developing landmark for indie records and CDs, started by Mark Trehus, the former maverick owner of Oarfolkjokeopus Records, in 2001.
Specialty: Treehouse specializes in both vinyl LPs and vinyl 45s, but they also happen to have the best used CD selection for recent indie releases (please, keep this to yourself). As such, you can profit on the cheap for Lynlakers needing beer money for the eve.
What They’re Missing: Their electronic music LPs are all but non-existent, but given they specialize in indie and punk music, perhaps that’s not such a pitfall.
Why We Love It: Treehouse is one of a handful of ‘mom and pop’ record stores left in Minneapolis that packs both quaint charm—the entire place has that earthy tree-mold smell like they’re recovering from a flood and have yet to peel out the carpets—and a wide-enough selection to get what you need.
[Derek Miller]
Budget Music & Video
1944 S. Broadway
Minot, ND 58701
About: Minot's only used CD store. Also offers new CD's, DVD's, posters, smoking gear, and really smelly incense.
Specialty: The only place in town to get independent popular music.
What They’re Missing: If you're in Minot, ND, you're in no position to be picky.
Why We Love It: My competitive record-shopping side is reluctant to divulge this secret. But most people will never make it to Minot, so I might as well. As the town's only receptacle of used CD's, Budget is a fascinating barometer of the residents' tastes. Over time, the selection has diversified from country and hair metal to more alternative stuff. Used CD's vary in price, with a huge dollar bin. What's gold in NY is probably wood in ND, so I always leave with armloads of cheap CD's, all reeking of incense.
[Cosmo Lee]
West
Amoeba Records
Locations in Hollywood, Berkeley, and San Francisco
About: The cliché goes that Amoeba is the 800 lb. gorilla in the Los Angeles record world. It’s a cliché for a reason. Amoeba is probably the Bay Area’s best export since Jerry Garcia, depending on your feelings for the Dead. Amoeba landed in Los Angeles via Berkeley in late 2001 with a bang, immediately becoming Los Angeles’ largest record store (and one of the largest in the world).
Specialty: Due to its sheer immensity, Amoeba has the capacity to store double or even triple the amount of records and CDs of its competitors. Plus, its used CDs are usually lower-priced than anywhere else in town and often include brand-new and hard-to-find albums.
What They’re Missing: A sense of equity. Though Amoeba is customer’s dream, its sheer size, and buying power have obliterated the competition. When Los Angeles landmarks Aron’s Records and Rhino Records shut down this year, much industry whispering circulated around the Amoeba effect playing a role in the stores’ decreased business.
Why We Love It: Over the past few months, the Raconteurs, the Secret Machines, the Mountain Goats, the Black Keys, and Silversun Pickups have been dropping in to play free in-store performances. Amoeba is a savior for those on a budget, allowing die-hard fans the opportunity to see big bands for free.
[Jeff Weiss]
Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA
About: Aquarius is best known for its enormous mailorder website, and its dense, insightful, and often snarky reviews of records. However, the shop is also a 36-year-old San Francisco institution that sits deep in the Mission District. The staff’s handwritten reviews are crammed on stickers that are taped to the CD cases.
Specialty: An underground music lover’s paradise only made possible by a staff that loves their job. There is an array of indie rock, sound-art, obscure psych, and krautrock (Conrad Schnitzler or Zippo Zetterlink, anyone?), underground metal, and recordings of elephants playing gongs.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection was rather tiny during the last time I visited.
Why We Love It: Just check out their website to understand Aquarius’s love for the leftfield or the obscure. And if you visit the shop, say hello to The Wire contributor Jim Haynes, who works there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Groove Merchant Records
687 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA
About: “This one goes out to my man, the Groove Merchant / Coming through with beats for which I’ve been searching / Like two sealed copies of [classic Lonnie Smith album] Expansions / I’m like Tom Vu with yachts and mansions,” Beastie Boy Mike D raps in “Professor Booty.” This 16-year-old store is like a classroom for DJs, producers and beat junkies from around the world. Founders Michael and Jody McFadin are best known for creating Ubiquity Records.
Specialty: Funk, jazz, soul, and Latin grooves so rare they’re on the EPA’s endangered species list. They also have a great vinyl collection of leftfield hip-hop, broken beat, and reggae.
What They’re Missing: A lot of gems get quickly sold out, and some of the prices reflect “niche market for financially successful DJs.”
Why We Love It: Ask a clerk about an obscure record and odds are that you’ll receive a detailed history of its origins, players, and tips on where the coolest breaks are.
[Cameron Macdonald]
The Hindenburg
Near 21st and K streets
Sacramento, CA
About: This now-defunct shop was a prime hangout and volunteer-run record shop for Sacramento’s punk underground during the 1990s. The shop itself was crammed into a tiny and dimly-lit, attic-like room. “Resist the Mindfuck” was written across a wall (I vaguely recall).
Specialty: Homemade, DIY rock and punk records, along with dollar-bin obscurities and novelties. I once purchased copies of DC minimalist-punks The Warmers’ lone album and Martin Denny’s Exotica during one visit.
What They’re Missing: Their existence. Sacramento has screamed for an DIY record shop for too many years.
Why We Love It: The Hindenburg was a fine place where DIY punk culture provided an alternative to Sacramento’s Tower Records and Virgin Megastore.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Red Devil Records
894 Fourth St.
San Rafael, CA
About: I encountered this tiny shop in the small Napa Valley town of Petaluma a few years back, and tripped over a trove. Original, sealed LP copies of the Stooges’ self-titled debut and PublicMetal Box (in its metal container) were perched behind the counter. Red Devil had since relocated to downtown San Rafael.
Specialty: This shop has a rep for stocking loads of punk records and knows about collector’s items well. My prized find: a radio promo copy of Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing.
What They’re Missing: Rare punk records that are slightly cheaper than Collector’s Prices would be nice.
Why We Love It: Red Devil is proof-positive that mom-and-pop record shops can still have the upper hand on the chain-stores when it comes to offering rock artifacts.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Open Mind Music
342 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA
About: A vinyl junkie’s realm that’s saturated in arcane and contemporary wax. The lower Haight shop can maraud the wallet and swallow up an entire afternoon of your free time.
Specialty: An abundance of hip-hop, psych, post-techno, indie-rock, dollar-bin corporate rock, jazz, and 80s new wave on vinyl. My prized find: A Japanese imported copy of Christian Marclay’s famous Record Without a Cover on white vinyl.
What They’re Missing: The CD selection can be minuscule and nearly unnoticeable at times.
Why We Love It: The shop can be a quieter and better-stocked alternative to the mammoth Amoeba Music that stands a mile away.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Tone Vendor
Formerly a physical store in Sacramento, CA
About: Tone Vendor was the only reason why I visited midtown Sacramento for a few years. The store was an ideal independent operation that stocked generous amounts of vinyl, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and paintings by local artists.
Specialty: Tone Vendor’s online catalog is mainly dedicated to indie-pop, but there is also a fine taste for punk, hip-hop, psych, and experimental music.
What They’re Missing: The owners closed shop and moved back to Florida last year, leaving an asteroid-sized cultural crater in Sacramento.
Why We Love It: It sometimes seemed like whatever was reviewed in Stylus or The Wire would be stocked at Tone Vendor. The staff’s friendliness and music addiction always made the place an easy excuse to blow off an afternoon there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
101 Music
1414 Grant Ave. & 513 Green St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
About: Actually two stores in the scenic North Beach section of San Francisco. One specializes in collector’s vinyl and the other is the ultimate mixed-bag: tens of thousands of unsorted records in the basement priced at five dollars each.
Specialty: Vinyl, particularly vinyl of the 1970s. Jazz, Rock and Classical are given equal stand here, and there’s a lot of it. The Green Street store is a great place to kill a few hours and maybe find something good if you can wade through the high stacks of old music and recording equipment.
What They’re Missing: You want music made in the 21st century? Go to Amoeba.
Why We Love It: After flipping through shiny Love originals and well-preserved releases from Eno’s Obscure label, I can walk across the street, spend four hours in the basement and come out with Dusseldorf by La Dusseldorf, four different recordings of the same Francis Poulenc piano work, and Tim Curry’s entire studio output.
[Mike Orme]
Hear Music
1809 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
About: Starbucks mini-chain does a little right by emphasizing the process of music discovery, and a little wrong by being a Starbucks brand.
Specialty: Each visit to Hear Music tells a story, whether it’s browsing themed listening stations (with themes from “Cities” to specific moods or times of the day) or querying the friendly and highly knowledgeable staff. Hear Music is like a casino: the blueprints don’t allow you to leave without seeing an opportunity to spend money—and possibly getting a big payoff.
What They’re Missing: While the quality guidance from the staff comes for free, the product sells for a premium … sometimes too high for independent record store shoppers who browse at Hear and then “buy the CDs at Amoeba.”
Why We Love It: While Hear Music’s corporate image doesn’t impress and these days MSRP isn’t too appetizing, the store is definitely on to something. Many shops have played around with multimedia sampling stations, but Hear chooses to push a combination of shopper searching, editorial features, and employee know-how for music discovery, and their corporate sponsorship means they’re not encumbered with such burdens as being cool or trying to be tastemakers. Looks like it’s paid off for them: new Hear Music Coffeehouse in San Antonio and Miami recently opened, joining the Berkeley store and coffeehouse store in Santa Monica.
[Mike Orme]
Rasputin Records
2401 Telegraph Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
About: Bay Area independent chain second in stature only to Amoeba Records
Specialty: Comprehensive selection of independent/major label releases in nearly all genres, with well-stocked back catalogue. Punk and metal sections are the best in the US.
What They're Missing: Electronic section is skimpy.
Why We Love It: Actually, no one loves Rasputin. The mail order service is dodgy, the employees constantly look beaten-down, and the only way to get around the five floors of the San Francisco branch is a tiny elevator that some poor employee operates for hours each day. But the huge selection is second only to Amoeba's, with comparably low prices. Rasputin has even adopted a similarly generous return policy. The punk and metal buyers deserve medals, as those sections are the biggest and best by far of any US record store. If you can't find something in the Berkeley location, just walk down a block to Amoeba—those are the two best blocks of record shopping in the world.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rockaway Records
2395 Glendale Blvd.
Silverlake, CA
About: In recent years, most of the stalwarts of the Los Angeles record store world have shuttered their doors. But despite all this industry consolidation, Silverlake’s Rockaway Records, is still going strong after 27 year, despite a name change and two different moves.
Specialty: Rockaway is perfect for the serious music collector. Whether it’s old T. Rex ticket stubs, Led Zeppelin concert tour jackets, or classic vinyl records in mint condition, Rockaway has everything to satisfy die-hards—provided they can afford it.
What They’re Missing: Though it might be nit-picking, on any given day Rockaway’s CD in-stock can be pretty thin and their used vinyl can be pricy.
Why We Love It: Where else are you going to find the only 1976 Bob Marley Island Promotional Jacket ever made? Got $300 to spare?
[Jeff Weiss]
Sea Level Records
1716 W. Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
About: Founded in December 2001, Sea Level Records just might be Los Angeles’ pre-eminent indie-focused record store. Run by manager Todd Clifford, Sea Level is smack dab in the epicenter of Los Angeles’ music scene, as it stands just 100 feet away from The Echo, one of the Los Angeles’ premier indie music venues.
Specialty: Sea Level carries more up-and-coming LA indie records than perhaps any other store in the city. Additionally, the store constantly hosts in-store concerts and record release parties. Recently, the likes of the Silversun Pickups, Ariel Pink, the Black Angels, and Daedulus have performed.
What They’re Missing: Due to its relatively small size, Sea Level is limited to the amount of music that it can house. Though it comes pretty close to having everything you could possibly need.
Why We Love It: Sea Level has a personal touch that no other store in town has. They have regulars and know their tastes. When something new comes out that you might like, the Sea Level employees always know where to direct you. Conversely, if you’re about to purchase the new Meat Loaf album, they might convince you otherwise.
[Jeff Weiss]
Everyday Music
112 Broadway Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
About: This large independent store is part of a Northwest chain. Everyday has seen some big changes in the last couple years, adding a second floor to effectively double their space, but this Capitol Hill staple still offers a great used selection and a friendly staff who insists on playing pretty post-rock all day.
Specialty: Best used selection in Seattle, hands down. This is one of the better places to go in Seattle for recent rock, electronic, and experimental releases. Staff is willing to cut the discs open for listening stations as well.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection is a little weird—I mean, how many copies of the Batman soundtrack can you reasonably expect to sell for four dollars? Jazz and classical could probably use a catalog injection as well.
Why We Love It: I had my first experiences with Tortoise and Glenn Branca at this store, and that was hot shit.
[Mike Orme]
Jackpot Records
203 SW 9th Ave or 3736 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
About: The third branch of Portland's pride-and-joy media trifecta—get a book at Powell's, a film at Movie Madness, and a record or two at Jackpot—is almost as good as your friends tell you when they meet you at the airport.
Specialty: Indie rock and vinyl—this month's canon is as well-covered as you could hope, they're dutiful about selling imports early and for manageable prices, and Jackpot's vinyl selection, particularly on Hawthorne, is a pleasingly deep grab-bag of established classics and stuff you might actually buy, at prices at which you might actually buy it.
What They're Missing: Curious omissions in Jackpot's CD back-catalog might not actually abound, but they're definitely there. Other times their selections by particular artists may seem perverse—some Wednesdays it seems they've got everybody's Metal Machine Music and nothing else—but then again you can go to Borders for the canon; record stores are for the rest.
Why We Love It: Because the week I moved here I wandered into the Hawthorne location, bought an Ella Fitzgerald record for $2, and listened to it on a really terrible turntable while drinking cranberry juice from a wine glass. They could institute a store policy under which they shoot you when you walk in and it wouldn't ruin that.
[Theon Weber]
Reverb Records
3623 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214-5143
About: The idea is that everything's under $10. And though Reverb may abandon its otherwise admirably followed rule when pricing items for collectors with a capital C, if you just want to hear stuff you can walk out with change.
Specialty: Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl. The CD section, piled thin, occupies a cramped stretch of cobweb-strewn wall; the vinyl section is, essentially, the store, and though there's little here that your dad hasn't heard of, there's a lot he doesn't have. Perfect for cheap-and-thorough excavations of the less savory parts of well-known artists' back catalogues. The 75s section is bigger than it has to be, too, and what Reverb files under "Independent" most indie shops aren't aware exists.
What They're Missing: Anything recorded after 1985. It isn't that the occasional Pavement or late-period Depeche Mode record won't float to the surface from time to time, but Reverb's a 70s-and-back store at heart, venturing consistently into the present only for local bands and for the seriously little-heard. And since it's also a used store at heart, without much reliable influx, your luck's in inverse proportion to the luck of the guy before you.
Why We Love It: $10. And the fan, which stutters like an old typewriter.
[Theon Weber]
Cellophane Square
115 E. Magnolia Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225
About: A short bus ride from Western Washington University, Cellophane Square is a big building plastered with posters, filled with CDs, and situated at perhaps the most useful intersection in town; its neighbors are a Taco stand, the bus station, and another record store (the also commendable Avalon Music).
Specialty: Solid selection of hip-hop, electronic music, and indie rock covering new and old releases, with a good variety of local acts as well.
What They’re Missing: No noticeable flaws; rather it lacks any distinction to make it genuinely magnificent.
Why We Love It: It has a nice but not fantastic range, and prices are usually better at the mall, but I still like going here. The staff are cool, and the store has a slightly musty smell, giving it a unique quality you can’t get from your local Best Buy. Open late, it’s a warm refuge downtown from the constant Pacific Northwest downpour.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Wax Trax
638 E. 13th St.
Denver, CO 80203
About: Within spitting distance of a church and a junior high school, the red brick Wax Trax complex fills half a block in Denver’s Capitol Hill. The place is a true-blue record shop, from the crammed, confusing racks to the typically indifferent clerks. Really two adjacent shops, the vinyl side is Mile High’s best bet for used records.
Specialty: Punk and metal, but more importantly, soul. Other shops have higher volume, but Wax Trax has style. Navigating it can be a hassle, but it’s yet one more reminder that business comes second.
What They’re Missing: The shop’s out of step with press hype, causing some gaps. Their electro- and dance- stuff is about five years dated, and the hip-hop section is little more than a token effort.
Why We Love It: It’s a relic of another age. Instead of clearing space for anti-Bush bobbleheads to boost slumping music sales, Wax Trax has hand-decorated boxes for local comps. Precisely coded name cards are replaced with Sharpie-scrawled biographical tidbits and exhaustive listings of side projects. Enjoy it while you can.
[Bryan Berge]
Twist and Shout
300 E. Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80209
About: Denver’s largest independent music store, Twist and Shout is the type of all-everything shop that keeps the shelves full and the selection wide. They’re also the type of shop that sells t-shirts and hemp products, but the vastness of the place makes wading through a few Tool t-shirts mostly worth it.
Specialty: It may sound sort of silly, but you’ve rarely seen a store cover rock music so well: Amon Duul to Frank Zappa, Twist and Shout carries the extensive back-catalogs of rock’n’roll’s footnotes. A surprisingly strong selection of music-related literature—from the 33 1/3 series to a shelf of Bob Dylan tomes—conveniently placed near relevant artists makes for nasty impulse buying.
What They’re Missing When your catalog is this vast, some things are bound to get overlooked, and while the World Music and Electronic sections look large, they’re months behind on new releases, poorly organized, and rarely re-stocked. The store’s vinyl is relegated to a small shop across the street, with a pricey, meager selection. Not sure anyone would complain if the staff was friendlier/more knowledgeable, either.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the biggest, best shop in town, and the only place a Denver visitor needs to turn to get a handle on the city’s music scene.
[Andrew Gaerig]
International
Track Records
50 Goodramgate
York
North Yorkshire
YO1 7LF
About: Despite a recent switch-o-change-o of location, Track Records remain based in the city literally tens of people are still calling the Former Viking Capital of Great Britain. They have provided records to slovenly cynics with no appetite for major outlets since 1979.
Specialty: Track try to flog a bit of everything. New releases rub shoulders with the usual Rock/Pop back catalogue, who subsequently cosy up to oddly disproportionate Metal and Country sections. You might find what you came in for. You might not. Anything you do want could be curiously expensive or ridiculously undervalued. It’s a lottery of a place. If downstairs becomes tiresome, an out of place Swiss-chalet staircase can be followed to a mini-horde of vinyl, which dwells alongside other marginalised genres deemed unfit for general consumption (bad luck, Jazz) and a few t-shirts.
What They’re Missing: A ceiling high enough for persons taller than 6’2” to remain comfortably unacquainted with. And someone who knows the alphabet. The record racks are cheerfully inspired by the city’s most famous street; The Shambles.
Why We Love It: I live in a small market town where, although everything is charmingly picturesque and quaint, the best hope of acquiring any music is at the supermarket. Track Records may not have been the finest independent record store to ever grace the planet, but as the only shop within a 30 mile radius that had a chance of stocking semi-obscure 80’s bands, it held—and still holds—a special place in my heart. Besides, how many other record shops can you walk out of and see this? Exactly.
[Peter Parrish]
Alt Vinyl
61/62 Thornton Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
ne1 4aw
UK
About: Coming out of nowhere in 2003, Alt Vinyl has cracked the back of an already established record store market in Newcastle.
Specialty: Unsurprisingly enough, Alt Vinyl really knows its vinyl. Rare Clash seven inches sit happily on the walls next to the latest single-sided lathe cut. This isn't a hipster emporium though, you can still get your Coldplay CDs here and they won't snigger. Their famous Curious and Carnal section stocks some tasty promos and antiques for rock bottom prices. The newly installed local section brings together the area's finer talents (and that’s not even including the obvious Maximo Park and The Futureheads).
What They’re Missing: They could do with a having a late Thursday night opening slot. Those of us on the daily office grind could do with a few extra hours flipping through the racks.
Why We Love It: The Alt Vinyl team manage to balance a musical anal retentiveness with a waving-their-hands-in-the-air passion for music.
[Scott McKeating]
Rough Trade Shop
130 Talbot Road
London
W11 1JA
About: The Rough Trade Shop has history on its side. Located in Notting Hill near the historic store’s original location, Rough Trade spawned the post-punk record label of the same name and inspired an army of fashionable windowlickers on Talbot Road.
Specialty: Extremely fresh new releases crowd the bins here. There isn’t much space here, so there’s a lot of turnover. Of course, there’s always a little space reserved for Rough Trade’s tastemaking genre compilations.
What They’re Missing: As mentioned above, there’s not much space in this store, so the selection is pretty limited, and rather expensive at that. Don’t come here expecting to find some great used shopping—come here to keep up with the Joneses.
Why We Love It: Rough Trade is a pilgrimage. You’ve really never lived until you’ve been to London, braved the Tube to Notting Hill, wandered down Portobello into Rough Trade, paid far too much for a 12 inch single that was pressed five hours prior, walked out, and turned your nose up at the professional class.
[Mike Orme]
Sister Ray
34-35 Berwick Street
London
WIV 3RF
About: Central attraction to Soho record mecca Berwick Street, a place featured in countless music videos and the cover to Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. Formerly located in cramped premises at the strip club filled end furthest from Oxford Street, Sister Ray recently took over the more spacious and central Selectadisc.
Specialty: Always unfailingly excellent for new indie releases and rarities, they’ve now added Selectadisc’s expansive back catalogue section and a fantastic range of North American imports.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection is still comparatively limited and prices on better known stuff can rarely compete with the nearby likes of Mister CD. Their tendency to play unlistenable records very loudly also varies from endearing to annoying depending on mood.
Why We Love It: The reassuring knowledge that they’re very likely to have whatever new release the local megastores have failed on (Jeniferever, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene). And without Sister Ray coming through on the Arctic Monkeys’ debut single I’d now be 100 eBay pounds poorer.
[Iain Forrester]
Volcanic Tongue
Rooms 3&4
1129 Argyle Street
Glasgow, Scotland
G3 8ND
About: With material ranging from the blackest Japanese folk, Leeds’ dirtiest noise, and reissued glorious psychedelia, you’d need to be dead from the neck up to not find something to match your taste. The handmade shelving, fanatical staff, the sheer number of records in the intimate space makes it clear this is first and foremost a labor of love / obsession. Can you name another store with a Jandek shrine?
Specialty: As a store, label, and mail order / distribution company it’s swiftly become a lightning rod for the free/drone/noise/psych scenes. VT stocks all of those records that you would normally never have a chance of finding, unless you had some umbilical connection to the bands in question. Poetry books, t-shirts, DVDs, cassettes and CD-Rs—the place is jam-packed, and it demands more than a cursory visit.
What They’re Missing: Space and a more central location. It took me 30 minutes going up and down the road to find it.
Why We Love It: If the leftfield is your thing, then you can’t help but get seduced. Their weekly email updates cover such a huge amount of stock, and feature mini-reviews to let you know exactly what’s coming out. There isn’t anywhere else that does such a comprehensive round-up of what’s what in international underground music.
[Scott McKeating]
Remix
Via del Fiume 9
00186 Rome
Italy
About: Rome's primary DJ shop.
Specialty: 12"s of all kinds, from house to techno to new wave classics.
What They’re Missing: Techno selection leans towards minimal stuff.
Why We Love It: Rome isn't known for DJ record shops; Remix is the best place for that (L'Orso Buddy, at Via Crescenzio 41, may also be worth a look). The ambience is very "Rome," with photos of local DJ's on the ceiling and the trendy Via del Corso shopping area nearby. The selection is decent across all genres; if you're looking for classic '80s 12"s, you might strike gold here. It’s also a good place to pick up flyers for Rome's nightclub/party scene. Any place with a copy of X-101 signed by Mike Banks and Jeff Mills deserves a visit.
[Cosmo Lee]
Metropoli Rock
Via Cavour 72
Rome, Italy 184
About: Near Termini Station, on the treacherous Via Cavour, Metropoli Rock is a fascinating study in the vicissitudes of shopping for records in Italy. As tiny, cramped, and disorganized as a squatter's knapsack, it nonetheless proffers rewards for those with the patience and time to scratch beneath the surface.
Specialty: Overpriced home-grown pressings of UK/US faves (Italian pressings of the Cure's Mixed Up were going for 40 Euro) mostly serve to conceal the much-less-costly local artists. They also seem to do a fair trade in CD singles, comps, and impulse buys—I imagine most of the indigenous shoppers come here for a quick 10 euro fix—the shop reminds me of nothing so much as rap-fixated storefronts in DC and Manhattan, peddling the Europop/trance equivalent of East Coast mixtapes.
What They’re Missing: Only a sense of organization—ANY kind of organization. Also, I got the sense from my last visit that there was a certain suspicion of those trudging through the dusty, unsorted reams of vinyl. Considering that the clutter had not been re-organized one bit since my last visit there TWO YEARS prior I can understand why.
Why We Love It: Despite (or maybe because of) the lack of sense in the racks, one finds some delicious obscurities hanging about. Also, the lack of sophistication parallels Roma in general—that bizarre combination of Third World Country and World Class City that is part of why the ancient capital remains so charming and so strange. Also, when one finally collects the overpriced records that have been sitting on the shelves long enough to be more dust than wax, one finds that the process of checking out involves a serious, drawn-out haggle with the owner.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Soul Food
Via San Giovanni in Laterano, 192-194
Rome, Italy 184
About: Weave past the "gladiatori" in sweat socks and digital watches, avoid all three Caesars, and make your way down the Via San Giovanni in Laterano to the hippest record store in the Eternal City.
Specialty: Soul Food rocks the 60's and 70's vibe well enough but has tasty treats on offer from every decade of pop music past. Funk, soul, punk, garage, psyche, jazz and power-pop all get love here—but it's mainly reissues (primarily on vinyl) that Soul Food stocks with unimpeachable taste.
What They’re Missing: Not much—there's little new music to be had here, but that's part of the point of Soul Food—they eschew the Tower / Virgin-esque ethos of big Rome record stores like Disfunzioni Musicali and Ricordi to focus on retro sounds and vinyl.
Why We Love It: Let's face it—record shopping in my favorite city is a daunting prospect—arrogant employees, high prices, mysteriously-labelled stock, and typically Mediterranean insouciance make for a frustrating experience. Soul Food, beyond their awesome stock of reprints, are admirable for flipping all the negatives of record shopping in Rome upside-down. A ridiculously friendly and helpful staff, casual and intimate atmosphere, and a small but deep selection make for the best vinyl-digging experience in Roma. Buying records in Italia without some greebo breathing down your neck? Priceless. Scoring a sweet Kraftwerk t-shirt for 10 Euro while the Delta 5 compilation plays in the background? Off the map.
[Mallory O’Donnell]
Jet Set Records
410 Shimomaruya-cho (5th & 6th Floors), Kawaramachi-Sanjo,
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
About: Located in the lively downtown center of Kyoto, Jet Set Records offers the selection of a DJ specialty shop with a number of rock titles and an enchanting selection of novel electronic and electro-acoustic releases from primarily Japan and Europe.
Specialty: Electronic/House in the 6th floor store, and jazz, soul, world, and dancehall reggae in the 5th floor store. There’s a healthy serving of vinyl, but CD’s can be found too, especially in rock & electronic music.
What They’re Missing: In the end, Jet Set is a DJ shop, so casual record-seekers should obviously beware that much of the store may not specifically appeal to them. Specifically, the rock section is probably going to be a little thin for some, but in general the store has a nice selection of cross-over genres.
Why We Love It: This writer was first turned on to Junior Boys, Hypo, and a lot of Childisc artists via Jet Set. The old Pan Am memorabilia makes the place a worthy visit even if you’re not in the market for music.
[Mike Orme]
Third Ear Music
23 Shenkin Street
Tel Aviv, Israel
About: Forget the conflict in the Middle East, the rather cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv actually possesses one hell of a record store, right next to the bustling Dizengoff shopping center. With a stellar collection of vinyl and CD in a myriad of genres, this is a diamond in the rough for a place with fairly repetitive music stores.
Specialty: Unlike other Israeli music stores, this store is defined by its extensive assortment of sub-genres of music abroad, including oddly prodigious stacks of jazz, psych, folk, metal, punk, noise, and electronic music, on both record and compact disc.
What They’re Missing: The record collection could be more extensive, and some electronic titles could stand a bit of a price cut, but that's a complaint at many music shops.
Why We Love It: Well, for one, prices. A great deal of music, especially UK and Japanese imports, are much cheaper than in the States, Anywhere where you can buy Can's Future Days and Faust's IV for a combined twelve bucks is at least worth visiting. But it's also unique for containing CD's that are usually sold out or absent from many CD stores, like Herbie Hancock's Crossings and mu-ziq's Lunatic Harness, both for under ten dollars.
[Tal Rosenberg]
JB Hifi
Kotara Homemaker Centre
Building D, Shop 5 & 6
Kotara, NSW 2289
(And other locations around Australia)
About: Chain specializing in budget price music, movies, and electronics, with the strip mall banality of its exterior hiding a range and depth worthy of an indie record store.
Specialty: Being very cheap. With standard prices about a third cheaper than other stores, it’d be worth a visit even if its collection was no better than your average department store. But when its bargain bins look better than other chain stores’ entire catalogues, my visits all too frequently result in me leaving with a $2 Built to Spill album or a $5 Go! Team record.
What They’re Missing: While the range of recent releases is superb, lower profile older albums are more difficult to come by. At times its chain store qualities can’t help showing, making for a somewhat cold, impersonal experience.
Why We Love It: Apart from heavily discounted stock, its best quality is the way it manages to feel like an indie record store, despite being located in a gigantic warehouse. The promotion, for instance, is endearingly amateur; TV on the Radio’s latest release is advertised with a staff-member’s hand-drawn picture of Cookie Monster. The selection, too, seems motivated less by the clinical approach of a large corporation, and more by the idiosyncratic whims of a record obsessive. It has an admirable range of box sets and vinyl, and a refreshing willingness to do stupid things like import bulk amounts of Kanye West and G-Unit mixtapes across the Pacific, less because there is a demand for such releases, and more because the store has the ability stock them.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Red Eye Records
66 King St
Sydney, NSW 2000
About: Sydney’s largest independent music store, Red Eye is a local icon and the starting point for any music obsessive in the city.
Specialty: Between its two locations, the original two story King Street store (downstairs for new stock, upstairs for used) and the Pitt Street location for used and collectors’ items, Red Eye is ground zero for a day’s music shopping in the city. A nice touch is its practice of including a brief description on the front of every release in the store.
What They’re Missing: Despite an exhaustive range of every form of rock imaginable, the hip-hop section is irritatingly patchy.
Why We Love It: The admirable range is a definite plus, as is the well-stocked second-hand section, but my favorite thing about Red Eye is the vinyl and multitude of turntables provided for listening. I’ve killed many an afternoon picking selections of obscure remixes and b-sides from the punk and electronic sections, and, with headphones on and a big stack of records sitting beside me, coming to the realization that I could never buy even half the great music I was listening to.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Black Market
Gonzagagasse 9
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
About: The bricks & mortar component to online DJ shop soulseduction.com.
Specialty: Anything with an electronic beat—house, techno, broken beat, hip-hop, etc.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: The one time I visited, the store had a lingerie fashion show. I kid you not. Normally, when I'm listening to records, I'm locked in. But tons of scantily clad women walking around with drinks—that was distracting. I don't know if that sort of thing happens often there, or if that's adequate endorsement, but the store's selection is more than enough to recommend it. This is the rare place that's good for both breakbeat junkies and four-on-the-floor purists. Particularly impressive is the selection of dancefloor techno—Intec, Naples sound, Spanish techno, etc.
[Cosmo Lee]
Core Tex
Oranienstrasse 3
10997 Berlin
Germany
About: Punk megastore in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: CD's, DVD's, vinyl, and clothing for all flavors of punk, from '77 to Oi to hardcore to metalcore.
What They’re Missing: More metal would be nice (a personal bias), especially since most hardcore these days is practically metal.
Why We Love It: A punk store that's not a rathole! In fact, this store is huge, clean, and professional. The hardcore punk selection is incredibly deep—how Germans know about obscure West Coast labels is beyond me. Need that old Integrity album or Champion split EP? You'll find it here. The clothing selection is jaw-dropping, with racks and racks (two walls' worth) of band T-shirts, hoodies, and Doc Martens. The staff is friendly, too, patiently putting up with my lack of Deutsche. If you call yourself a punk, this store is Mecca.
[Cosmo Lee]
Hard Wax
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44a
10999 Berlin
Germany
About: Legendary techno record store in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: Techno along the Berlin-Detroit axis, reggae, drum 'n' bass, dubstep.
What They're Missing: The latest trendy minimal records, though there is some of that.
Why We Love It: This place oozes history. Founded by one of the Basic Channel guys, this store is central to the Berlin-Detroit techno connection. Here, you'll find all those Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Burial Mix, and Maurizio records that sell for loads on eBay. You'll also find classic records by the Detroit masters, like Carl Craig, Robert Hood, and Jeff Mills, whose selection is so well-stocked he gets his own section on the website. Chicago, the birthplace of all things jacking, is well-represented, along with UK techno, especially the Birmingham sound (Surgeon, Regis, Downwards, etc.). True to the spirit of Basic Channel, there's also a large reggae selection. Come here enough, and you may spot Richie Hawtin or Ricardo Villalobos shopping for records.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rotation Records
Weinbergsweg 3
10119 Berlin
Germany
About: Minimal techno record store in the Mitte district of Berlin.
Specialty: 12”s, a few CD's. Used bins yield the occasional house or hard techno record.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: Minimal techno records are so common in Berlin that your neighborhood falafel stand probably sells them. What distinguishes Rotation is its pleasant atmosphere. The store is clean and new, with plenty of listening stations, several of which have a nice view of the street. The selection is strong, with all the usual suspects—Crosstown Rebels, M_nus, Poker Flat, and so on. Used bins offer bargains and cut-rate white labels. You might also find rave classics or represses thereof. This is a good place to pick up flyers for Berlin's raging club scene.
[Cosmo Lee]
Encore Records
54 Queen St S
Kitchener, ON N2G 1V6
About: Tucked away across the street from a big second hand book store in Kitchener's downtown, Encore (motto: “Not a dog disc in the dump!”) is surprisingly big on the inside and has that weathered, not-dirty-but-definitely-not-clean feel that all the best record stores have.
Specialty: As Kitchener is not exactly a huge metropolis, stores like Encore have to have breadth rather than obsessive depth, and so in addition to the large main indie/rock collection that is their bread and butter they have decent, gratifyingly diverse selections of everything from metal to jazz, rap to krautrock/Japanese psych (filed together, of course).
What They’re Missing: Honestly, after years of struggling with the local HMV in next-city-over Guelph to find anything worthwhile, I have a hard time spotting any flaws in their stock, and the distance means I haven't been able to keep close tabs on how quickly they get things. But like any shop, it's not actually perfect, and of the records I was desperate to get when I first went there, the (helpful) employees had not heard of the Knife at all, let alone their album.
Why We Love It: After spending literally my entire life hours away from a half decent record shop, inadvertently walking into Encore and finding that not only did they have Coil and Muslimgauze, but that they had about ten releases apiece, plus other personal favorites like the Mountain Goats and Sleep. My utter joy at finding the place was only rivaled by my chagrin at living nearby for five years without knowing.
[Ian Mathers]
Orange Monkey Music
5 Princess St W
Waterloo, ON N2L 2X7
About: A small L-shaped space above local institution the Jane Bond (which makes some tasty vegetarian food), the Orange Monkey's proprietor is known around Guelph as DJ Charless when he runs a popular local funk/soul/R&B night; the rest of the time he runs this cozy nook stuffed to bursting with CDs, vinyl, and movies (mostly of the monster/genre variety).
Specialty: Well, the last time I visited companions walked off with the original score to Dawn of the Dead and a CD compilation of 70's porn music, and I managed to get Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies Man and Big Black's Songs About Fucking, and we collectively scratched the surface. I didn't manage to even glance at the vinyl. As with Encore, Waterloo is small enough that the Orange Monkey needs to carry a decent selection of everything, but glancing around I definitely got the impression that the place prefers music that is either hard, weird, or both. Also, zombie movies.
What They’re Missing: Well, it's certainly not the first place I'd go to look for rap music, and those cramped quarters are both part of the charm and kind of a pain in the ass; there were four of us, and I'm not sure how many more people you could have fit in the place.
Why We Love It: If you'd seen the look on my brother's face when he saw that Dawn of the Dead vinyl up on the wall, you wouldn't need to ask.
[Ian Mathers]
Rotate This!
620 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
About: Probably the biggest and best, definitely the most well known, non-chain music store in Canada's largest city, Rotate This! gets nearly as much exposure from the fact that they sell tickets for most of the shows in Toronto proper, barring the type of thing that might show up at the Air Canada Centre. It's a bit of a hipster mecca, the sort of place that's careful to note on their website that although they don't stock Britney (since you can find her anywhere) they still like her.
Specialty: Pretty much what you'd expect. Their current top ten in sales ranges from Thom Yorke to the Black Angels (pausing to take in Sufjan, the Knife, and MSTRKRFT along the way), and they have an abiding love for vinyl, striving to have as much of their stock available on LP as possible.
What They’re Missing: Well, their own website proclaims a lack of nu-country and classical as well as anything that's “not appropriate for our store, for any number of reasons.” More importantly, unless things have changed since the last time I dropped by, they're missing anything even approaching a decent filing system—many albums are filed just by letter with no divisions by band. If you're looking for something or in a hurry, you're in for the record shop equivalent of Hell.
Why We Love It: It's an institution, it's got a great selection, and don't neglect how nice it is to pick up the disc you were looking for and score tickets to that show you wanted to see at the same time.
[Ian Mathers]
South
Waterloo
600A North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
About: A well-oiled indie machine, Waterloo looms large over Austin, effectively blocking corporate chains within a twenty-mile radius of its Sixth Street location.
Specialty: Variety. Waterloo features a decent cross-section of most any genre operant today and is the perfect place to start branching out into new musical territory. The staff is friendly, and the classic works of house/funk/noise/free jazz/world music can usually be found.
What They’re Missing: Jack of all trades, master of none. Subgenre zealots will dislike Waterloo’s style, but given the store’s palatial size and high-dollar location, it simply can’t afford to exclude demographics.
Why We Love It: Waterloo’s the musical epicenter of Austin, and one of our most prominent businesses. It sets the tone for an eclectic, laid-back city.
[Bryan Berge]
Soundwaves
3509 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
About: Houston's largest independent record store chain, with nine locations.
Specialty: Comprehensive independent/major label CD/DVD selection, with some locations dedicated to surf/skate gear.
What They're Missing: Not much. Any store that, at one time, carried the entire Volume and Trance Europe Express series deserves props.
Why We Love It: I can only speak as to the Montrose branch, which has changed since I frequented its previous location. Now you have to fight your way past surf/skate gear to get to the music, and evidently now there's also a coffee house on the premises. But the selection is still huge, with decent prices. Once I came across an ultra-rare Future Sound of London release there at the same time as someone else. We had a brief confrontation, but I lost. Before shopping there, be sure to print out coupons from the website.
[Cosmo Lee]
End of an Ear
2209 South First Street
Austin, TX 78704
About: Rising from the ashes of the mighty Thirty Three Degrees, End of an Ear has staked a plot in the sweetest stretch of South Firs—a street rapidly replacing Congress as Austin’s symbolic center.
Specialty: The psych and experimental sections slay local competitors. Krautrock fans in particular will be thrilled by the bounty of Cluster, Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, and the like. Noise and industrial, amazingly enough, are equally billed with the tastefully picked rock sections.
What They’re Missing: The staff plays it safe with the electronic section, sticking mainly to the Warps and Kompakts of the world, and the vinyl could be filled in a bit.
Why We Love It: End of an Ear supports Austin, showcasing local visual artists and hosting a full calendar of in-stores, ranging from absurdo-pop to dead-serious eggheads. There’s nothing like cruising the stacks near the keg, pulsing to the drone of a local unknown.
[Bryan Berge]
Wuxtry
197 E Clayton St.
Athens, GA 30601
About: The first used CD store of its kind to open in the Southeast, Wuxtry sits dead center in the downtown area of America's definitive college music town. A short walk from UGA's Arches and agonizingly close to a Wachovia ATM machine, students and town folk alike can blow through a week's budget on Elephant 6 rarities and then head upstairs to Bizarro Wuxtry, the infinitely jaw-dropping clearinghouse of pop culture detritus, to blow an entire month's on Yo! MTV Raps trading cards.
Specialty: Athens' biggest and most diverse collection of used CD's and vinyl, it caters to the cash-strapped undergrads and the most discerning tastemakers in town. Plus, Jeff Mangum probably shopped here.
What They're Missing: Though their back collections are impressive, if you want the latest major/indie release when you roll out of bed on a Tuesday, you're probably be better off going to Best Buy.
Why We Love It: Some will chalk it up to southern hospitality, but Wuxtry does its part every day to combat the ill reputation High Fidelity to the record store clerks of the world. Doesn't matter if you're buying Spiderland, Heavier Things, or anything else not by the band the dude at the counter is currently in. He's just happy as fuck that you went to Wuxtry.
[Ian Cohen]
Full Moon Records
1653 McLendon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
About: Nestled within a neighborhood strip, Full Moon is a paragon of organization with every cubic centimeter of space utilized to dizzying effect. CDs are thankfully an afterthought, as the counter is the only site designated to a decent selection of used and new discs. Vinyl, on the other hand, is king, lovingly alphabetized and cradled in crates that seemingly never age.
Specialty: Extraordinary attention is given to rock’s lesser knowns—and that extends to all genres. Captain Beyond, Twink, Randy Holden, and Bobby Callender are as readily available as are The No-Neck Blues Band and local misfits such as The Rattler, Bon Vivants, Black Lips, and Deerhunter. Mainstays are also given their due, as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Grateful Dead, and MC5 LPs never run dry.
What They’re Missing: Stock reflects the interests of the owner, which fails to affect me as we share tastes. White belts searching out the Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens will have to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: The “second story” dollar bin has provided broke schmucks like yours truly with the essentials—and at an opportune time. Before “post-rock” could gum me with its poisonous molars, I landed ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, and Duguello in one fell swoop for $1 each. There’s nearly always some choice jazz hidden amongst the Lawrence Welk and Barbara Streisand; I can thank Full Moon for playable copies of Coltrane’s Ole and Ornette’s The Shape of Things to Come.
[Stewart Voegtlin]
Midwest
Bent Crayon
11600 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
About: Founded in the fall of 1995 by local music lover John Cellura (who has run the place basically single-handedly ever since), Bent Crayon manages to pack a healthy amount of indie, electronic, and experimental CDs and the area’s widest selection of vinyl into a small corner shop on Cleveland’s West Side, as well as doing a wealth of business through its Web site.
Specialty: Though there is a very respectable indie section (in fact, the best in the Cleveland area), Bent Crayon’s specialty is undoubtedly electronic dance music, and the latest cutting-edge European and domestic labels (Kompakt, Trapez, etc.) and everything in-between are available in force, as well as a very solid selection of back catalog.
What They’re Missing: Major labels are notably absent (except for imports and vinyl), but it isn’t like you’d miss them. They could also stand another turntable for listening purposes—there’s only one, and you could end up waiting a long time to use it behind the wrong customer.
Why We Love It: When Cellura founded the store more than a decade ago, the cards were stacked against him. There were a host of other indie-minded stores around, and the local press and hipster gossips were equally divided between loving and hating Bent Crayon—and Cellura himself, whom many labeled snobbish. Cellura gets the last laugh, however, as he has outlasted the rest of the shops and is now the only game in town. Say what you will about his personality, Cellura knows his music and his devoted clientele, and that is what has kept him in business while the larger, flashier stores have wilted.
[Todd Hutlock]
Magnolia Thunderpussy
1155 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Founded in 1970, Magnolia Thunderpussy is one of the longest-running independent record stores in the country. Despite being south of the campus area, it does fine—it’s located between two of the cities most well-traveled music venues: High Five and Little Brother’s.
Specialty: If you simply went to the store’s MySpace page, they might have you believe that they’re a vendor simply interested in getting you whatever you’d like. But with the amount of goth, metal, and EBM shirts lining the walls and a quick perusal of their weekly top sellers, it becomes quickly apparent that the store specializes in anything “dark.”
What They’re Missing: While Magnolia pays lip service to the idea of used CDs, they’re easily outclassed by the nearby Used Kids. Additionally, if you’re looking for anything dance-y that isn’t on Metropolis Records, you might want to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: Much like Mallory O’Donnell’s favorite, Café Soundz, Magnolia caters to one demographic incredibly well. While they do have a nice selection of many genres, they have a bread and butter and stick to it.
[Todd Burns]
Used Kids
1980 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Owned by Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments lead singer Ron House, Used Kids is the record store for discerning Ohio State students. Located outside of the recently renovated “Gateway” area, the store retains a charming old Columbus charm. Or is that stink?
Specialty: Used CDs. While the store is more than happy to stock the newest indie rock releases on CD and vinyl, Used Kids (as the namely clearly indicates) is primarily a haven for those looking for a deal on a classic—or a promo copy dropped off by a local writer. The secret to a successful experience? Go in without a plan and let yourself be surprised.
What They’re Missing: The hip-hop is thin, but the main sore spot is electronic music. After having a paltry selection for a long time, the last time that I went into the store I couldn’t find the section at all.
Why We Love It: With a huge turnover, cheap prices, and an unpretentious staff, Used Kids is Columbus in a nutshell.
[Todd Burns]
B-Side Records
436 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
About: Nestled in a small alcove on State Street, the main artery running directly between the Capitol building and the University of Wisconsin’s Library Mall, B-Side Records has been supplying college kids and campus visitors in Madison since 1982.
Specialty: In addition to a well-stocked indie and classic-rock selection (both requisites on the youth-and-granola-friendly campus), B-Side also carries an impressive collection of R&B, soul, and jazz, arranging discs by genre in sturdy wooden crates arranged in strategic, Tetra-esque locations throughout. Can’t find something? Look below or above you: lesser-known discs by popular artists are often kept underneath the crates or on shelves affixed to the wall (I completed my J.J. Cale and Savoy Brown collections in college by digging down a little closer to the carpet).
What They’re Missing: Due to size constraints it’s impossible for B-Side to house the entire catalog of most any band, even your most beloved. You’re oftentimes just as likely to find a piece of arcana as you are a classic, but they’re cool about ordering what they don’t have in stock.
Why We Love It: The staff: A variety of laid-back aficionados are regularly found behind the counter, proof positive that not all people working in independent record stores are supercilious dicks. Years after I finished school there, many of the same knowledgeable staff remain, ready to ring you up while chatting about most any sonic subject. You have to love any small store that inspires that kind of employee loyalty.
[Drew Miller]
Reckless Records
1532 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
About: With another store situated in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the Wicker Park location is doubtlessly the store’s flagship, if for no other reason than the neighborhood. Catering to the area’s famous (or infamous) hipster scenesters, Reckless is a competent, if somewhat disheveled, way post for Chicago music lovers.
Specialty: Completeness. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here, from indispensable CD’s and LP’s in virtually any genre to music magazines, concert tickets, rock memorabilia and obscure DVD’s.
What They’re Missing: Organization. No doubt due to the threat of shoplifting in the area, Reckless removes all CD’s and jewel cases from albums, leaving only the covers for customers to flip through. The result is that albums often get placed virtually anywhere, sometimes never to return to their rightful home. I’m no neat-freak, but if you suffer from OCD-like symptoms, you might want to go elsewhere, as finding what you’re looking for can be a frustrating effort in futility.
Why We Love It: In addition to a host of well-informed staff working behind the counter, Reckless tries to make sure its clientele remain similarly well-informed. Album covers oftentimes have a succinct review and trustworthy rating appended to them. I have more than once been turned on to artists about whom I knew nothing simply by poring over the attached mini-reviews in their ‘featured’ section above the pop/rock aisle.
[Drew Miller]
Dusty Groove America
1120 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
About: Simply put, if you’re looking to get your groove on in the Midwest, you need to visit this store. Dusty Groove America is a wonderland of all things funky and smooth, with lots and lots of new and used vinyl and a healthy selection of CDs. Also a fantastic Web site for mail order peeps.
Specialty: Soul, R&B, jazz, funk, etc., and lots of it, from the classics to the obscure and everywhere in-between. Dusty Groove also carries one of North America’s best selections of Brazilian music.
What They’re Missing: While Dusty Groove is a fabulous place to engage in a few hours of obscure crate digging, their selection of popular standards of the genre (like say, Stevie Wonder’s back catalog) is occasionally a little thin, especially on CD. Hardly a complaint, though. Also, expect to pay collector’s prices for some items, but nothing excessive or outrageous.
Why We Love It: The vinyl is generally in amazing shape, the store is kept clean, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and the selection is impeccable. I have never been in Dusty Groove and come away without an armful of records, usually things I had never actually seen or heard of until I walked in the door. There’s also a fun selection of turntable and record junkie accessories—ask about the Vinyl Killer!
[Todd Hutlock]
Wazoo Records
336 1/2 State St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located above a head shop in the middle of the University of Michigan campus, Wazoo makes the most of its pencil-thin space, using old wooden crates to house a surprisingly large slice of indie rock’s catalog.
Specialty: Volumes and volumes of rock’s back catalog, Wazoo makes hay off the classics other shops miss: The Pogues’ If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Syd Barrett’s Barrett, as well as stocking British imports before virtually everyone else: The Go! Team and Bloc Party come to mind.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection could be stronger; they seem to be about two weeks behind on important electronic releases.
Why We Love It: The best moment every semester: strolling out of the Science Auditorium after your last final, walking across the street into Wazoo, and blowing a week or two’s worth of wages in celebration. Freshman year I strolled in, picked up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Califone’s Sometimes Bad Weather Follows Good People and carried that last-day-of-school feeling throughout the summer.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Encore Records
417 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located just off the University of Michigan’s campus, Encore Records is a grungy little joint that doesn’t fuck with anything shrink-wrapped: the store’s labyrinthine shelves house Michigan’s largest selection of used CDs and LPs.
Specialty: Encore leaves no genre un-turned, but a heaving selection of rare ethnic music on vinyl sets the shop apart. Their devotion to the greater Detroit area’s thriving local scene is impressive: your search for that rare Wolf Eyes cassette-only release ends here.
What They’re Missing: They’re a second-hand shop, so forget finding anything new.
Why We Love It: Make an afternoon out of it: Show up with a crumpled list of records on a grey Saturday afternoon, hobnob with the Ann Arbor indie elite—members of Saturday Looks Good to Me, Dykehouse, and Nomo call the shop home—elbow your way around the other hardcores. The best part? The front counter is surrounded by two walls of used CDs not yet shelved, virgin plastic towers not yet picked over. Show up to the counter with a fistful of records and realize that you’ve still got 20 minutes of browsing to do. Sweet Saturday afternoon…
[Andrew Gaerig]
Stormy Records
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
About: A boutique-style shop owned by wife-husband ambient duo Windy & Carl, Stormy Records recently moved into a space above the venerable Green Brain Comics. The shop often hosts shows, from Frog Eyes and Destroyer to a recent Will Oldham gig, as well as sporadic appearances by the owners. A true indie, with a limited selection reflecting the tastes of the owners.
Specialty: Stormy specializes in underground ambient and experimental music, so while you can always arrive and find the latest indie releases, the true pleasure is flipping through the new releases rack and walking away with something you’ve never heard of. Hands down Detroit’s best place to gamble on cool cover art.
What They’re Missing: Lots, really. Stormy’s a specialty shop, so anything that falls outside the realm of underground rock/experimental music is thin: the store has meager selections of jazz, hip-hop, and blues. Even classic rock records—Dylan, the Stones, etc.—are in short supply, and while these holes are partially filled by a dirt-cheap selection of vinyl, Stormy is not where you go to find the staples.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the record-shopping equivalent of Cheers: Everybody knows your name. Pick the Carl’s brain about early Creation releases, let Windy go on about Durutti Column, hang around for an after-hours performance. Stormy is a community.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Flat Black and Circular
541 E. Grand River
East Lansing, MI 48823
About: Michigan State University—home of the second-largest undergraduate population in the United States—has but one passable record shop, located off Grand River, doors down from a Barnes & Noble, an Urban Outfitters, a Taco Bell, and just about every other stereotyped campus amenity you can dream up.
Specialty: A surprising amount of vinyl hip-hop caters to the DJ population, while rank and file indie kids will find few better places to dine on that distinctly 1990’s brand of post rock.
What They’re Missing: A respectable electronic section and any semblance of a back catalog—please don’t make me hit that Barnes and Noble to find a PJ Harvey CD. It belittles us both.
Why We Love It: FBC is located in an unassuming, office-space type of building, but make your way up the stairwell and you’re greeted by a seven foot tall arch of old 45’s. St. Peter should count himself lucky to guard a port so alluring.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Vintage Vinyl
6610 Delmar
St. Louis, MO 63130
About: Located on a block of bars and restaurants that serve St. Louis’s Washington University, Vintage Vinyl cradles the area’s local scene as well as offering waves of jazz, blues, and rock music.
Specialty: Vintage Vinyl seems particularly proud of St. Louis’s rich jazz history, as well as prominently displaying its local artists. It’s also the only game in town.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl, strangely enough. Those waves of records all come on plastic.
Why We Love It: So admittedly, this has very little to do with record shopping, but about a block down from Vintage Vinyl lies Blueberry Hill, a salty BBQ joint with a drinking problem, a wall of dart-boards, and enough famous patrons to wallpaper its halls. Stylus heartily recommends the Hickory Burger. Your St. Louis experience begins and ends on Delmar.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
About: The Electric Fetus is a Minneapolis institution, stranded above Highway 35 amongst the dying brick store-fronts along Franklin Avenue, since 1969. Not only is it enormous for a non-chain record store, visitors receive their own free patchouli dousing upon entrance.
Specialty: The Fetus’ specialty is really in its completeness: they carry well-rounded selections of everything from the standards—jazz to R&B to pop—and they’ve even added an experimental music section in the past few months. They go out of their way to make sure they don’t “specialize,” so they can just carry everything you might ever want.
What They’re Missing: Their import selections need improvement (TVotR has taken far too long to come in), and their electronic music selection typically lacks the prominent European releases.
Why We Love It: As one can imagine, the Minneapolitans on Stylus have spent their fair share of time traipsing the Midwest, and Chicago included, we’ve still never seen a record store that can keep up with the Fetus’ overall selection.
[Derek Miller]
Treehouse Records
2557 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55405
About: Treehouse Records is a developing landmark for indie records and CDs, started by Mark Trehus, the former maverick owner of Oarfolkjokeopus Records, in 2001.
Specialty: Treehouse specializes in both vinyl LPs and vinyl 45s, but they also happen to have the best used CD selection for recent indie releases (please, keep this to yourself). As such, you can profit on the cheap for Lynlakers needing beer money for the eve.
What They’re Missing: Their electronic music LPs are all but non-existent, but given they specialize in indie and punk music, perhaps that’s not such a pitfall.
Why We Love It: Treehouse is one of a handful of ‘mom and pop’ record stores left in Minneapolis that packs both quaint charm—the entire place has that earthy tree-mold smell like they’re recovering from a flood and have yet to peel out the carpets—and a wide-enough selection to get what you need.
[Derek Miller]
Budget Music & Video
1944 S. Broadway
Minot, ND 58701
About: Minot's only used CD store. Also offers new CD's, DVD's, posters, smoking gear, and really smelly incense.
Specialty: The only place in town to get independent popular music.
What They’re Missing: If you're in Minot, ND, you're in no position to be picky.
Why We Love It: My competitive record-shopping side is reluctant to divulge this secret. But most people will never make it to Minot, so I might as well. As the town's only receptacle of used CD's, Budget is a fascinating barometer of the residents' tastes. Over time, the selection has diversified from country and hair metal to more alternative stuff. Used CD's vary in price, with a huge dollar bin. What's gold in NY is probably wood in ND, so I always leave with armloads of cheap CD's, all reeking of incense.
[Cosmo Lee]
West
Amoeba Records
Locations in Hollywood, Berkeley, and San Francisco
About: The cliché goes that Amoeba is the 800 lb. gorilla in the Los Angeles record world. It’s a cliché for a reason. Amoeba is probably the Bay Area’s best export since Jerry Garcia, depending on your feelings for the Dead. Amoeba landed in Los Angeles via Berkeley in late 2001 with a bang, immediately becoming Los Angeles’ largest record store (and one of the largest in the world).
Specialty: Due to its sheer immensity, Amoeba has the capacity to store double or even triple the amount of records and CDs of its competitors. Plus, its used CDs are usually lower-priced than anywhere else in town and often include brand-new and hard-to-find albums.
What They’re Missing: A sense of equity. Though Amoeba is customer’s dream, its sheer size, and buying power have obliterated the competition. When Los Angeles landmarks Aron’s Records and Rhino Records shut down this year, much industry whispering circulated around the Amoeba effect playing a role in the stores’ decreased business.
Why We Love It: Over the past few months, the Raconteurs, the Secret Machines, the Mountain Goats, the Black Keys, and Silversun Pickups have been dropping in to play free in-store performances. Amoeba is a savior for those on a budget, allowing die-hard fans the opportunity to see big bands for free.
[Jeff Weiss]
Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA
About: Aquarius is best known for its enormous mailorder website, and its dense, insightful, and often snarky reviews of records. However, the shop is also a 36-year-old San Francisco institution that sits deep in the Mission District. The staff’s handwritten reviews are crammed on stickers that are taped to the CD cases.
Specialty: An underground music lover’s paradise only made possible by a staff that loves their job. There is an array of indie rock, sound-art, obscure psych, and krautrock (Conrad Schnitzler or Zippo Zetterlink, anyone?), underground metal, and recordings of elephants playing gongs.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection was rather tiny during the last time I visited.
Why We Love It: Just check out their website to understand Aquarius’s love for the leftfield or the obscure. And if you visit the shop, say hello to The Wire contributor Jim Haynes, who works there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Groove Merchant Records
687 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA
About: “This one goes out to my man, the Groove Merchant / Coming through with beats for which I’ve been searching / Like two sealed copies of [classic Lonnie Smith album] Expansions / I’m like Tom Vu with yachts and mansions,” Beastie Boy Mike D raps in “Professor Booty.” This 16-year-old store is like a classroom for DJs, producers and beat junkies from around the world. Founders Michael and Jody McFadin are best known for creating Ubiquity Records.
Specialty: Funk, jazz, soul, and Latin grooves so rare they’re on the EPA’s endangered species list. They also have a great vinyl collection of leftfield hip-hop, broken beat, and reggae.
What They’re Missing: A lot of gems get quickly sold out, and some of the prices reflect “niche market for financially successful DJs.”
Why We Love It: Ask a clerk about an obscure record and odds are that you’ll receive a detailed history of its origins, players, and tips on where the coolest breaks are.
[Cameron Macdonald]
The Hindenburg
Near 21st and K streets
Sacramento, CA
About: This now-defunct shop was a prime hangout and volunteer-run record shop for Sacramento’s punk underground during the 1990s. The shop itself was crammed into a tiny and dimly-lit, attic-like room. “Resist the Mindfuck” was written across a wall (I vaguely recall).
Specialty: Homemade, DIY rock and punk records, along with dollar-bin obscurities and novelties. I once purchased copies of DC minimalist-punks The Warmers’ lone album and Martin Denny’s Exotica during one visit.
What They’re Missing: Their existence. Sacramento has screamed for an DIY record shop for too many years.
Why We Love It: The Hindenburg was a fine place where DIY punk culture provided an alternative to Sacramento’s Tower Records and Virgin Megastore.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Red Devil Records
894 Fourth St.
San Rafael, CA
About: I encountered this tiny shop in the small Napa Valley town of Petaluma a few years back, and tripped over a trove. Original, sealed LP copies of the Stooges’ self-titled debut and PublicMetal Box (in its metal container) were perched behind the counter. Red Devil had since relocated to downtown San Rafael.
Specialty: This shop has a rep for stocking loads of punk records and knows about collector’s items well. My prized find: a radio promo copy of Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing.
What They’re Missing: Rare punk records that are slightly cheaper than Collector’s Prices would be nice.
Why We Love It: Red Devil is proof-positive that mom-and-pop record shops can still have the upper hand on the chain-stores when it comes to offering rock artifacts.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Open Mind Music
342 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA
About: A vinyl junkie’s realm that’s saturated in arcane and contemporary wax. The lower Haight shop can maraud the wallet and swallow up an entire afternoon of your free time.
Specialty: An abundance of hip-hop, psych, post-techno, indie-rock, dollar-bin corporate rock, jazz, and 80s new wave on vinyl. My prized find: A Japanese imported copy of Christian Marclay’s famous Record Without a Cover on white vinyl.
What They’re Missing: The CD selection can be minuscule and nearly unnoticeable at times.
Why We Love It: The shop can be a quieter and better-stocked alternative to the mammoth Amoeba Music that stands a mile away.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Tone Vendor
Formerly a physical store in Sacramento, CA
About: Tone Vendor was the only reason why I visited midtown Sacramento for a few years. The store was an ideal independent operation that stocked generous amounts of vinyl, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and paintings by local artists.
Specialty: Tone Vendor’s online catalog is mainly dedicated to indie-pop, but there is also a fine taste for punk, hip-hop, psych, and experimental music.
What They’re Missing: The owners closed shop and moved back to Florida last year, leaving an asteroid-sized cultural crater in Sacramento.
Why We Love It: It sometimes seemed like whatever was reviewed in Stylus or The Wire would be stocked at Tone Vendor. The staff’s friendliness and music addiction always made the place an easy excuse to blow off an afternoon there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
101 Music
1414 Grant Ave. & 513 Green St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
About: Actually two stores in the scenic North Beach section of San Francisco. One specializes in collector’s vinyl and the other is the ultimate mixed-bag: tens of thousands of unsorted records in the basement priced at five dollars each.
Specialty: Vinyl, particularly vinyl of the 1970s. Jazz, Rock and Classical are given equal stand here, and there’s a lot of it. The Green Street store is a great place to kill a few hours and maybe find something good if you can wade through the high stacks of old music and recording equipment.
What They’re Missing: You want music made in the 21st century? Go to Amoeba.
Why We Love It: After flipping through shiny Love originals and well-preserved releases from Eno’s Obscure label, I can walk across the street, spend four hours in the basement and come out with Dusseldorf by La Dusseldorf, four different recordings of the same Francis Poulenc piano work, and Tim Curry’s entire studio output.
[Mike Orme]
Hear Music
1809 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
About: Starbucks mini-chain does a little right by emphasizing the process of music discovery, and a little wrong by being a Starbucks brand.
Specialty: Each visit to Hear Music tells a story, whether it’s browsing themed listening stations (with themes from “Cities” to specific moods or times of the day) or querying the friendly and highly knowledgeable staff. Hear Music is like a casino: the blueprints don’t allow you to leave without seeing an opportunity to spend money—and possibly getting a big payoff.
What They’re Missing: While the quality guidance from the staff comes for free, the product sells for a premium … sometimes too high for independent record store shoppers who browse at Hear and then “buy the CDs at Amoeba.”
Why We Love It: While Hear Music’s corporate image doesn’t impress and these days MSRP isn’t too appetizing, the store is definitely on to something. Many shops have played around with multimedia sampling stations, but Hear chooses to push a combination of shopper searching, editorial features, and employee know-how for music discovery, and their corporate sponsorship means they’re not encumbered with such burdens as being cool or trying to be tastemakers. Looks like it’s paid off for them: new Hear Music Coffeehouse in San Antonio and Miami recently opened, joining the Berkeley store and coffeehouse store in Santa Monica.
[Mike Orme]
Rasputin Records
2401 Telegraph Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
About: Bay Area independent chain second in stature only to Amoeba Records
Specialty: Comprehensive selection of independent/major label releases in nearly all genres, with well-stocked back catalogue. Punk and metal sections are the best in the US.
What They're Missing: Electronic section is skimpy.
Why We Love It: Actually, no one loves Rasputin. The mail order service is dodgy, the employees constantly look beaten-down, and the only way to get around the five floors of the San Francisco branch is a tiny elevator that some poor employee operates for hours each day. But the huge selection is second only to Amoeba's, with comparably low prices. Rasputin has even adopted a similarly generous return policy. The punk and metal buyers deserve medals, as those sections are the biggest and best by far of any US record store. If you can't find something in the Berkeley location, just walk down a block to Amoeba—those are the two best blocks of record shopping in the world.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rockaway Records
2395 Glendale Blvd.
Silverlake, CA
About: In recent years, most of the stalwarts of the Los Angeles record store world have shuttered their doors. But despite all this industry consolidation, Silverlake’s Rockaway Records, is still going strong after 27 year, despite a name change and two different moves.
Specialty: Rockaway is perfect for the serious music collector. Whether it’s old T. Rex ticket stubs, Led Zeppelin concert tour jackets, or classic vinyl records in mint condition, Rockaway has everything to satisfy die-hards—provided they can afford it.
What They’re Missing: Though it might be nit-picking, on any given day Rockaway’s CD in-stock can be pretty thin and their used vinyl can be pricy.
Why We Love It: Where else are you going to find the only 1976 Bob Marley Island Promotional Jacket ever made? Got $300 to spare?
[Jeff Weiss]
Sea Level Records
1716 W. Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
About: Founded in December 2001, Sea Level Records just might be Los Angeles’ pre-eminent indie-focused record store. Run by manager Todd Clifford, Sea Level is smack dab in the epicenter of Los Angeles’ music scene, as it stands just 100 feet away from The Echo, one of the Los Angeles’ premier indie music venues.
Specialty: Sea Level carries more up-and-coming LA indie records than perhaps any other store in the city. Additionally, the store constantly hosts in-store concerts and record release parties. Recently, the likes of the Silversun Pickups, Ariel Pink, the Black Angels, and Daedulus have performed.
What They’re Missing: Due to its relatively small size, Sea Level is limited to the amount of music that it can house. Though it comes pretty close to having everything you could possibly need.
Why We Love It: Sea Level has a personal touch that no other store in town has. They have regulars and know their tastes. When something new comes out that you might like, the Sea Level employees always know where to direct you. Conversely, if you’re about to purchase the new Meat Loaf album, they might convince you otherwise.
[Jeff Weiss]
Everyday Music
112 Broadway Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
About: This large independent store is part of a Northwest chain. Everyday has seen some big changes in the last couple years, adding a second floor to effectively double their space, but this Capitol Hill staple still offers a great used selection and a friendly staff who insists on playing pretty post-rock all day.
Specialty: Best used selection in Seattle, hands down. This is one of the better places to go in Seattle for recent rock, electronic, and experimental releases. Staff is willing to cut the discs open for listening stations as well.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection is a little weird—I mean, how many copies of the Batman soundtrack can you reasonably expect to sell for four dollars? Jazz and classical could probably use a catalog injection as well.
Why We Love It: I had my first experiences with Tortoise and Glenn Branca at this store, and that was hot shit.
[Mike Orme]
Jackpot Records
203 SW 9th Ave or 3736 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
About: The third branch of Portland's pride-and-joy media trifecta—get a book at Powell's, a film at Movie Madness, and a record or two at Jackpot—is almost as good as your friends tell you when they meet you at the airport.
Specialty: Indie rock and vinyl—this month's canon is as well-covered as you could hope, they're dutiful about selling imports early and for manageable prices, and Jackpot's vinyl selection, particularly on Hawthorne, is a pleasingly deep grab-bag of established classics and stuff you might actually buy, at prices at which you might actually buy it.
What They're Missing: Curious omissions in Jackpot's CD back-catalog might not actually abound, but they're definitely there. Other times their selections by particular artists may seem perverse—some Wednesdays it seems they've got everybody's Metal Machine Music and nothing else—but then again you can go to Borders for the canon; record stores are for the rest.
Why We Love It: Because the week I moved here I wandered into the Hawthorne location, bought an Ella Fitzgerald record for $2, and listened to it on a really terrible turntable while drinking cranberry juice from a wine glass. They could institute a store policy under which they shoot you when you walk in and it wouldn't ruin that.
[Theon Weber]
Reverb Records
3623 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214-5143
About: The idea is that everything's under $10. And though Reverb may abandon its otherwise admirably followed rule when pricing items for collectors with a capital C, if you just want to hear stuff you can walk out with change.
Specialty: Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl. The CD section, piled thin, occupies a cramped stretch of cobweb-strewn wall; the vinyl section is, essentially, the store, and though there's little here that your dad hasn't heard of, there's a lot he doesn't have. Perfect for cheap-and-thorough excavations of the less savory parts of well-known artists' back catalogues. The 75s section is bigger than it has to be, too, and what Reverb files under "Independent" most indie shops aren't aware exists.
What They're Missing: Anything recorded after 1985. It isn't that the occasional Pavement or late-period Depeche Mode record won't float to the surface from time to time, but Reverb's a 70s-and-back store at heart, venturing consistently into the present only for local bands and for the seriously little-heard. And since it's also a used store at heart, without much reliable influx, your luck's in inverse proportion to the luck of the guy before you.
Why We Love It: $10. And the fan, which stutters like an old typewriter.
[Theon Weber]
Cellophane Square
115 E. Magnolia Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225
About: A short bus ride from Western Washington University, Cellophane Square is a big building plastered with posters, filled with CDs, and situated at perhaps the most useful intersection in town; its neighbors are a Taco stand, the bus station, and another record store (the also commendable Avalon Music).
Specialty: Solid selection of hip-hop, electronic music, and indie rock covering new and old releases, with a good variety of local acts as well.
What They’re Missing: No noticeable flaws; rather it lacks any distinction to make it genuinely magnificent.
Why We Love It: It has a nice but not fantastic range, and prices are usually better at the mall, but I still like going here. The staff are cool, and the store has a slightly musty smell, giving it a unique quality you can’t get from your local Best Buy. Open late, it’s a warm refuge downtown from the constant Pacific Northwest downpour.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Wax Trax
638 E. 13th St.
Denver, CO 80203
About: Within spitting distance of a church and a junior high school, the red brick Wax Trax complex fills half a block in Denver’s Capitol Hill. The place is a true-blue record shop, from the crammed, confusing racks to the typically indifferent clerks. Really two adjacent shops, the vinyl side is Mile High’s best bet for used records.
Specialty: Punk and metal, but more importantly, soul. Other shops have higher volume, but Wax Trax has style. Navigating it can be a hassle, but it’s yet one more reminder that business comes second.
What They’re Missing: The shop’s out of step with press hype, causing some gaps. Their electro- and dance- stuff is about five years dated, and the hip-hop section is little more than a token effort.
Why We Love It: It’s a relic of another age. Instead of clearing space for anti-Bush bobbleheads to boost slumping music sales, Wax Trax has hand-decorated boxes for local comps. Precisely coded name cards are replaced with Sharpie-scrawled biographical tidbits and exhaustive listings of side projects. Enjoy it while you can.
[Bryan Berge]
Twist and Shout
300 E. Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80209
About: Denver’s largest independent music store, Twist and Shout is the type of all-everything shop that keeps the shelves full and the selection wide. They’re also the type of shop that sells t-shirts and hemp products, but the vastness of the place makes wading through a few Tool t-shirts mostly worth it.
Specialty: It may sound sort of silly, but you’ve rarely seen a store cover rock music so well: Amon Duul to Frank Zappa, Twist and Shout carries the extensive back-catalogs of rock’n’roll’s footnotes. A surprisingly strong selection of music-related literature—from the 33 1/3 series to a shelf of Bob Dylan tomes—conveniently placed near relevant artists makes for nasty impulse buying.
What They’re Missing When your catalog is this vast, some things are bound to get overlooked, and while the World Music and Electronic sections look large, they’re months behind on new releases, poorly organized, and rarely re-stocked. The store’s vinyl is relegated to a small shop across the street, with a pricey, meager selection. Not sure anyone would complain if the staff was friendlier/more knowledgeable, either.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the biggest, best shop in town, and the only place a Denver visitor needs to turn to get a handle on the city’s music scene.
[Andrew Gaerig]
International
Track Records
50 Goodramgate
York
North Yorkshire
YO1 7LF
About: Despite a recent switch-o-change-o of location, Track Records remain based in the city literally tens of people are still calling the Former Viking Capital of Great Britain. They have provided records to slovenly cynics with no appetite for major outlets since 1979.
Specialty: Track try to flog a bit of everything. New releases rub shoulders with the usual Rock/Pop back catalogue, who subsequently cosy up to oddly disproportionate Metal and Country sections. You might find what you came in for. You might not. Anything you do want could be curiously expensive or ridiculously undervalued. It’s a lottery of a place. If downstairs becomes tiresome, an out of place Swiss-chalet staircase can be followed to a mini-horde of vinyl, which dwells alongside other marginalised genres deemed unfit for general consumption (bad luck, Jazz) and a few t-shirts.
What They’re Missing: A ceiling high enough for persons taller than 6’2” to remain comfortably unacquainted with. And someone who knows the alphabet. The record racks are cheerfully inspired by the city’s most famous street; The Shambles.
Why We Love It: I live in a small market town where, although everything is charmingly picturesque and quaint, the best hope of acquiring any music is at the supermarket. Track Records may not have been the finest independent record store to ever grace the planet, but as the only shop within a 30 mile radius that had a chance of stocking semi-obscure 80’s bands, it held—and still holds—a special place in my heart. Besides, how many other record shops can you walk out of and see this? Exactly.
[Peter Parrish]
Alt Vinyl
61/62 Thornton Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
ne1 4aw
UK
About: Coming out of nowhere in 2003, Alt Vinyl has cracked the back of an already established record store market in Newcastle.
Specialty: Unsurprisingly enough, Alt Vinyl really knows its vinyl. Rare Clash seven inches sit happily on the walls next to the latest single-sided lathe cut. This isn't a hipster emporium though, you can still get your Coldplay CDs here and they won't snigger. Their famous Curious and Carnal section stocks some tasty promos and antiques for rock bottom prices. The newly installed local section brings together the area's finer talents (and that’s not even including the obvious Maximo Park and The Futureheads).
What They’re Missing: They could do with a having a late Thursday night opening slot. Those of us on the daily office grind could do with a few extra hours flipping through the racks.
Why We Love It: The Alt Vinyl team manage to balance a musical anal retentiveness with a waving-their-hands-in-the-air passion for music.
[Scott McKeating]
Rough Trade Shop
130 Talbot Road
London
W11 1JA
About: The Rough Trade Shop has history on its side. Located in Notting Hill near the historic store’s original location, Rough Trade spawned the post-punk record label of the same name and inspired an army of fashionable windowlickers on Talbot Road.
Specialty: Extremely fresh new releases crowd the bins here. There isn’t much space here, so there’s a lot of turnover. Of course, there’s always a little space reserved for Rough Trade’s tastemaking genre compilations.
What They’re Missing: As mentioned above, there’s not much space in this store, so the selection is pretty limited, and rather expensive at that. Don’t come here expecting to find some great used shopping—come here to keep up with the Joneses.
Why We Love It: Rough Trade is a pilgrimage. You’ve really never lived until you’ve been to London, braved the Tube to Notting Hill, wandered down Portobello into Rough Trade, paid far too much for a 12 inch single that was pressed five hours prior, walked out, and turned your nose up at the professional class.
[Mike Orme]
Sister Ray
34-35 Berwick Street
London
WIV 3RF
About: Central attraction to Soho record mecca Berwick Street, a place featured in countless music videos and the cover to Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. Formerly located in cramped premises at the strip club filled end furthest from Oxford Street, Sister Ray recently took over the more spacious and central Selectadisc.
Specialty: Always unfailingly excellent for new indie releases and rarities, they’ve now added Selectadisc’s expansive back catalogue section and a fantastic range of North American imports.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection is still comparatively limited and prices on better known stuff can rarely compete with the nearby likes of Mister CD. Their tendency to play unlistenable records very loudly also varies from endearing to annoying depending on mood.
Why We Love It: The reassuring knowledge that they’re very likely to have whatever new release the local megastores have failed on (Jeniferever, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene). And without Sister Ray coming through on the Arctic Monkeys’ debut single I’d now be 100 eBay pounds poorer.
[Iain Forrester]
Volcanic Tongue
Rooms 3&4
1129 Argyle Street
Glasgow, Scotland
G3 8ND
About: With material ranging from the blackest Japanese folk, Leeds’ dirtiest noise, and reissued glorious psychedelia, you’d need to be dead from the neck up to not find something to match your taste. The handmade shelving, fanatical staff, the sheer number of records in the intimate space makes it clear this is first and foremost a labor of love / obsession. Can you name another store with a Jandek shrine?
Specialty: As a store, label, and mail order / distribution company it’s swiftly become a lightning rod for the free/drone/noise/psych scenes. VT stocks all of those records that you would normally never have a chance of finding, unless you had some umbilical connection to the bands in question. Poetry books, t-shirts, DVDs, cassettes and CD-Rs—the place is jam-packed, and it demands more than a cursory visit.
What They’re Missing: Space and a more central location. It took me 30 minutes going up and down the road to find it.
Why We Love It: If the leftfield is your thing, then you can’t help but get seduced. Their weekly email updates cover such a huge amount of stock, and feature mini-reviews to let you know exactly what’s coming out. There isn’t anywhere else that does such a comprehensive round-up of what’s what in international underground music.
[Scott McKeating]
Remix
Via del Fiume 9
00186 Rome
Italy
About: Rome's primary DJ shop.
Specialty: 12"s of all kinds, from house to techno to new wave classics.
What They’re Missing: Techno selection leans towards minimal stuff.
Why We Love It: Rome isn't known for DJ record shops; Remix is the best place for that (L'Orso Buddy, at Via Crescenzio 41, may also be worth a look). The ambience is very "Rome," with photos of local DJ's on the ceiling and the trendy Via del Corso shopping area nearby. The selection is decent across all genres; if you're looking for classic '80s 12"s, you might strike gold here. It’s also a good place to pick up flyers for Rome's nightclub/party scene. Any place with a copy of X-101 signed by Mike Banks and Jeff Mills deserves a visit.
[Cosmo Lee]
Metropoli Rock
Via Cavour 72
Rome, Italy 184
About: Near Termini Station, on the treacherous Via Cavour, Metropoli Rock is a fascinating study in the vicissitudes of shopping for records in Italy. As tiny, cramped, and disorganized as a squatter's knapsack, it nonetheless proffers rewards for those with the patience and time to scratch beneath the surface.
Specialty: Overpriced home-grown pressings of UK/US faves (Italian pressings of the Cure's Mixed Up were going for 40 Euro) mostly serve to conceal the much-less-costly local artists. They also seem to do a fair trade in CD singles, comps, and impulse buys—I imagine most of the indigenous shoppers come here for a quick 10 euro fix—the shop reminds me of nothing so much as rap-fixated storefronts in DC and Manhattan, peddling the Europop/trance equivalent of East Coast mixtapes.
What They’re Missing: Only a sense of organization—ANY kind of organization. Also, I got the sense from my last visit that there was a certain suspicion of those trudging through the dusty, unsorted reams of vinyl. Considering that the clutter had not been re-organized one bit since my last visit there TWO YEARS prior I can understand why.
Why We Love It: Despite (or maybe because of) the lack of sense in the racks, one finds some delicious obscurities hanging about. Also, the lack of sophistication parallels Roma in general—that bizarre combination of Third World Country and World Class City that is part of why the ancient capital remains so charming and so strange. Also, when one finally collects the overpriced records that have been sitting on the shelves long enough to be more dust than wax, one finds that the process of checking out involves a serious, drawn-out haggle with the owner.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Soul Food
Via San Giovanni in Laterano, 192-194
Rome, Italy 184
About: Weave past the "gladiatori" in sweat socks and digital watches, avoid all three Caesars, and make your way down the Via San Giovanni in Laterano to the hippest record store in the Eternal City.
Specialty: Soul Food rocks the 60's and 70's vibe well enough but has tasty treats on offer from every decade of pop music past. Funk, soul, punk, garage, psyche, jazz and power-pop all get love here—but it's mainly reissues (primarily on vinyl) that Soul Food stocks with unimpeachable taste.
What They’re Missing: Not much—there's little new music to be had here, but that's part of the point of Soul Food—they eschew the Tower / Virgin-esque ethos of big Rome record stores like Disfunzioni Musicali and Ricordi to focus on retro sounds and vinyl.
Why We Love It: Let's face it—record shopping in my favorite city is a daunting prospect—arrogant employees, high prices, mysteriously-labelled stock, and typically Mediterranean insouciance make for a frustrating experience. Soul Food, beyond their awesome stock of reprints, are admirable for flipping all the negatives of record shopping in Rome upside-down. A ridiculously friendly and helpful staff, casual and intimate atmosphere, and a small but deep selection make for the best vinyl-digging experience in Roma. Buying records in Italia without some greebo breathing down your neck? Priceless. Scoring a sweet Kraftwerk t-shirt for 10 Euro while the Delta 5 compilation plays in the background? Off the map.
[Mallory O’Donnell]
Jet Set Records
410 Shimomaruya-cho (5th & 6th Floors), Kawaramachi-Sanjo,
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
About: Located in the lively downtown center of Kyoto, Jet Set Records offers the selection of a DJ specialty shop with a number of rock titles and an enchanting selection of novel electronic and electro-acoustic releases from primarily Japan and Europe.
Specialty: Electronic/House in the 6th floor store, and jazz, soul, world, and dancehall reggae in the 5th floor store. There’s a healthy serving of vinyl, but CD’s can be found too, especially in rock & electronic music.
What They’re Missing: In the end, Jet Set is a DJ shop, so casual record-seekers should obviously beware that much of the store may not specifically appeal to them. Specifically, the rock section is probably going to be a little thin for some, but in general the store has a nice selection of cross-over genres.
Why We Love It: This writer was first turned on to Junior Boys, Hypo, and a lot of Childisc artists via Jet Set. The old Pan Am memorabilia makes the place a worthy visit even if you’re not in the market for music.
[Mike Orme]
Third Ear Music
23 Shenkin Street
Tel Aviv, Israel
About: Forget the conflict in the Middle East, the rather cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv actually possesses one hell of a record store, right next to the bustling Dizengoff shopping center. With a stellar collection of vinyl and CD in a myriad of genres, this is a diamond in the rough for a place with fairly repetitive music stores.
Specialty: Unlike other Israeli music stores, this store is defined by its extensive assortment of sub-genres of music abroad, including oddly prodigious stacks of jazz, psych, folk, metal, punk, noise, and electronic music, on both record and compact disc.
What They’re Missing: The record collection could be more extensive, and some electronic titles could stand a bit of a price cut, but that's a complaint at many music shops.
Why We Love It: Well, for one, prices. A great deal of music, especially UK and Japanese imports, are much cheaper than in the States, Anywhere where you can buy Can's Future Days and Faust's IV for a combined twelve bucks is at least worth visiting. But it's also unique for containing CD's that are usually sold out or absent from many CD stores, like Herbie Hancock's Crossings and mu-ziq's Lunatic Harness, both for under ten dollars.
[Tal Rosenberg]
JB Hifi
Kotara Homemaker Centre
Building D, Shop 5 & 6
Kotara, NSW 2289
(And other locations around Australia)
About: Chain specializing in budget price music, movies, and electronics, with the strip mall banality of its exterior hiding a range and depth worthy of an indie record store.
Specialty: Being very cheap. With standard prices about a third cheaper than other stores, it’d be worth a visit even if its collection was no better than your average department store. But when its bargain bins look better than other chain stores’ entire catalogues, my visits all too frequently result in me leaving with a $2 Built to Spill album or a $5 Go! Team record.
What They’re Missing: While the range of recent releases is superb, lower profile older albums are more difficult to come by. At times its chain store qualities can’t help showing, making for a somewhat cold, impersonal experience.
Why We Love It: Apart from heavily discounted stock, its best quality is the way it manages to feel like an indie record store, despite being located in a gigantic warehouse. The promotion, for instance, is endearingly amateur; TV on the Radio’s latest release is advertised with a staff-member’s hand-drawn picture of Cookie Monster. The selection, too, seems motivated less by the clinical approach of a large corporation, and more by the idiosyncratic whims of a record obsessive. It has an admirable range of box sets and vinyl, and a refreshing willingness to do stupid things like import bulk amounts of Kanye West and G-Unit mixtapes across the Pacific, less because there is a demand for such releases, and more because the store has the ability stock them.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Red Eye Records
66 King St
Sydney, NSW 2000
About: Sydney’s largest independent music store, Red Eye is a local icon and the starting point for any music obsessive in the city.
Specialty: Between its two locations, the original two story King Street store (downstairs for new stock, upstairs for used) and the Pitt Street location for used and collectors’ items, Red Eye is ground zero for a day’s music shopping in the city. A nice touch is its practice of including a brief description on the front of every release in the store.
What They’re Missing: Despite an exhaustive range of every form of rock imaginable, the hip-hop section is irritatingly patchy.
Why We Love It: The admirable range is a definite plus, as is the well-stocked second-hand section, but my favorite thing about Red Eye is the vinyl and multitude of turntables provided for listening. I’ve killed many an afternoon picking selections of obscure remixes and b-sides from the punk and electronic sections, and, with headphones on and a big stack of records sitting beside me, coming to the realization that I could never buy even half the great music I was listening to.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Black Market
Gonzagagasse 9
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
About: The bricks & mortar component to online DJ shop soulseduction.com.
Specialty: Anything with an electronic beat—house, techno, broken beat, hip-hop, etc.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: The one time I visited, the store had a lingerie fashion show. I kid you not. Normally, when I'm listening to records, I'm locked in. But tons of scantily clad women walking around with drinks—that was distracting. I don't know if that sort of thing happens often there, or if that's adequate endorsement, but the store's selection is more than enough to recommend it. This is the rare place that's good for both breakbeat junkies and four-on-the-floor purists. Particularly impressive is the selection of dancefloor techno—Intec, Naples sound, Spanish techno, etc.
[Cosmo Lee]
Core Tex
Oranienstrasse 3
10997 Berlin
Germany
About: Punk megastore in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: CD's, DVD's, vinyl, and clothing for all flavors of punk, from '77 to Oi to hardcore to metalcore.
What They’re Missing: More metal would be nice (a personal bias), especially since most hardcore these days is practically metal.
Why We Love It: A punk store that's not a rathole! In fact, this store is huge, clean, and professional. The hardcore punk selection is incredibly deep—how Germans know about obscure West Coast labels is beyond me. Need that old Integrity album or Champion split EP? You'll find it here. The clothing selection is jaw-dropping, with racks and racks (two walls' worth) of band T-shirts, hoodies, and Doc Martens. The staff is friendly, too, patiently putting up with my lack of Deutsche. If you call yourself a punk, this store is Mecca.
[Cosmo Lee]
Hard Wax
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44a
10999 Berlin
Germany
About: Legendary techno record store in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: Techno along the Berlin-Detroit axis, reggae, drum 'n' bass, dubstep.
What They're Missing: The latest trendy minimal records, though there is some of that.
Why We Love It: This place oozes history. Founded by one of the Basic Channel guys, this store is central to the Berlin-Detroit techno connection. Here, you'll find all those Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Burial Mix, and Maurizio records that sell for loads on eBay. You'll also find classic records by the Detroit masters, like Carl Craig, Robert Hood, and Jeff Mills, whose selection is so well-stocked he gets his own section on the website. Chicago, the birthplace of all things jacking, is well-represented, along with UK techno, especially the Birmingham sound (Surgeon, Regis, Downwards, etc.). True to the spirit of Basic Channel, there's also a large reggae selection. Come here enough, and you may spot Richie Hawtin or Ricardo Villalobos shopping for records.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rotation Records
Weinbergsweg 3
10119 Berlin
Germany
About: Minimal techno record store in the Mitte district of Berlin.
Specialty: 12”s, a few CD's. Used bins yield the occasional house or hard techno record.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: Minimal techno records are so common in Berlin that your neighborhood falafel stand probably sells them. What distinguishes Rotation is its pleasant atmosphere. The store is clean and new, with plenty of listening stations, several of which have a nice view of the street. The selection is strong, with all the usual suspects—Crosstown Rebels, M_nus, Poker Flat, and so on. Used bins offer bargains and cut-rate white labels. You might also find rave classics or represses thereof. This is a good place to pick up flyers for Berlin's raging club scene.
[Cosmo Lee]
Encore Records
54 Queen St S
Kitchener, ON N2G 1V6
About: Tucked away across the street from a big second hand book store in Kitchener's downtown, Encore (motto: “Not a dog disc in the dump!”) is surprisingly big on the inside and has that weathered, not-dirty-but-definitely-not-clean feel that all the best record stores have.
Specialty: As Kitchener is not exactly a huge metropolis, stores like Encore have to have breadth rather than obsessive depth, and so in addition to the large main indie/rock collection that is their bread and butter they have decent, gratifyingly diverse selections of everything from metal to jazz, rap to krautrock/Japanese psych (filed together, of course).
What They’re Missing: Honestly, after years of struggling with the local HMV in next-city-over Guelph to find anything worthwhile, I have a hard time spotting any flaws in their stock, and the distance means I haven't been able to keep close tabs on how quickly they get things. But like any shop, it's not actually perfect, and of the records I was desperate to get when I first went there, the (helpful) employees had not heard of the Knife at all, let alone their album.
Why We Love It: After spending literally my entire life hours away from a half decent record shop, inadvertently walking into Encore and finding that not only did they have Coil and Muslimgauze, but that they had about ten releases apiece, plus other personal favorites like the Mountain Goats and Sleep. My utter joy at finding the place was only rivaled by my chagrin at living nearby for five years without knowing.
[Ian Mathers]
Orange Monkey Music
5 Princess St W
Waterloo, ON N2L 2X7
About: A small L-shaped space above local institution the Jane Bond (which makes some tasty vegetarian food), the Orange Monkey's proprietor is known around Guelph as DJ Charless when he runs a popular local funk/soul/R&B night; the rest of the time he runs this cozy nook stuffed to bursting with CDs, vinyl, and movies (mostly of the monster/genre variety).
Specialty: Well, the last time I visited companions walked off with the original score to Dawn of the Dead and a CD compilation of 70's porn music, and I managed to get Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies Man and Big Black's Songs About Fucking, and we collectively scratched the surface. I didn't manage to even glance at the vinyl. As with Encore, Waterloo is small enough that the Orange Monkey needs to carry a decent selection of everything, but glancing around I definitely got the impression that the place prefers music that is either hard, weird, or both. Also, zombie movies.
What They’re Missing: Well, it's certainly not the first place I'd go to look for rap music, and those cramped quarters are both part of the charm and kind of a pain in the ass; there were four of us, and I'm not sure how many more people you could have fit in the place.
Why We Love It: If you'd seen the look on my brother's face when he saw that Dawn of the Dead vinyl up on the wall, you wouldn't need to ask.
[Ian Mathers]
Rotate This!
620 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
About: Probably the biggest and best, definitely the most well known, non-chain music store in Canada's largest city, Rotate This! gets nearly as much exposure from the fact that they sell tickets for most of the shows in Toronto proper, barring the type of thing that might show up at the Air Canada Centre. It's a bit of a hipster mecca, the sort of place that's careful to note on their website that although they don't stock Britney (since you can find her anywhere) they still like her.
Specialty: Pretty much what you'd expect. Their current top ten in sales ranges from Thom Yorke to the Black Angels (pausing to take in Sufjan, the Knife, and MSTRKRFT along the way), and they have an abiding love for vinyl, striving to have as much of their stock available on LP as possible.
What They’re Missing: Well, their own website proclaims a lack of nu-country and classical as well as anything that's “not appropriate for our store, for any number of reasons.” More importantly, unless things have changed since the last time I dropped by, they're missing anything even approaching a decent filing system—many albums are filed just by letter with no divisions by band. If you're looking for something or in a hurry, you're in for the record shop equivalent of Hell.
Why We Love It: It's an institution, it's got a great selection, and don't neglect how nice it is to pick up the disc you were looking for and score tickets to that show you wanted to see at the same time.
[Ian Mathers]
South
Waterloo
600A North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
About: A well-oiled indie machine, Waterloo looms large over Austin, effectively blocking corporate chains within a twenty-mile radius of its Sixth Street location.
Specialty: Variety. Waterloo features a decent cross-section of most any genre operant today and is the perfect place to start branching out into new musical territory. The staff is friendly, and the classic works of house/funk/noise/free jazz/world music can usually be found.
What They’re Missing: Jack of all trades, master of none. Subgenre zealots will dislike Waterloo’s style, but given the store’s palatial size and high-dollar location, it simply can’t afford to exclude demographics.
Why We Love It: Waterloo’s the musical epicenter of Austin, and one of our most prominent businesses. It sets the tone for an eclectic, laid-back city.
[Bryan Berge]
Soundwaves
3509 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
About: Houston's largest independent record store chain, with nine locations.
Specialty: Comprehensive independent/major label CD/DVD selection, with some locations dedicated to surf/skate gear.
What They're Missing: Not much. Any store that, at one time, carried the entire Volume and Trance Europe Express series deserves props.
Why We Love It: I can only speak as to the Montrose branch, which has changed since I frequented its previous location. Now you have to fight your way past surf/skate gear to get to the music, and evidently now there's also a coffee house on the premises. But the selection is still huge, with decent prices. Once I came across an ultra-rare Future Sound of London release there at the same time as someone else. We had a brief confrontation, but I lost. Before shopping there, be sure to print out coupons from the website.
[Cosmo Lee]
End of an Ear
2209 South First Street
Austin, TX 78704
About: Rising from the ashes of the mighty Thirty Three Degrees, End of an Ear has staked a plot in the sweetest stretch of South Firs—a street rapidly replacing Congress as Austin’s symbolic center.
Specialty: The psych and experimental sections slay local competitors. Krautrock fans in particular will be thrilled by the bounty of Cluster, Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, and the like. Noise and industrial, amazingly enough, are equally billed with the tastefully picked rock sections.
What They’re Missing: The staff plays it safe with the electronic section, sticking mainly to the Warps and Kompakts of the world, and the vinyl could be filled in a bit.
Why We Love It: End of an Ear supports Austin, showcasing local visual artists and hosting a full calendar of in-stores, ranging from absurdo-pop to dead-serious eggheads. There’s nothing like cruising the stacks near the keg, pulsing to the drone of a local unknown.
[Bryan Berge]
Wuxtry
197 E Clayton St.
Athens, GA 30601
About: The first used CD store of its kind to open in the Southeast, Wuxtry sits dead center in the downtown area of America's definitive college music town. A short walk from UGA's Arches and agonizingly close to a Wachovia ATM machine, students and town folk alike can blow through a week's budget on Elephant 6 rarities and then head upstairs to Bizarro Wuxtry, the infinitely jaw-dropping clearinghouse of pop culture detritus, to blow an entire month's on Yo! MTV Raps trading cards.
Specialty: Athens' biggest and most diverse collection of used CD's and vinyl, it caters to the cash-strapped undergrads and the most discerning tastemakers in town. Plus, Jeff Mangum probably shopped here.
What They're Missing: Though their back collections are impressive, if you want the latest major/indie release when you roll out of bed on a Tuesday, you're probably be better off going to Best Buy.
Why We Love It: Some will chalk it up to southern hospitality, but Wuxtry does its part every day to combat the ill reputation High Fidelity to the record store clerks of the world. Doesn't matter if you're buying Spiderland, Heavier Things, or anything else not by the band the dude at the counter is currently in. He's just happy as fuck that you went to Wuxtry.
[Ian Cohen]
Full Moon Records
1653 McLendon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
About: Nestled within a neighborhood strip, Full Moon is a paragon of organization with every cubic centimeter of space utilized to dizzying effect. CDs are thankfully an afterthought, as the counter is the only site designated to a decent selection of used and new discs. Vinyl, on the other hand, is king, lovingly alphabetized and cradled in crates that seemingly never age.
Specialty: Extraordinary attention is given to rock’s lesser knowns—and that extends to all genres. Captain Beyond, Twink, Randy Holden, and Bobby Callender are as readily available as are The No-Neck Blues Band and local misfits such as The Rattler, Bon Vivants, Black Lips, and Deerhunter. Mainstays are also given their due, as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Grateful Dead, and MC5 LPs never run dry.
What They’re Missing: Stock reflects the interests of the owner, which fails to affect me as we share tastes. White belts searching out the Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens will have to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: The “second story” dollar bin has provided broke schmucks like yours truly with the essentials—and at an opportune time. Before “post-rock” could gum me with its poisonous molars, I landed ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, and Duguello in one fell swoop for $1 each. There’s nearly always some choice jazz hidden amongst the Lawrence Welk and Barbara Streisand; I can thank Full Moon for playable copies of Coltrane’s Ole and Ornette’s The Shape of Things to Come.
[Stewart Voegtlin]
Midwest
Bent Crayon
11600 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
About: Founded in the fall of 1995 by local music lover John Cellura (who has run the place basically single-handedly ever since), Bent Crayon manages to pack a healthy amount of indie, electronic, and experimental CDs and the area’s widest selection of vinyl into a small corner shop on Cleveland’s West Side, as well as doing a wealth of business through its Web site.
Specialty: Though there is a very respectable indie section (in fact, the best in the Cleveland area), Bent Crayon’s specialty is undoubtedly electronic dance music, and the latest cutting-edge European and domestic labels (Kompakt, Trapez, etc.) and everything in-between are available in force, as well as a very solid selection of back catalog.
What They’re Missing: Major labels are notably absent (except for imports and vinyl), but it isn’t like you’d miss them. They could also stand another turntable for listening purposes—there’s only one, and you could end up waiting a long time to use it behind the wrong customer.
Why We Love It: When Cellura founded the store more than a decade ago, the cards were stacked against him. There were a host of other indie-minded stores around, and the local press and hipster gossips were equally divided between loving and hating Bent Crayon—and Cellura himself, whom many labeled snobbish. Cellura gets the last laugh, however, as he has outlasted the rest of the shops and is now the only game in town. Say what you will about his personality, Cellura knows his music and his devoted clientele, and that is what has kept him in business while the larger, flashier stores have wilted.
[Todd Hutlock]
Magnolia Thunderpussy
1155 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Founded in 1970, Magnolia Thunderpussy is one of the longest-running independent record stores in the country. Despite being south of the campus area, it does fine—it’s located between two of the cities most well-traveled music venues: High Five and Little Brother’s.
Specialty: If you simply went to the store’s MySpace page, they might have you believe that they’re a vendor simply interested in getting you whatever you’d like. But with the amount of goth, metal, and EBM shirts lining the walls and a quick perusal of their weekly top sellers, it becomes quickly apparent that the store specializes in anything “dark.”
What They’re Missing: While Magnolia pays lip service to the idea of used CDs, they’re easily outclassed by the nearby Used Kids. Additionally, if you’re looking for anything dance-y that isn’t on Metropolis Records, you might want to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: Much like Mallory O’Donnell’s favorite, Café Soundz, Magnolia caters to one demographic incredibly well. While they do have a nice selection of many genres, they have a bread and butter and stick to it.
[Todd Burns]
Used Kids
1980 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Owned by Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments lead singer Ron House, Used Kids is the record store for discerning Ohio State students. Located outside of the recently renovated “Gateway” area, the store retains a charming old Columbus charm. Or is that stink?
Specialty: Used CDs. While the store is more than happy to stock the newest indie rock releases on CD and vinyl, Used Kids (as the namely clearly indicates) is primarily a haven for those looking for a deal on a classic—or a promo copy dropped off by a local writer. The secret to a successful experience? Go in without a plan and let yourself be surprised.
What They’re Missing: The hip-hop is thin, but the main sore spot is electronic music. After having a paltry selection for a long time, the last time that I went into the store I couldn’t find the section at all.
Why We Love It: With a huge turnover, cheap prices, and an unpretentious staff, Used Kids is Columbus in a nutshell.
[Todd Burns]
B-Side Records
436 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
About: Nestled in a small alcove on State Street, the main artery running directly between the Capitol building and the University of Wisconsin’s Library Mall, B-Side Records has been supplying college kids and campus visitors in Madison since 1982.
Specialty: In addition to a well-stocked indie and classic-rock selection (both requisites on the youth-and-granola-friendly campus), B-Side also carries an impressive collection of R&B, soul, and jazz, arranging discs by genre in sturdy wooden crates arranged in strategic, Tetra-esque locations throughout. Can’t find something? Look below or above you: lesser-known discs by popular artists are often kept underneath the crates or on shelves affixed to the wall (I completed my J.J. Cale and Savoy Brown collections in college by digging down a little closer to the carpet).
What They’re Missing: Due to size constraints it’s impossible for B-Side to house the entire catalog of most any band, even your most beloved. You’re oftentimes just as likely to find a piece of arcana as you are a classic, but they’re cool about ordering what they don’t have in stock.
Why We Love It: The staff: A variety of laid-back aficionados are regularly found behind the counter, proof positive that not all people working in independent record stores are supercilious dicks. Years after I finished school there, many of the same knowledgeable staff remain, ready to ring you up while chatting about most any sonic subject. You have to love any small store that inspires that kind of employee loyalty.
[Drew Miller]
Reckless Records
1532 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
About: With another store situated in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the Wicker Park location is doubtlessly the store’s flagship, if for no other reason than the neighborhood. Catering to the area’s famous (or infamous) hipster scenesters, Reckless is a competent, if somewhat disheveled, way post for Chicago music lovers.
Specialty: Completeness. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here, from indispensable CD’s and LP’s in virtually any genre to music magazines, concert tickets, rock memorabilia and obscure DVD’s.
What They’re Missing: Organization. No doubt due to the threat of shoplifting in the area, Reckless removes all CD’s and jewel cases from albums, leaving only the covers for customers to flip through. The result is that albums often get placed virtually anywhere, sometimes never to return to their rightful home. I’m no neat-freak, but if you suffer from OCD-like symptoms, you might want to go elsewhere, as finding what you’re looking for can be a frustrating effort in futility.
Why We Love It: In addition to a host of well-informed staff working behind the counter, Reckless tries to make sure its clientele remain similarly well-informed. Album covers oftentimes have a succinct review and trustworthy rating appended to them. I have more than once been turned on to artists about whom I knew nothing simply by poring over the attached mini-reviews in their ‘featured’ section above the pop/rock aisle.
[Drew Miller]
Dusty Groove America
1120 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
About: Simply put, if you’re looking to get your groove on in the Midwest, you need to visit this store. Dusty Groove America is a wonderland of all things funky and smooth, with lots and lots of new and used vinyl and a healthy selection of CDs. Also a fantastic Web site for mail order peeps.
Specialty: Soul, R&B, jazz, funk, etc., and lots of it, from the classics to the obscure and everywhere in-between. Dusty Groove also carries one of North America’s best selections of Brazilian music.
What They’re Missing: While Dusty Groove is a fabulous place to engage in a few hours of obscure crate digging, their selection of popular standards of the genre (like say, Stevie Wonder’s back catalog) is occasionally a little thin, especially on CD. Hardly a complaint, though. Also, expect to pay collector’s prices for some items, but nothing excessive or outrageous.
Why We Love It: The vinyl is generally in amazing shape, the store is kept clean, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and the selection is impeccable. I have never been in Dusty Groove and come away without an armful of records, usually things I had never actually seen or heard of until I walked in the door. There’s also a fun selection of turntable and record junkie accessories—ask about the Vinyl Killer!
[Todd Hutlock]
Wazoo Records
336 1/2 State St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located above a head shop in the middle of the University of Michigan campus, Wazoo makes the most of its pencil-thin space, using old wooden crates to house a surprisingly large slice of indie rock’s catalog.
Specialty: Volumes and volumes of rock’s back catalog, Wazoo makes hay off the classics other shops miss: The Pogues’ If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Syd Barrett’s Barrett, as well as stocking British imports before virtually everyone else: The Go! Team and Bloc Party come to mind.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection could be stronger; they seem to be about two weeks behind on important electronic releases.
Why We Love It: The best moment every semester: strolling out of the Science Auditorium after your last final, walking across the street into Wazoo, and blowing a week or two’s worth of wages in celebration. Freshman year I strolled in, picked up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Califone’s Sometimes Bad Weather Follows Good People and carried that last-day-of-school feeling throughout the summer.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Encore Records
417 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located just off the University of Michigan’s campus, Encore Records is a grungy little joint that doesn’t fuck with anything shrink-wrapped: the store’s labyrinthine shelves house Michigan’s largest selection of used CDs and LPs.
Specialty: Encore leaves no genre un-turned, but a heaving selection of rare ethnic music on vinyl sets the shop apart. Their devotion to the greater Detroit area’s thriving local scene is impressive: your search for that rare Wolf Eyes cassette-only release ends here.
What They’re Missing: They’re a second-hand shop, so forget finding anything new.
Why We Love It: Make an afternoon out of it: Show up with a crumpled list of records on a grey Saturday afternoon, hobnob with the Ann Arbor indie elite—members of Saturday Looks Good to Me, Dykehouse, and Nomo call the shop home—elbow your way around the other hardcores. The best part? The front counter is surrounded by two walls of used CDs not yet shelved, virgin plastic towers not yet picked over. Show up to the counter with a fistful of records and realize that you’ve still got 20 minutes of browsing to do. Sweet Saturday afternoon…
[Andrew Gaerig]
Stormy Records
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
About: A boutique-style shop owned by wife-husband ambient duo Windy & Carl, Stormy Records recently moved into a space above the venerable Green Brain Comics. The shop often hosts shows, from Frog Eyes and Destroyer to a recent Will Oldham gig, as well as sporadic appearances by the owners. A true indie, with a limited selection reflecting the tastes of the owners.
Specialty: Stormy specializes in underground ambient and experimental music, so while you can always arrive and find the latest indie releases, the true pleasure is flipping through the new releases rack and walking away with something you’ve never heard of. Hands down Detroit’s best place to gamble on cool cover art.
What They’re Missing: Lots, really. Stormy’s a specialty shop, so anything that falls outside the realm of underground rock/experimental music is thin: the store has meager selections of jazz, hip-hop, and blues. Even classic rock records—Dylan, the Stones, etc.—are in short supply, and while these holes are partially filled by a dirt-cheap selection of vinyl, Stormy is not where you go to find the staples.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the record-shopping equivalent of Cheers: Everybody knows your name. Pick the Carl’s brain about early Creation releases, let Windy go on about Durutti Column, hang around for an after-hours performance. Stormy is a community.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Flat Black and Circular
541 E. Grand River
East Lansing, MI 48823
About: Michigan State University—home of the second-largest undergraduate population in the United States—has but one passable record shop, located off Grand River, doors down from a Barnes & Noble, an Urban Outfitters, a Taco Bell, and just about every other stereotyped campus amenity you can dream up.
Specialty: A surprising amount of vinyl hip-hop caters to the DJ population, while rank and file indie kids will find few better places to dine on that distinctly 1990’s brand of post rock.
What They’re Missing: A respectable electronic section and any semblance of a back catalog—please don’t make me hit that Barnes and Noble to find a PJ Harvey CD. It belittles us both.
Why We Love It: FBC is located in an unassuming, office-space type of building, but make your way up the stairwell and you’re greeted by a seven foot tall arch of old 45’s. St. Peter should count himself lucky to guard a port so alluring.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Vintage Vinyl
6610 Delmar
St. Louis, MO 63130
About: Located on a block of bars and restaurants that serve St. Louis’s Washington University, Vintage Vinyl cradles the area’s local scene as well as offering waves of jazz, blues, and rock music.
Specialty: Vintage Vinyl seems particularly proud of St. Louis’s rich jazz history, as well as prominently displaying its local artists. It’s also the only game in town.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl, strangely enough. Those waves of records all come on plastic.
Why We Love It: So admittedly, this has very little to do with record shopping, but about a block down from Vintage Vinyl lies Blueberry Hill, a salty BBQ joint with a drinking problem, a wall of dart-boards, and enough famous patrons to wallpaper its halls. Stylus heartily recommends the Hickory Burger. Your St. Louis experience begins and ends on Delmar.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
About: The Electric Fetus is a Minneapolis institution, stranded above Highway 35 amongst the dying brick store-fronts along Franklin Avenue, since 1969. Not only is it enormous for a non-chain record store, visitors receive their own free patchouli dousing upon entrance.
Specialty: The Fetus’ specialty is really in its completeness: they carry well-rounded selections of everything from the standards—jazz to R&B to pop—and they’ve even added an experimental music section in the past few months. They go out of their way to make sure they don’t “specialize,” so they can just carry everything you might ever want.
What They’re Missing: Their import selections need improvement (TVotR has taken far too long to come in), and their electronic music selection typically lacks the prominent European releases.
Why We Love It: As one can imagine, the Minneapolitans on Stylus have spent their fair share of time traipsing the Midwest, and Chicago included, we’ve still never seen a record store that can keep up with the Fetus’ overall selection.
[Derek Miller]
Treehouse Records
2557 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55405
About: Treehouse Records is a developing landmark for indie records and CDs, started by Mark Trehus, the former maverick owner of Oarfolkjokeopus Records, in 2001.
Specialty: Treehouse specializes in both vinyl LPs and vinyl 45s, but they also happen to have the best used CD selection for recent indie releases (please, keep this to yourself). As such, you can profit on the cheap for Lynlakers needing beer money for the eve.
What They’re Missing: Their electronic music LPs are all but non-existent, but given they specialize in indie and punk music, perhaps that’s not such a pitfall.
Why We Love It: Treehouse is one of a handful of ‘mom and pop’ record stores left in Minneapolis that packs both quaint charm—the entire place has that earthy tree-mold smell like they’re recovering from a flood and have yet to peel out the carpets—and a wide-enough selection to get what you need.
[Derek Miller]
Budget Music & Video
1944 S. Broadway
Minot, ND 58701
About: Minot's only used CD store. Also offers new CD's, DVD's, posters, smoking gear, and really smelly incense.
Specialty: The only place in town to get independent popular music.
What They’re Missing: If you're in Minot, ND, you're in no position to be picky.
Why We Love It: My competitive record-shopping side is reluctant to divulge this secret. But most people will never make it to Minot, so I might as well. As the town's only receptacle of used CD's, Budget is a fascinating barometer of the residents' tastes. Over time, the selection has diversified from country and hair metal to more alternative stuff. Used CD's vary in price, with a huge dollar bin. What's gold in NY is probably wood in ND, so I always leave with armloads of cheap CD's, all reeking of incense.
[Cosmo Lee]
West
Amoeba Records
Locations in Hollywood, Berkeley, and San Francisco
About: The cliché goes that Amoeba is the 800 lb. gorilla in the Los Angeles record world. It’s a cliché for a reason. Amoeba is probably the Bay Area’s best export since Jerry Garcia, depending on your feelings for the Dead. Amoeba landed in Los Angeles via Berkeley in late 2001 with a bang, immediately becoming Los Angeles’ largest record store (and one of the largest in the world).
Specialty: Due to its sheer immensity, Amoeba has the capacity to store double or even triple the amount of records and CDs of its competitors. Plus, its used CDs are usually lower-priced than anywhere else in town and often include brand-new and hard-to-find albums.
What They’re Missing: A sense of equity. Though Amoeba is customer’s dream, its sheer size, and buying power have obliterated the competition. When Los Angeles landmarks Aron’s Records and Rhino Records shut down this year, much industry whispering circulated around the Amoeba effect playing a role in the stores’ decreased business.
Why We Love It: Over the past few months, the Raconteurs, the Secret Machines, the Mountain Goats, the Black Keys, and Silversun Pickups have been dropping in to play free in-store performances. Amoeba is a savior for those on a budget, allowing die-hard fans the opportunity to see big bands for free.
[Jeff Weiss]
Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA
About: Aquarius is best known for its enormous mailorder website, and its dense, insightful, and often snarky reviews of records. However, the shop is also a 36-year-old San Francisco institution that sits deep in the Mission District. The staff’s handwritten reviews are crammed on stickers that are taped to the CD cases.
Specialty: An underground music lover’s paradise only made possible by a staff that loves their job. There is an array of indie rock, sound-art, obscure psych, and krautrock (Conrad Schnitzler or Zippo Zetterlink, anyone?), underground metal, and recordings of elephants playing gongs.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection was rather tiny during the last time I visited.
Why We Love It: Just check out their website to understand Aquarius’s love for the leftfield or the obscure. And if you visit the shop, say hello to The Wire contributor Jim Haynes, who works there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Groove Merchant Records
687 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA
About: “This one goes out to my man, the Groove Merchant / Coming through with beats for which I’ve been searching / Like two sealed copies of [classic Lonnie Smith album] Expansions / I’m like Tom Vu with yachts and mansions,” Beastie Boy Mike D raps in “Professor Booty.” This 16-year-old store is like a classroom for DJs, producers and beat junkies from around the world. Founders Michael and Jody McFadin are best known for creating Ubiquity Records.
Specialty: Funk, jazz, soul, and Latin grooves so rare they’re on the EPA’s endangered species list. They also have a great vinyl collection of leftfield hip-hop, broken beat, and reggae.
What They’re Missing: A lot of gems get quickly sold out, and some of the prices reflect “niche market for financially successful DJs.”
Why We Love It: Ask a clerk about an obscure record and odds are that you’ll receive a detailed history of its origins, players, and tips on where the coolest breaks are.
[Cameron Macdonald]
The Hindenburg
Near 21st and K streets
Sacramento, CA
About: This now-defunct shop was a prime hangout and volunteer-run record shop for Sacramento’s punk underground during the 1990s. The shop itself was crammed into a tiny and dimly-lit, attic-like room. “Resist the Mindfuck” was written across a wall (I vaguely recall).
Specialty: Homemade, DIY rock and punk records, along with dollar-bin obscurities and novelties. I once purchased copies of DC minimalist-punks The Warmers’ lone album and Martin Denny’s Exotica during one visit.
What They’re Missing: Their existence. Sacramento has screamed for an DIY record shop for too many years.
Why We Love It: The Hindenburg was a fine place where DIY punk culture provided an alternative to Sacramento’s Tower Records and Virgin Megastore.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Red Devil Records
894 Fourth St.
San Rafael, CA
About: I encountered this tiny shop in the small Napa Valley town of Petaluma a few years back, and tripped over a trove. Original, sealed LP copies of the Stooges’ self-titled debut and PublicMetal Box (in its metal container) were perched behind the counter. Red Devil had since relocated to downtown San Rafael.
Specialty: This shop has a rep for stocking loads of punk records and knows about collector’s items well. My prized find: a radio promo copy of Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing.
What They’re Missing: Rare punk records that are slightly cheaper than Collector’s Prices would be nice.
Why We Love It: Red Devil is proof-positive that mom-and-pop record shops can still have the upper hand on the chain-stores when it comes to offering rock artifacts.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Open Mind Music
342 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA
About: A vinyl junkie’s realm that’s saturated in arcane and contemporary wax. The lower Haight shop can maraud the wallet and swallow up an entire afternoon of your free time.
Specialty: An abundance of hip-hop, psych, post-techno, indie-rock, dollar-bin corporate rock, jazz, and 80s new wave on vinyl. My prized find: A Japanese imported copy of Christian Marclay’s famous Record Without a Cover on white vinyl.
What They’re Missing: The CD selection can be minuscule and nearly unnoticeable at times.
Why We Love It: The shop can be a quieter and better-stocked alternative to the mammoth Amoeba Music that stands a mile away.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Tone Vendor
Formerly a physical store in Sacramento, CA
About: Tone Vendor was the only reason why I visited midtown Sacramento for a few years. The store was an ideal independent operation that stocked generous amounts of vinyl, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and paintings by local artists.
Specialty: Tone Vendor’s online catalog is mainly dedicated to indie-pop, but there is also a fine taste for punk, hip-hop, psych, and experimental music.
What They’re Missing: The owners closed shop and moved back to Florida last year, leaving an asteroid-sized cultural crater in Sacramento.
Why We Love It: It sometimes seemed like whatever was reviewed in Stylus or The Wire would be stocked at Tone Vendor. The staff’s friendliness and music addiction always made the place an easy excuse to blow off an afternoon there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
101 Music
1414 Grant Ave. & 513 Green St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
About: Actually two stores in the scenic North Beach section of San Francisco. One specializes in collector’s vinyl and the other is the ultimate mixed-bag: tens of thousands of unsorted records in the basement priced at five dollars each.
Specialty: Vinyl, particularly vinyl of the 1970s. Jazz, Rock and Classical are given equal stand here, and there’s a lot of it. The Green Street store is a great place to kill a few hours and maybe find something good if you can wade through the high stacks of old music and recording equipment.
What They’re Missing: You want music made in the 21st century? Go to Amoeba.
Why We Love It: After flipping through shiny Love originals and well-preserved releases from Eno’s Obscure label, I can walk across the street, spend four hours in the basement and come out with Dusseldorf by La Dusseldorf, four different recordings of the same Francis Poulenc piano work, and Tim Curry’s entire studio output.
[Mike Orme]
Hear Music
1809 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
About: Starbucks mini-chain does a little right by emphasizing the process of music discovery, and a little wrong by being a Starbucks brand.
Specialty: Each visit to Hear Music tells a story, whether it’s browsing themed listening stations (with themes from “Cities” to specific moods or times of the day) or querying the friendly and highly knowledgeable staff. Hear Music is like a casino: the blueprints don’t allow you to leave without seeing an opportunity to spend money—and possibly getting a big payoff.
What They’re Missing: While the quality guidance from the staff comes for free, the product sells for a premium … sometimes too high for independent record store shoppers who browse at Hear and then “buy the CDs at Amoeba.”
Why We Love It: While Hear Music’s corporate image doesn’t impress and these days MSRP isn’t too appetizing, the store is definitely on to something. Many shops have played around with multimedia sampling stations, but Hear chooses to push a combination of shopper searching, editorial features, and employee know-how for music discovery, and their corporate sponsorship means they’re not encumbered with such burdens as being cool or trying to be tastemakers. Looks like it’s paid off for them: new Hear Music Coffeehouse in San Antonio and Miami recently opened, joining the Berkeley store and coffeehouse store in Santa Monica.
[Mike Orme]
Rasputin Records
2401 Telegraph Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
About: Bay Area independent chain second in stature only to Amoeba Records
Specialty: Comprehensive selection of independent/major label releases in nearly all genres, with well-stocked back catalogue. Punk and metal sections are the best in the US.
What They're Missing: Electronic section is skimpy.
Why We Love It: Actually, no one loves Rasputin. The mail order service is dodgy, the employees constantly look beaten-down, and the only way to get around the five floors of the San Francisco branch is a tiny elevator that some poor employee operates for hours each day. But the huge selection is second only to Amoeba's, with comparably low prices. Rasputin has even adopted a similarly generous return policy. The punk and metal buyers deserve medals, as those sections are the biggest and best by far of any US record store. If you can't find something in the Berkeley location, just walk down a block to Amoeba—those are the two best blocks of record shopping in the world.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rockaway Records
2395 Glendale Blvd.
Silverlake, CA
About: In recent years, most of the stalwarts of the Los Angeles record store world have shuttered their doors. But despite all this industry consolidation, Silverlake’s Rockaway Records, is still going strong after 27 year, despite a name change and two different moves.
Specialty: Rockaway is perfect for the serious music collector. Whether it’s old T. Rex ticket stubs, Led Zeppelin concert tour jackets, or classic vinyl records in mint condition, Rockaway has everything to satisfy die-hards—provided they can afford it.
What They’re Missing: Though it might be nit-picking, on any given day Rockaway’s CD in-stock can be pretty thin and their used vinyl can be pricy.
Why We Love It: Where else are you going to find the only 1976 Bob Marley Island Promotional Jacket ever made? Got $300 to spare?
[Jeff Weiss]
Sea Level Records
1716 W. Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
About: Founded in December 2001, Sea Level Records just might be Los Angeles’ pre-eminent indie-focused record store. Run by manager Todd Clifford, Sea Level is smack dab in the epicenter of Los Angeles’ music scene, as it stands just 100 feet away from The Echo, one of the Los Angeles’ premier indie music venues.
Specialty: Sea Level carries more up-and-coming LA indie records than perhaps any other store in the city. Additionally, the store constantly hosts in-store concerts and record release parties. Recently, the likes of the Silversun Pickups, Ariel Pink, the Black Angels, and Daedulus have performed.
What They’re Missing: Due to its relatively small size, Sea Level is limited to the amount of music that it can house. Though it comes pretty close to having everything you could possibly need.
Why We Love It: Sea Level has a personal touch that no other store in town has. They have regulars and know their tastes. When something new comes out that you might like, the Sea Level employees always know where to direct you. Conversely, if you’re about to purchase the new Meat Loaf album, they might convince you otherwise.
[Jeff Weiss]
Everyday Music
112 Broadway Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
About: This large independent store is part of a Northwest chain. Everyday has seen some big changes in the last couple years, adding a second floor to effectively double their space, but this Capitol Hill staple still offers a great used selection and a friendly staff who insists on playing pretty post-rock all day.
Specialty: Best used selection in Seattle, hands down. This is one of the better places to go in Seattle for recent rock, electronic, and experimental releases. Staff is willing to cut the discs open for listening stations as well.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection is a little weird—I mean, how many copies of the Batman soundtrack can you reasonably expect to sell for four dollars? Jazz and classical could probably use a catalog injection as well.
Why We Love It: I had my first experiences with Tortoise and Glenn Branca at this store, and that was hot shit.
[Mike Orme]
Jackpot Records
203 SW 9th Ave or 3736 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
About: The third branch of Portland's pride-and-joy media trifecta—get a book at Powell's, a film at Movie Madness, and a record or two at Jackpot—is almost as good as your friends tell you when they meet you at the airport.
Specialty: Indie rock and vinyl—this month's canon is as well-covered as you could hope, they're dutiful about selling imports early and for manageable prices, and Jackpot's vinyl selection, particularly on Hawthorne, is a pleasingly deep grab-bag of established classics and stuff you might actually buy, at prices at which you might actually buy it.
What They're Missing: Curious omissions in Jackpot's CD back-catalog might not actually abound, but they're definitely there. Other times their selections by particular artists may seem perverse—some Wednesdays it seems they've got everybody's Metal Machine Music and nothing else—but then again you can go to Borders for the canon; record stores are for the rest.
Why We Love It: Because the week I moved here I wandered into the Hawthorne location, bought an Ella Fitzgerald record for $2, and listened to it on a really terrible turntable while drinking cranberry juice from a wine glass. They could institute a store policy under which they shoot you when you walk in and it wouldn't ruin that.
[Theon Weber]
Reverb Records
3623 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214-5143
About: The idea is that everything's under $10. And though Reverb may abandon its otherwise admirably followed rule when pricing items for collectors with a capital C, if you just want to hear stuff you can walk out with change.
Specialty: Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl. The CD section, piled thin, occupies a cramped stretch of cobweb-strewn wall; the vinyl section is, essentially, the store, and though there's little here that your dad hasn't heard of, there's a lot he doesn't have. Perfect for cheap-and-thorough excavations of the less savory parts of well-known artists' back catalogues. The 75s section is bigger than it has to be, too, and what Reverb files under "Independent" most indie shops aren't aware exists.
What They're Missing: Anything recorded after 1985. It isn't that the occasional Pavement or late-period Depeche Mode record won't float to the surface from time to time, but Reverb's a 70s-and-back store at heart, venturing consistently into the present only for local bands and for the seriously little-heard. And since it's also a used store at heart, without much reliable influx, your luck's in inverse proportion to the luck of the guy before you.
Why We Love It: $10. And the fan, which stutters like an old typewriter.
[Theon Weber]
Cellophane Square
115 E. Magnolia Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225
About: A short bus ride from Western Washington University, Cellophane Square is a big building plastered with posters, filled with CDs, and situated at perhaps the most useful intersection in town; its neighbors are a Taco stand, the bus station, and another record store (the also commendable Avalon Music).
Specialty: Solid selection of hip-hop, electronic music, and indie rock covering new and old releases, with a good variety of local acts as well.
What They’re Missing: No noticeable flaws; rather it lacks any distinction to make it genuinely magnificent.
Why We Love It: It has a nice but not fantastic range, and prices are usually better at the mall, but I still like going here. The staff are cool, and the store has a slightly musty smell, giving it a unique quality you can’t get from your local Best Buy. Open late, it’s a warm refuge downtown from the constant Pacific Northwest downpour.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Wax Trax
638 E. 13th St.
Denver, CO 80203
About: Within spitting distance of a church and a junior high school, the red brick Wax Trax complex fills half a block in Denver’s Capitol Hill. The place is a true-blue record shop, from the crammed, confusing racks to the typically indifferent clerks. Really two adjacent shops, the vinyl side is Mile High’s best bet for used records.
Specialty: Punk and metal, but more importantly, soul. Other shops have higher volume, but Wax Trax has style. Navigating it can be a hassle, but it’s yet one more reminder that business comes second.
What They’re Missing: The shop’s out of step with press hype, causing some gaps. Their electro- and dance- stuff is about five years dated, and the hip-hop section is little more than a token effort.
Why We Love It: It’s a relic of another age. Instead of clearing space for anti-Bush bobbleheads to boost slumping music sales, Wax Trax has hand-decorated boxes for local comps. Precisely coded name cards are replaced with Sharpie-scrawled biographical tidbits and exhaustive listings of side projects. Enjoy it while you can.
[Bryan Berge]
Twist and Shout
300 E. Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80209
About: Denver’s largest independent music store, Twist and Shout is the type of all-everything shop that keeps the shelves full and the selection wide. They’re also the type of shop that sells t-shirts and hemp products, but the vastness of the place makes wading through a few Tool t-shirts mostly worth it.
Specialty: It may sound sort of silly, but you’ve rarely seen a store cover rock music so well: Amon Duul to Frank Zappa, Twist and Shout carries the extensive back-catalogs of rock’n’roll’s footnotes. A surprisingly strong selection of music-related literature—from the 33 1/3 series to a shelf of Bob Dylan tomes—conveniently placed near relevant artists makes for nasty impulse buying.
What They’re Missing When your catalog is this vast, some things are bound to get overlooked, and while the World Music and Electronic sections look large, they’re months behind on new releases, poorly organized, and rarely re-stocked. The store’s vinyl is relegated to a small shop across the street, with a pricey, meager selection. Not sure anyone would complain if the staff was friendlier/more knowledgeable, either.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the biggest, best shop in town, and the only place a Denver visitor needs to turn to get a handle on the city’s music scene.
[Andrew Gaerig]
International
Track Records
50 Goodramgate
York
North Yorkshire
YO1 7LF
About: Despite a recent switch-o-change-o of location, Track Records remain based in the city literally tens of people are still calling the Former Viking Capital of Great Britain. They have provided records to slovenly cynics with no appetite for major outlets since 1979.
Specialty: Track try to flog a bit of everything. New releases rub shoulders with the usual Rock/Pop back catalogue, who subsequently cosy up to oddly disproportionate Metal and Country sections. You might find what you came in for. You might not. Anything you do want could be curiously expensive or ridiculously undervalued. It’s a lottery of a place. If downstairs becomes tiresome, an out of place Swiss-chalet staircase can be followed to a mini-horde of vinyl, which dwells alongside other marginalised genres deemed unfit for general consumption (bad luck, Jazz) and a few t-shirts.
What They’re Missing: A ceiling high enough for persons taller than 6’2” to remain comfortably unacquainted with. And someone who knows the alphabet. The record racks are cheerfully inspired by the city’s most famous street; The Shambles.
Why We Love It: I live in a small market town where, although everything is charmingly picturesque and quaint, the best hope of acquiring any music is at the supermarket. Track Records may not have been the finest independent record store to ever grace the planet, but as the only shop within a 30 mile radius that had a chance of stocking semi-obscure 80’s bands, it held—and still holds—a special place in my heart. Besides, how many other record shops can you walk out of and see this? Exactly.
[Peter Parrish]
Alt Vinyl
61/62 Thornton Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
ne1 4aw
UK
About: Coming out of nowhere in 2003, Alt Vinyl has cracked the back of an already established record store market in Newcastle.
Specialty: Unsurprisingly enough, Alt Vinyl really knows its vinyl. Rare Clash seven inches sit happily on the walls next to the latest single-sided lathe cut. This isn't a hipster emporium though, you can still get your Coldplay CDs here and they won't snigger. Their famous Curious and Carnal section stocks some tasty promos and antiques for rock bottom prices. The newly installed local section brings together the area's finer talents (and that’s not even including the obvious Maximo Park and The Futureheads).
What They’re Missing: They could do with a having a late Thursday night opening slot. Those of us on the daily office grind could do with a few extra hours flipping through the racks.
Why We Love It: The Alt Vinyl team manage to balance a musical anal retentiveness with a waving-their-hands-in-the-air passion for music.
[Scott McKeating]
Rough Trade Shop
130 Talbot Road
London
W11 1JA
About: The Rough Trade Shop has history on its side. Located in Notting Hill near the historic store’s original location, Rough Trade spawned the post-punk record label of the same name and inspired an army of fashionable windowlickers on Talbot Road.
Specialty: Extremely fresh new releases crowd the bins here. There isn’t much space here, so there’s a lot of turnover. Of course, there’s always a little space reserved for Rough Trade’s tastemaking genre compilations.
What They’re Missing: As mentioned above, there’s not much space in this store, so the selection is pretty limited, and rather expensive at that. Don’t come here expecting to find some great used shopping—come here to keep up with the Joneses.
Why We Love It: Rough Trade is a pilgrimage. You’ve really never lived until you’ve been to London, braved the Tube to Notting Hill, wandered down Portobello into Rough Trade, paid far too much for a 12 inch single that was pressed five hours prior, walked out, and turned your nose up at the professional class.
[Mike Orme]
Sister Ray
34-35 Berwick Street
London
WIV 3RF
About: Central attraction to Soho record mecca Berwick Street, a place featured in countless music videos and the cover to Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. Formerly located in cramped premises at the strip club filled end furthest from Oxford Street, Sister Ray recently took over the more spacious and central Selectadisc.
Specialty: Always unfailingly excellent for new indie releases and rarities, they’ve now added Selectadisc’s expansive back catalogue section and a fantastic range of North American imports.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection is still comparatively limited and prices on better known stuff can rarely compete with the nearby likes of Mister CD. Their tendency to play unlistenable records very loudly also varies from endearing to annoying depending on mood.
Why We Love It: The reassuring knowledge that they’re very likely to have whatever new release the local megastores have failed on (Jeniferever, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene). And without Sister Ray coming through on the Arctic Monkeys’ debut single I’d now be 100 eBay pounds poorer.
[Iain Forrester]
Volcanic Tongue
Rooms 3&4
1129 Argyle Street
Glasgow, Scotland
G3 8ND
About: With material ranging from the blackest Japanese folk, Leeds’ dirtiest noise, and reissued glorious psychedelia, you’d need to be dead from the neck up to not find something to match your taste. The handmade shelving, fanatical staff, the sheer number of records in the intimate space makes it clear this is first and foremost a labor of love / obsession. Can you name another store with a Jandek shrine?
Specialty: As a store, label, and mail order / distribution company it’s swiftly become a lightning rod for the free/drone/noise/psych scenes. VT stocks all of those records that you would normally never have a chance of finding, unless you had some umbilical connection to the bands in question. Poetry books, t-shirts, DVDs, cassettes and CD-Rs—the place is jam-packed, and it demands more than a cursory visit.
What They’re Missing: Space and a more central location. It took me 30 minutes going up and down the road to find it.
Why We Love It: If the leftfield is your thing, then you can’t help but get seduced. Their weekly email updates cover such a huge amount of stock, and feature mini-reviews to let you know exactly what’s coming out. There isn’t anywhere else that does such a comprehensive round-up of what’s what in international underground music.
[Scott McKeating]
Remix
Via del Fiume 9
00186 Rome
Italy
About: Rome's primary DJ shop.
Specialty: 12"s of all kinds, from house to techno to new wave classics.
What They’re Missing: Techno selection leans towards minimal stuff.
Why We Love It: Rome isn't known for DJ record shops; Remix is the best place for that (L'Orso Buddy, at Via Crescenzio 41, may also be worth a look). The ambience is very "Rome," with photos of local DJ's on the ceiling and the trendy Via del Corso shopping area nearby. The selection is decent across all genres; if you're looking for classic '80s 12"s, you might strike gold here. It’s also a good place to pick up flyers for Rome's nightclub/party scene. Any place with a copy of X-101 signed by Mike Banks and Jeff Mills deserves a visit.
[Cosmo Lee]
Metropoli Rock
Via Cavour 72
Rome, Italy 184
About: Near Termini Station, on the treacherous Via Cavour, Metropoli Rock is a fascinating study in the vicissitudes of shopping for records in Italy. As tiny, cramped, and disorganized as a squatter's knapsack, it nonetheless proffers rewards for those with the patience and time to scratch beneath the surface.
Specialty: Overpriced home-grown pressings of UK/US faves (Italian pressings of the Cure's Mixed Up were going for 40 Euro) mostly serve to conceal the much-less-costly local artists. They also seem to do a fair trade in CD singles, comps, and impulse buys—I imagine most of the indigenous shoppers come here for a quick 10 euro fix—the shop reminds me of nothing so much as rap-fixated storefronts in DC and Manhattan, peddling the Europop/trance equivalent of East Coast mixtapes.
What They’re Missing: Only a sense of organization—ANY kind of organization. Also, I got the sense from my last visit that there was a certain suspicion of those trudging through the dusty, unsorted reams of vinyl. Considering that the clutter had not been re-organized one bit since my last visit there TWO YEARS prior I can understand why.
Why We Love It: Despite (or maybe because of) the lack of sense in the racks, one finds some delicious obscurities hanging about. Also, the lack of sophistication parallels Roma in general—that bizarre combination of Third World Country and World Class City that is part of why the ancient capital remains so charming and so strange. Also, when one finally collects the overpriced records that have been sitting on the shelves long enough to be more dust than wax, one finds that the process of checking out involves a serious, drawn-out haggle with the owner.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Soul Food
Via San Giovanni in Laterano, 192-194
Rome, Italy 184
About: Weave past the "gladiatori" in sweat socks and digital watches, avoid all three Caesars, and make your way down the Via San Giovanni in Laterano to the hippest record store in the Eternal City.
Specialty: Soul Food rocks the 60's and 70's vibe well enough but has tasty treats on offer from every decade of pop music past. Funk, soul, punk, garage, psyche, jazz and power-pop all get love here—but it's mainly reissues (primarily on vinyl) that Soul Food stocks with unimpeachable taste.
What They’re Missing: Not much—there's little new music to be had here, but that's part of the point of Soul Food—they eschew the Tower / Virgin-esque ethos of big Rome record stores like Disfunzioni Musicali and Ricordi to focus on retro sounds and vinyl.
Why We Love It: Let's face it—record shopping in my favorite city is a daunting prospect—arrogant employees, high prices, mysteriously-labelled stock, and typically Mediterranean insouciance make for a frustrating experience. Soul Food, beyond their awesome stock of reprints, are admirable for flipping all the negatives of record shopping in Rome upside-down. A ridiculously friendly and helpful staff, casual and intimate atmosphere, and a small but deep selection make for the best vinyl-digging experience in Roma. Buying records in Italia without some greebo breathing down your neck? Priceless. Scoring a sweet Kraftwerk t-shirt for 10 Euro while the Delta 5 compilation plays in the background? Off the map.
[Mallory O’Donnell]
Jet Set Records
410 Shimomaruya-cho (5th & 6th Floors), Kawaramachi-Sanjo,
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
About: Located in the lively downtown center of Kyoto, Jet Set Records offers the selection of a DJ specialty shop with a number of rock titles and an enchanting selection of novel electronic and electro-acoustic releases from primarily Japan and Europe.
Specialty: Electronic/House in the 6th floor store, and jazz, soul, world, and dancehall reggae in the 5th floor store. There’s a healthy serving of vinyl, but CD’s can be found too, especially in rock & electronic music.
What They’re Missing: In the end, Jet Set is a DJ shop, so casual record-seekers should obviously beware that much of the store may not specifically appeal to them. Specifically, the rock section is probably going to be a little thin for some, but in general the store has a nice selection of cross-over genres.
Why We Love It: This writer was first turned on to Junior Boys, Hypo, and a lot of Childisc artists via Jet Set. The old Pan Am memorabilia makes the place a worthy visit even if you’re not in the market for music.
[Mike Orme]
Third Ear Music
23 Shenkin Street
Tel Aviv, Israel
About: Forget the conflict in the Middle East, the rather cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv actually possesses one hell of a record store, right next to the bustling Dizengoff shopping center. With a stellar collection of vinyl and CD in a myriad of genres, this is a diamond in the rough for a place with fairly repetitive music stores.
Specialty: Unlike other Israeli music stores, this store is defined by its extensive assortment of sub-genres of music abroad, including oddly prodigious stacks of jazz, psych, folk, metal, punk, noise, and electronic music, on both record and compact disc.
What They’re Missing: The record collection could be more extensive, and some electronic titles could stand a bit of a price cut, but that's a complaint at many music shops.
Why We Love It: Well, for one, prices. A great deal of music, especially UK and Japanese imports, are much cheaper than in the States, Anywhere where you can buy Can's Future Days and Faust's IV for a combined twelve bucks is at least worth visiting. But it's also unique for containing CD's that are usually sold out or absent from many CD stores, like Herbie Hancock's Crossings and mu-ziq's Lunatic Harness, both for under ten dollars.
[Tal Rosenberg]
JB Hifi
Kotara Homemaker Centre
Building D, Shop 5 & 6
Kotara, NSW 2289
(And other locations around Australia)
About: Chain specializing in budget price music, movies, and electronics, with the strip mall banality of its exterior hiding a range and depth worthy of an indie record store.
Specialty: Being very cheap. With standard prices about a third cheaper than other stores, it’d be worth a visit even if its collection was no better than your average department store. But when its bargain bins look better than other chain stores’ entire catalogues, my visits all too frequently result in me leaving with a $2 Built to Spill album or a $5 Go! Team record.
What They’re Missing: While the range of recent releases is superb, lower profile older albums are more difficult to come by. At times its chain store qualities can’t help showing, making for a somewhat cold, impersonal experience.
Why We Love It: Apart from heavily discounted stock, its best quality is the way it manages to feel like an indie record store, despite being located in a gigantic warehouse. The promotion, for instance, is endearingly amateur; TV on the Radio’s latest release is advertised with a staff-member’s hand-drawn picture of Cookie Monster. The selection, too, seems motivated less by the clinical approach of a large corporation, and more by the idiosyncratic whims of a record obsessive. It has an admirable range of box sets and vinyl, and a refreshing willingness to do stupid things like import bulk amounts of Kanye West and G-Unit mixtapes across the Pacific, less because there is a demand for such releases, and more because the store has the ability stock them.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Red Eye Records
66 King St
Sydney, NSW 2000
About: Sydney’s largest independent music store, Red Eye is a local icon and the starting point for any music obsessive in the city.
Specialty: Between its two locations, the original two story King Street store (downstairs for new stock, upstairs for used) and the Pitt Street location for used and collectors’ items, Red Eye is ground zero for a day’s music shopping in the city. A nice touch is its practice of including a brief description on the front of every release in the store.
What They’re Missing: Despite an exhaustive range of every form of rock imaginable, the hip-hop section is irritatingly patchy.
Why We Love It: The admirable range is a definite plus, as is the well-stocked second-hand section, but my favorite thing about Red Eye is the vinyl and multitude of turntables provided for listening. I’ve killed many an afternoon picking selections of obscure remixes and b-sides from the punk and electronic sections, and, with headphones on and a big stack of records sitting beside me, coming to the realization that I could never buy even half the great music I was listening to.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Black Market
Gonzagagasse 9
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
About: The bricks & mortar component to online DJ shop soulseduction.com.
Specialty: Anything with an electronic beat—house, techno, broken beat, hip-hop, etc.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: The one time I visited, the store had a lingerie fashion show. I kid you not. Normally, when I'm listening to records, I'm locked in. But tons of scantily clad women walking around with drinks—that was distracting. I don't know if that sort of thing happens often there, or if that's adequate endorsement, but the store's selection is more than enough to recommend it. This is the rare place that's good for both breakbeat junkies and four-on-the-floor purists. Particularly impressive is the selection of dancefloor techno—Intec, Naples sound, Spanish techno, etc.
[Cosmo Lee]
Core Tex
Oranienstrasse 3
10997 Berlin
Germany
About: Punk megastore in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: CD's, DVD's, vinyl, and clothing for all flavors of punk, from '77 to Oi to hardcore to metalcore.
What They’re Missing: More metal would be nice (a personal bias), especially since most hardcore these days is practically metal.
Why We Love It: A punk store that's not a rathole! In fact, this store is huge, clean, and professional. The hardcore punk selection is incredibly deep—how Germans know about obscure West Coast labels is beyond me. Need that old Integrity album or Champion split EP? You'll find it here. The clothing selection is jaw-dropping, with racks and racks (two walls' worth) of band T-shirts, hoodies, and Doc Martens. The staff is friendly, too, patiently putting up with my lack of Deutsche. If you call yourself a punk, this store is Mecca.
[Cosmo Lee]
Hard Wax
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44a
10999 Berlin
Germany
About: Legendary techno record store in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: Techno along the Berlin-Detroit axis, reggae, drum 'n' bass, dubstep.
What They're Missing: The latest trendy minimal records, though there is some of that.
Why We Love It: This place oozes history. Founded by one of the Basic Channel guys, this store is central to the Berlin-Detroit techno connection. Here, you'll find all those Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Burial Mix, and Maurizio records that sell for loads on eBay. You'll also find classic records by the Detroit masters, like Carl Craig, Robert Hood, and Jeff Mills, whose selection is so well-stocked he gets his own section on the website. Chicago, the birthplace of all things jacking, is well-represented, along with UK techno, especially the Birmingham sound (Surgeon, Regis, Downwards, etc.). True to the spirit of Basic Channel, there's also a large reggae selection. Come here enough, and you may spot Richie Hawtin or Ricardo Villalobos shopping for records.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rotation Records
Weinbergsweg 3
10119 Berlin
Germany
About: Minimal techno record store in the Mitte district of Berlin.
Specialty: 12”s, a few CD's. Used bins yield the occasional house or hard techno record.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: Minimal techno records are so common in Berlin that your neighborhood falafel stand probably sells them. What distinguishes Rotation is its pleasant atmosphere. The store is clean and new, with plenty of listening stations, several of which have a nice view of the street. The selection is strong, with all the usual suspects—Crosstown Rebels, M_nus, Poker Flat, and so on. Used bins offer bargains and cut-rate white labels. You might also find rave classics or represses thereof. This is a good place to pick up flyers for Berlin's raging club scene.
[Cosmo Lee]
Encore Records
54 Queen St S
Kitchener, ON N2G 1V6
About: Tucked away across the street from a big second hand book store in Kitchener's downtown, Encore (motto: “Not a dog disc in the dump!”) is surprisingly big on the inside and has that weathered, not-dirty-but-definitely-not-clean feel that all the best record stores have.
Specialty: As Kitchener is not exactly a huge metropolis, stores like Encore have to have breadth rather than obsessive depth, and so in addition to the large main indie/rock collection that is their bread and butter they have decent, gratifyingly diverse selections of everything from metal to jazz, rap to krautrock/Japanese psych (filed together, of course).
What They’re Missing: Honestly, after years of struggling with the local HMV in next-city-over Guelph to find anything worthwhile, I have a hard time spotting any flaws in their stock, and the distance means I haven't been able to keep close tabs on how quickly they get things. But like any shop, it's not actually perfect, and of the records I was desperate to get when I first went there, the (helpful) employees had not heard of the Knife at all, let alone their album.
Why We Love It: After spending literally my entire life hours away from a half decent record shop, inadvertently walking into Encore and finding that not only did they have Coil and Muslimgauze, but that they had about ten releases apiece, plus other personal favorites like the Mountain Goats and Sleep. My utter joy at finding the place was only rivaled by my chagrin at living nearby for five years without knowing.
[Ian Mathers]
Orange Monkey Music
5 Princess St W
Waterloo, ON N2L 2X7
About: A small L-shaped space above local institution the Jane Bond (which makes some tasty vegetarian food), the Orange Monkey's proprietor is known around Guelph as DJ Charless when he runs a popular local funk/soul/R&B night; the rest of the time he runs this cozy nook stuffed to bursting with CDs, vinyl, and movies (mostly of the monster/genre variety).
Specialty: Well, the last time I visited companions walked off with the original score to Dawn of the Dead and a CD compilation of 70's porn music, and I managed to get Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies Man and Big Black's Songs About Fucking, and we collectively scratched the surface. I didn't manage to even glance at the vinyl. As with Encore, Waterloo is small enough that the Orange Monkey needs to carry a decent selection of everything, but glancing around I definitely got the impression that the place prefers music that is either hard, weird, or both. Also, zombie movies.
What They’re Missing: Well, it's certainly not the first place I'd go to look for rap music, and those cramped quarters are both part of the charm and kind of a pain in the ass; there were four of us, and I'm not sure how many more people you could have fit in the place.
Why We Love It: If you'd seen the look on my brother's face when he saw that Dawn of the Dead vinyl up on the wall, you wouldn't need to ask.
[Ian Mathers]
Rotate This!
620 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
About: Probably the biggest and best, definitely the most well known, non-chain music store in Canada's largest city, Rotate This! gets nearly as much exposure from the fact that they sell tickets for most of the shows in Toronto proper, barring the type of thing that might show up at the Air Canada Centre. It's a bit of a hipster mecca, the sort of place that's careful to note on their website that although they don't stock Britney (since you can find her anywhere) they still like her.
Specialty: Pretty much what you'd expect. Their current top ten in sales ranges from Thom Yorke to the Black Angels (pausing to take in Sufjan, the Knife, and MSTRKRFT along the way), and they have an abiding love for vinyl, striving to have as much of their stock available on LP as possible.
What They’re Missing: Well, their own website proclaims a lack of nu-country and classical as well as anything that's “not appropriate for our store, for any number of reasons.” More importantly, unless things have changed since the last time I dropped by, they're missing anything even approaching a decent filing system—many albums are filed just by letter with no divisions by band. If you're looking for something or in a hurry, you're in for the record shop equivalent of Hell.
Why We Love It: It's an institution, it's got a great selection, and don't neglect how nice it is to pick up the disc you were looking for and score tickets to that show you wanted to see at the same time.
[Ian Mathers]
South
Waterloo
600A North Lamar
Austin, TX 78703
About: A well-oiled indie machine, Waterloo looms large over Austin, effectively blocking corporate chains within a twenty-mile radius of its Sixth Street location.
Specialty: Variety. Waterloo features a decent cross-section of most any genre operant today and is the perfect place to start branching out into new musical territory. The staff is friendly, and the classic works of house/funk/noise/free jazz/world music can usually be found.
What They’re Missing: Jack of all trades, master of none. Subgenre zealots will dislike Waterloo’s style, but given the store’s palatial size and high-dollar location, it simply can’t afford to exclude demographics.
Why We Love It: Waterloo’s the musical epicenter of Austin, and one of our most prominent businesses. It sets the tone for an eclectic, laid-back city.
[Bryan Berge]
Soundwaves
3509 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
About: Houston's largest independent record store chain, with nine locations.
Specialty: Comprehensive independent/major label CD/DVD selection, with some locations dedicated to surf/skate gear.
What They're Missing: Not much. Any store that, at one time, carried the entire Volume and Trance Europe Express series deserves props.
Why We Love It: I can only speak as to the Montrose branch, which has changed since I frequented its previous location. Now you have to fight your way past surf/skate gear to get to the music, and evidently now there's also a coffee house on the premises. But the selection is still huge, with decent prices. Once I came across an ultra-rare Future Sound of London release there at the same time as someone else. We had a brief confrontation, but I lost. Before shopping there, be sure to print out coupons from the website.
[Cosmo Lee]
End of an Ear
2209 South First Street
Austin, TX 78704
About: Rising from the ashes of the mighty Thirty Three Degrees, End of an Ear has staked a plot in the sweetest stretch of South Firs—a street rapidly replacing Congress as Austin’s symbolic center.
Specialty: The psych and experimental sections slay local competitors. Krautrock fans in particular will be thrilled by the bounty of Cluster, Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, and the like. Noise and industrial, amazingly enough, are equally billed with the tastefully picked rock sections.
What They’re Missing: The staff plays it safe with the electronic section, sticking mainly to the Warps and Kompakts of the world, and the vinyl could be filled in a bit.
Why We Love It: End of an Ear supports Austin, showcasing local visual artists and hosting a full calendar of in-stores, ranging from absurdo-pop to dead-serious eggheads. There’s nothing like cruising the stacks near the keg, pulsing to the drone of a local unknown.
[Bryan Berge]
Wuxtry
197 E Clayton St.
Athens, GA 30601
About: The first used CD store of its kind to open in the Southeast, Wuxtry sits dead center in the downtown area of America's definitive college music town. A short walk from UGA's Arches and agonizingly close to a Wachovia ATM machine, students and town folk alike can blow through a week's budget on Elephant 6 rarities and then head upstairs to Bizarro Wuxtry, the infinitely jaw-dropping clearinghouse of pop culture detritus, to blow an entire month's on Yo! MTV Raps trading cards.
Specialty: Athens' biggest and most diverse collection of used CD's and vinyl, it caters to the cash-strapped undergrads and the most discerning tastemakers in town. Plus, Jeff Mangum probably shopped here.
What They're Missing: Though their back collections are impressive, if you want the latest major/indie release when you roll out of bed on a Tuesday, you're probably be better off going to Best Buy.
Why We Love It: Some will chalk it up to southern hospitality, but Wuxtry does its part every day to combat the ill reputation High Fidelity to the record store clerks of the world. Doesn't matter if you're buying Spiderland, Heavier Things, or anything else not by the band the dude at the counter is currently in. He's just happy as fuck that you went to Wuxtry.
[Ian Cohen]
Full Moon Records
1653 McLendon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
About: Nestled within a neighborhood strip, Full Moon is a paragon of organization with every cubic centimeter of space utilized to dizzying effect. CDs are thankfully an afterthought, as the counter is the only site designated to a decent selection of used and new discs. Vinyl, on the other hand, is king, lovingly alphabetized and cradled in crates that seemingly never age.
Specialty: Extraordinary attention is given to rock’s lesser knowns—and that extends to all genres. Captain Beyond, Twink, Randy Holden, and Bobby Callender are as readily available as are The No-Neck Blues Band and local misfits such as The Rattler, Bon Vivants, Black Lips, and Deerhunter. Mainstays are also given their due, as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Grateful Dead, and MC5 LPs never run dry.
What They’re Missing: Stock reflects the interests of the owner, which fails to affect me as we share tastes. White belts searching out the Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens will have to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: The “second story” dollar bin has provided broke schmucks like yours truly with the essentials—and at an opportune time. Before “post-rock” could gum me with its poisonous molars, I landed ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, and Duguello in one fell swoop for $1 each. There’s nearly always some choice jazz hidden amongst the Lawrence Welk and Barbara Streisand; I can thank Full Moon for playable copies of Coltrane’s Ole and Ornette’s The Shape of Things to Come.
[Stewart Voegtlin]
Midwest
Bent Crayon
11600 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
About: Founded in the fall of 1995 by local music lover John Cellura (who has run the place basically single-handedly ever since), Bent Crayon manages to pack a healthy amount of indie, electronic, and experimental CDs and the area’s widest selection of vinyl into a small corner shop on Cleveland’s West Side, as well as doing a wealth of business through its Web site.
Specialty: Though there is a very respectable indie section (in fact, the best in the Cleveland area), Bent Crayon’s specialty is undoubtedly electronic dance music, and the latest cutting-edge European and domestic labels (Kompakt, Trapez, etc.) and everything in-between are available in force, as well as a very solid selection of back catalog.
What They’re Missing: Major labels are notably absent (except for imports and vinyl), but it isn’t like you’d miss them. They could also stand another turntable for listening purposes—there’s only one, and you could end up waiting a long time to use it behind the wrong customer.
Why We Love It: When Cellura founded the store more than a decade ago, the cards were stacked against him. There were a host of other indie-minded stores around, and the local press and hipster gossips were equally divided between loving and hating Bent Crayon—and Cellura himself, whom many labeled snobbish. Cellura gets the last laugh, however, as he has outlasted the rest of the shops and is now the only game in town. Say what you will about his personality, Cellura knows his music and his devoted clientele, and that is what has kept him in business while the larger, flashier stores have wilted.
[Todd Hutlock]
Magnolia Thunderpussy
1155 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Founded in 1970, Magnolia Thunderpussy is one of the longest-running independent record stores in the country. Despite being south of the campus area, it does fine—it’s located between two of the cities most well-traveled music venues: High Five and Little Brother’s.
Specialty: If you simply went to the store’s MySpace page, they might have you believe that they’re a vendor simply interested in getting you whatever you’d like. But with the amount of goth, metal, and EBM shirts lining the walls and a quick perusal of their weekly top sellers, it becomes quickly apparent that the store specializes in anything “dark.”
What They’re Missing: While Magnolia pays lip service to the idea of used CDs, they’re easily outclassed by the nearby Used Kids. Additionally, if you’re looking for anything dance-y that isn’t on Metropolis Records, you might want to look elsewhere.
Why We Love It: Much like Mallory O’Donnell’s favorite, Café Soundz, Magnolia caters to one demographic incredibly well. While they do have a nice selection of many genres, they have a bread and butter and stick to it.
[Todd Burns]
Used Kids
1980 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43201
About: Owned by Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments lead singer Ron House, Used Kids is the record store for discerning Ohio State students. Located outside of the recently renovated “Gateway” area, the store retains a charming old Columbus charm. Or is that stink?
Specialty: Used CDs. While the store is more than happy to stock the newest indie rock releases on CD and vinyl, Used Kids (as the namely clearly indicates) is primarily a haven for those looking for a deal on a classic—or a promo copy dropped off by a local writer. The secret to a successful experience? Go in without a plan and let yourself be surprised.
What They’re Missing: The hip-hop is thin, but the main sore spot is electronic music. After having a paltry selection for a long time, the last time that I went into the store I couldn’t find the section at all.
Why We Love It: With a huge turnover, cheap prices, and an unpretentious staff, Used Kids is Columbus in a nutshell.
[Todd Burns]
B-Side Records
436 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
About: Nestled in a small alcove on State Street, the main artery running directly between the Capitol building and the University of Wisconsin’s Library Mall, B-Side Records has been supplying college kids and campus visitors in Madison since 1982.
Specialty: In addition to a well-stocked indie and classic-rock selection (both requisites on the youth-and-granola-friendly campus), B-Side also carries an impressive collection of R&B, soul, and jazz, arranging discs by genre in sturdy wooden crates arranged in strategic, Tetra-esque locations throughout. Can’t find something? Look below or above you: lesser-known discs by popular artists are often kept underneath the crates or on shelves affixed to the wall (I completed my J.J. Cale and Savoy Brown collections in college by digging down a little closer to the carpet).
What They’re Missing: Due to size constraints it’s impossible for B-Side to house the entire catalog of most any band, even your most beloved. You’re oftentimes just as likely to find a piece of arcana as you are a classic, but they’re cool about ordering what they don’t have in stock.
Why We Love It: The staff: A variety of laid-back aficionados are regularly found behind the counter, proof positive that not all people working in independent record stores are supercilious dicks. Years after I finished school there, many of the same knowledgeable staff remain, ready to ring you up while chatting about most any sonic subject. You have to love any small store that inspires that kind of employee loyalty.
[Drew Miller]
Reckless Records
1532 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
About: With another store situated in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the Wicker Park location is doubtlessly the store’s flagship, if for no other reason than the neighborhood. Catering to the area’s famous (or infamous) hipster scenesters, Reckless is a competent, if somewhat disheveled, way post for Chicago music lovers.
Specialty: Completeness. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here, from indispensable CD’s and LP’s in virtually any genre to music magazines, concert tickets, rock memorabilia and obscure DVD’s.
What They’re Missing: Organization. No doubt due to the threat of shoplifting in the area, Reckless removes all CD’s and jewel cases from albums, leaving only the covers for customers to flip through. The result is that albums often get placed virtually anywhere, sometimes never to return to their rightful home. I’m no neat-freak, but if you suffer from OCD-like symptoms, you might want to go elsewhere, as finding what you’re looking for can be a frustrating effort in futility.
Why We Love It: In addition to a host of well-informed staff working behind the counter, Reckless tries to make sure its clientele remain similarly well-informed. Album covers oftentimes have a succinct review and trustworthy rating appended to them. I have more than once been turned on to artists about whom I knew nothing simply by poring over the attached mini-reviews in their ‘featured’ section above the pop/rock aisle.
[Drew Miller]
Dusty Groove America
1120 N Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
About: Simply put, if you’re looking to get your groove on in the Midwest, you need to visit this store. Dusty Groove America is a wonderland of all things funky and smooth, with lots and lots of new and used vinyl and a healthy selection of CDs. Also a fantastic Web site for mail order peeps.
Specialty: Soul, R&B, jazz, funk, etc., and lots of it, from the classics to the obscure and everywhere in-between. Dusty Groove also carries one of North America’s best selections of Brazilian music.
What They’re Missing: While Dusty Groove is a fabulous place to engage in a few hours of obscure crate digging, their selection of popular standards of the genre (like say, Stevie Wonder’s back catalog) is occasionally a little thin, especially on CD. Hardly a complaint, though. Also, expect to pay collector’s prices for some items, but nothing excessive or outrageous.
Why We Love It: The vinyl is generally in amazing shape, the store is kept clean, the staff are knowledgeable and friendly, and the selection is impeccable. I have never been in Dusty Groove and come away without an armful of records, usually things I had never actually seen or heard of until I walked in the door. There’s also a fun selection of turntable and record junkie accessories—ask about the Vinyl Killer!
[Todd Hutlock]
Wazoo Records
336 1/2 State St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located above a head shop in the middle of the University of Michigan campus, Wazoo makes the most of its pencil-thin space, using old wooden crates to house a surprisingly large slice of indie rock’s catalog.
Specialty: Volumes and volumes of rock’s back catalog, Wazoo makes hay off the classics other shops miss: The Pogues’ If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Syd Barrett’s Barrett, as well as stocking British imports before virtually everyone else: The Go! Team and Bloc Party come to mind.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection could be stronger; they seem to be about two weeks behind on important electronic releases.
Why We Love It: The best moment every semester: strolling out of the Science Auditorium after your last final, walking across the street into Wazoo, and blowing a week or two’s worth of wages in celebration. Freshman year I strolled in, picked up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Califone’s Sometimes Bad Weather Follows Good People and carried that last-day-of-school feeling throughout the summer.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Encore Records
417 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
About: Located just off the University of Michigan’s campus, Encore Records is a grungy little joint that doesn’t fuck with anything shrink-wrapped: the store’s labyrinthine shelves house Michigan’s largest selection of used CDs and LPs.
Specialty: Encore leaves no genre un-turned, but a heaving selection of rare ethnic music on vinyl sets the shop apart. Their devotion to the greater Detroit area’s thriving local scene is impressive: your search for that rare Wolf Eyes cassette-only release ends here.
What They’re Missing: They’re a second-hand shop, so forget finding anything new.
Why We Love It: Make an afternoon out of it: Show up with a crumpled list of records on a grey Saturday afternoon, hobnob with the Ann Arbor indie elite—members of Saturday Looks Good to Me, Dykehouse, and Nomo call the shop home—elbow your way around the other hardcores. The best part? The front counter is surrounded by two walls of used CDs not yet shelved, virgin plastic towers not yet picked over. Show up to the counter with a fistful of records and realize that you’ve still got 20 minutes of browsing to do. Sweet Saturday afternoon…
[Andrew Gaerig]
Stormy Records
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
About: A boutique-style shop owned by wife-husband ambient duo Windy & Carl, Stormy Records recently moved into a space above the venerable Green Brain Comics. The shop often hosts shows, from Frog Eyes and Destroyer to a recent Will Oldham gig, as well as sporadic appearances by the owners. A true indie, with a limited selection reflecting the tastes of the owners.
Specialty: Stormy specializes in underground ambient and experimental music, so while you can always arrive and find the latest indie releases, the true pleasure is flipping through the new releases rack and walking away with something you’ve never heard of. Hands down Detroit’s best place to gamble on cool cover art.
What They’re Missing: Lots, really. Stormy’s a specialty shop, so anything that falls outside the realm of underground rock/experimental music is thin: the store has meager selections of jazz, hip-hop, and blues. Even classic rock records—Dylan, the Stones, etc.—are in short supply, and while these holes are partially filled by a dirt-cheap selection of vinyl, Stormy is not where you go to find the staples.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the record-shopping equivalent of Cheers: Everybody knows your name. Pick the Carl’s brain about early Creation releases, let Windy go on about Durutti Column, hang around for an after-hours performance. Stormy is a community.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Flat Black and Circular
541 E. Grand River
East Lansing, MI 48823
About: Michigan State University—home of the second-largest undergraduate population in the United States—has but one passable record shop, located off Grand River, doors down from a Barnes & Noble, an Urban Outfitters, a Taco Bell, and just about every other stereotyped campus amenity you can dream up.
Specialty: A surprising amount of vinyl hip-hop caters to the DJ population, while rank and file indie kids will find few better places to dine on that distinctly 1990’s brand of post rock.
What They’re Missing: A respectable electronic section and any semblance of a back catalog—please don’t make me hit that Barnes and Noble to find a PJ Harvey CD. It belittles us both.
Why We Love It: FBC is located in an unassuming, office-space type of building, but make your way up the stairwell and you’re greeted by a seven foot tall arch of old 45’s. St. Peter should count himself lucky to guard a port so alluring.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Vintage Vinyl
6610 Delmar
St. Louis, MO 63130
About: Located on a block of bars and restaurants that serve St. Louis’s Washington University, Vintage Vinyl cradles the area’s local scene as well as offering waves of jazz, blues, and rock music.
Specialty: Vintage Vinyl seems particularly proud of St. Louis’s rich jazz history, as well as prominently displaying its local artists. It’s also the only game in town.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl, strangely enough. Those waves of records all come on plastic.
Why We Love It: So admittedly, this has very little to do with record shopping, but about a block down from Vintage Vinyl lies Blueberry Hill, a salty BBQ joint with a drinking problem, a wall of dart-boards, and enough famous patrons to wallpaper its halls. Stylus heartily recommends the Hickory Burger. Your St. Louis experience begins and ends on Delmar.
[Andrew Gaerig]
Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
About: The Electric Fetus is a Minneapolis institution, stranded above Highway 35 amongst the dying brick store-fronts along Franklin Avenue, since 1969. Not only is it enormous for a non-chain record store, visitors receive their own free patchouli dousing upon entrance.
Specialty: The Fetus’ specialty is really in its completeness: they carry well-rounded selections of everything from the standards—jazz to R&B to pop—and they’ve even added an experimental music section in the past few months. They go out of their way to make sure they don’t “specialize,” so they can just carry everything you might ever want.
What They’re Missing: Their import selections need improvement (TVotR has taken far too long to come in), and their electronic music selection typically lacks the prominent European releases.
Why We Love It: As one can imagine, the Minneapolitans on Stylus have spent their fair share of time traipsing the Midwest, and Chicago included, we’ve still never seen a record store that can keep up with the Fetus’ overall selection.
[Derek Miller]
Treehouse Records
2557 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55405
About: Treehouse Records is a developing landmark for indie records and CDs, started by Mark Trehus, the former maverick owner of Oarfolkjokeopus Records, in 2001.
Specialty: Treehouse specializes in both vinyl LPs and vinyl 45s, but they also happen to have the best used CD selection for recent indie releases (please, keep this to yourself). As such, you can profit on the cheap for Lynlakers needing beer money for the eve.
What They’re Missing: Their electronic music LPs are all but non-existent, but given they specialize in indie and punk music, perhaps that’s not such a pitfall.
Why We Love It: Treehouse is one of a handful of ‘mom and pop’ record stores left in Minneapolis that packs both quaint charm—the entire place has that earthy tree-mold smell like they’re recovering from a flood and have yet to peel out the carpets—and a wide-enough selection to get what you need.
[Derek Miller]
Budget Music & Video
1944 S. Broadway
Minot, ND 58701
About: Minot's only used CD store. Also offers new CD's, DVD's, posters, smoking gear, and really smelly incense.
Specialty: The only place in town to get independent popular music.
What They’re Missing: If you're in Minot, ND, you're in no position to be picky.
Why We Love It: My competitive record-shopping side is reluctant to divulge this secret. But most people will never make it to Minot, so I might as well. As the town's only receptacle of used CD's, Budget is a fascinating barometer of the residents' tastes. Over time, the selection has diversified from country and hair metal to more alternative stuff. Used CD's vary in price, with a huge dollar bin. What's gold in NY is probably wood in ND, so I always leave with armloads of cheap CD's, all reeking of incense.
[Cosmo Lee]
West
Amoeba Records
Locations in Hollywood, Berkeley, and San Francisco
About: The cliché goes that Amoeba is the 800 lb. gorilla in the Los Angeles record world. It’s a cliché for a reason. Amoeba is probably the Bay Area’s best export since Jerry Garcia, depending on your feelings for the Dead. Amoeba landed in Los Angeles via Berkeley in late 2001 with a bang, immediately becoming Los Angeles’ largest record store (and one of the largest in the world).
Specialty: Due to its sheer immensity, Amoeba has the capacity to store double or even triple the amount of records and CDs of its competitors. Plus, its used CDs are usually lower-priced than anywhere else in town and often include brand-new and hard-to-find albums.
What They’re Missing: A sense of equity. Though Amoeba is customer’s dream, its sheer size, and buying power have obliterated the competition. When Los Angeles landmarks Aron’s Records and Rhino Records shut down this year, much industry whispering circulated around the Amoeba effect playing a role in the stores’ decreased business.
Why We Love It: Over the past few months, the Raconteurs, the Secret Machines, the Mountain Goats, the Black Keys, and Silversun Pickups have been dropping in to play free in-store performances. Amoeba is a savior for those on a budget, allowing die-hard fans the opportunity to see big bands for free.
[Jeff Weiss]
Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA
About: Aquarius is best known for its enormous mailorder website, and its dense, insightful, and often snarky reviews of records. However, the shop is also a 36-year-old San Francisco institution that sits deep in the Mission District. The staff’s handwritten reviews are crammed on stickers that are taped to the CD cases.
Specialty: An underground music lover’s paradise only made possible by a staff that loves their job. There is an array of indie rock, sound-art, obscure psych, and krautrock (Conrad Schnitzler or Zippo Zetterlink, anyone?), underground metal, and recordings of elephants playing gongs.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection was rather tiny during the last time I visited.
Why We Love It: Just check out their website to understand Aquarius’s love for the leftfield or the obscure. And if you visit the shop, say hello to The Wire contributor Jim Haynes, who works there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Groove Merchant Records
687 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA
About: “This one goes out to my man, the Groove Merchant / Coming through with beats for which I’ve been searching / Like two sealed copies of [classic Lonnie Smith album] Expansions / I’m like Tom Vu with yachts and mansions,” Beastie Boy Mike D raps in “Professor Booty.” This 16-year-old store is like a classroom for DJs, producers and beat junkies from around the world. Founders Michael and Jody McFadin are best known for creating Ubiquity Records.
Specialty: Funk, jazz, soul, and Latin grooves so rare they’re on the EPA’s endangered species list. They also have a great vinyl collection of leftfield hip-hop, broken beat, and reggae.
What They’re Missing: A lot of gems get quickly sold out, and some of the prices reflect “niche market for financially successful DJs.”
Why We Love It: Ask a clerk about an obscure record and odds are that you’ll receive a detailed history of its origins, players, and tips on where the coolest breaks are.
[Cameron Macdonald]
The Hindenburg
Near 21st and K streets
Sacramento, CA
About: This now-defunct shop was a prime hangout and volunteer-run record shop for Sacramento’s punk underground during the 1990s. The shop itself was crammed into a tiny and dimly-lit, attic-like room. “Resist the Mindfuck” was written across a wall (I vaguely recall).
Specialty: Homemade, DIY rock and punk records, along with dollar-bin obscurities and novelties. I once purchased copies of DC minimalist-punks The Warmers’ lone album and Martin Denny’s Exotica during one visit.
What They’re Missing: Their existence. Sacramento has screamed for an DIY record shop for too many years.
Why We Love It: The Hindenburg was a fine place where DIY punk culture provided an alternative to Sacramento’s Tower Records and Virgin Megastore.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Red Devil Records
894 Fourth St.
San Rafael, CA
About: I encountered this tiny shop in the small Napa Valley town of Petaluma a few years back, and tripped over a trove. Original, sealed LP copies of the Stooges’ self-titled debut and PublicMetal Box (in its metal container) were perched behind the counter. Red Devil had since relocated to downtown San Rafael.
Specialty: This shop has a rep for stocking loads of punk records and knows about collector’s items well. My prized find: a radio promo copy of Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing.
What They’re Missing: Rare punk records that are slightly cheaper than Collector’s Prices would be nice.
Why We Love It: Red Devil is proof-positive that mom-and-pop record shops can still have the upper hand on the chain-stores when it comes to offering rock artifacts.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Open Mind Music
342 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA
About: A vinyl junkie’s realm that’s saturated in arcane and contemporary wax. The lower Haight shop can maraud the wallet and swallow up an entire afternoon of your free time.
Specialty: An abundance of hip-hop, psych, post-techno, indie-rock, dollar-bin corporate rock, jazz, and 80s new wave on vinyl. My prized find: A Japanese imported copy of Christian Marclay’s famous Record Without a Cover on white vinyl.
What They’re Missing: The CD selection can be minuscule and nearly unnoticeable at times.
Why We Love It: The shop can be a quieter and better-stocked alternative to the mammoth Amoeba Music that stands a mile away.
[Cameron Macdonald]
Tone Vendor
Formerly a physical store in Sacramento, CA
About: Tone Vendor was the only reason why I visited midtown Sacramento for a few years. The store was an ideal independent operation that stocked generous amounts of vinyl, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and paintings by local artists.
Specialty: Tone Vendor’s online catalog is mainly dedicated to indie-pop, but there is also a fine taste for punk, hip-hop, psych, and experimental music.
What They’re Missing: The owners closed shop and moved back to Florida last year, leaving an asteroid-sized cultural crater in Sacramento.
Why We Love It: It sometimes seemed like whatever was reviewed in Stylus or The Wire would be stocked at Tone Vendor. The staff’s friendliness and music addiction always made the place an easy excuse to blow off an afternoon there.
[Cameron Macdonald]
101 Music
1414 Grant Ave. & 513 Green St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
About: Actually two stores in the scenic North Beach section of San Francisco. One specializes in collector’s vinyl and the other is the ultimate mixed-bag: tens of thousands of unsorted records in the basement priced at five dollars each.
Specialty: Vinyl, particularly vinyl of the 1970s. Jazz, Rock and Classical are given equal stand here, and there’s a lot of it. The Green Street store is a great place to kill a few hours and maybe find something good if you can wade through the high stacks of old music and recording equipment.
What They’re Missing: You want music made in the 21st century? Go to Amoeba.
Why We Love It: After flipping through shiny Love originals and well-preserved releases from Eno’s Obscure label, I can walk across the street, spend four hours in the basement and come out with Dusseldorf by La Dusseldorf, four different recordings of the same Francis Poulenc piano work, and Tim Curry’s entire studio output.
[Mike Orme]
Hear Music
1809 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
About: Starbucks mini-chain does a little right by emphasizing the process of music discovery, and a little wrong by being a Starbucks brand.
Specialty: Each visit to Hear Music tells a story, whether it’s browsing themed listening stations (with themes from “Cities” to specific moods or times of the day) or querying the friendly and highly knowledgeable staff. Hear Music is like a casino: the blueprints don’t allow you to leave without seeing an opportunity to spend money—and possibly getting a big payoff.
What They’re Missing: While the quality guidance from the staff comes for free, the product sells for a premium … sometimes too high for independent record store shoppers who browse at Hear and then “buy the CDs at Amoeba.”
Why We Love It: While Hear Music’s corporate image doesn’t impress and these days MSRP isn’t too appetizing, the store is definitely on to something. Many shops have played around with multimedia sampling stations, but Hear chooses to push a combination of shopper searching, editorial features, and employee know-how for music discovery, and their corporate sponsorship means they’re not encumbered with such burdens as being cool or trying to be tastemakers. Looks like it’s paid off for them: new Hear Music Coffeehouse in San Antonio and Miami recently opened, joining the Berkeley store and coffeehouse store in Santa Monica.
[Mike Orme]
Rasputin Records
2401 Telegraph Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
About: Bay Area independent chain second in stature only to Amoeba Records
Specialty: Comprehensive selection of independent/major label releases in nearly all genres, with well-stocked back catalogue. Punk and metal sections are the best in the US.
What They're Missing: Electronic section is skimpy.
Why We Love It: Actually, no one loves Rasputin. The mail order service is dodgy, the employees constantly look beaten-down, and the only way to get around the five floors of the San Francisco branch is a tiny elevator that some poor employee operates for hours each day. But the huge selection is second only to Amoeba's, with comparably low prices. Rasputin has even adopted a similarly generous return policy. The punk and metal buyers deserve medals, as those sections are the biggest and best by far of any US record store. If you can't find something in the Berkeley location, just walk down a block to Amoeba—those are the two best blocks of record shopping in the world.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rockaway Records
2395 Glendale Blvd.
Silverlake, CA
About: In recent years, most of the stalwarts of the Los Angeles record store world have shuttered their doors. But despite all this industry consolidation, Silverlake’s Rockaway Records, is still going strong after 27 year, despite a name change and two different moves.
Specialty: Rockaway is perfect for the serious music collector. Whether it’s old T. Rex ticket stubs, Led Zeppelin concert tour jackets, or classic vinyl records in mint condition, Rockaway has everything to satisfy die-hards—provided they can afford it.
What They’re Missing: Though it might be nit-picking, on any given day Rockaway’s CD in-stock can be pretty thin and their used vinyl can be pricy.
Why We Love It: Where else are you going to find the only 1976 Bob Marley Island Promotional Jacket ever made? Got $300 to spare?
[Jeff Weiss]
Sea Level Records
1716 W. Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
About: Founded in December 2001, Sea Level Records just might be Los Angeles’ pre-eminent indie-focused record store. Run by manager Todd Clifford, Sea Level is smack dab in the epicenter of Los Angeles’ music scene, as it stands just 100 feet away from The Echo, one of the Los Angeles’ premier indie music venues.
Specialty: Sea Level carries more up-and-coming LA indie records than perhaps any other store in the city. Additionally, the store constantly hosts in-store concerts and record release parties. Recently, the likes of the Silversun Pickups, Ariel Pink, the Black Angels, and Daedulus have performed.
What They’re Missing: Due to its relatively small size, Sea Level is limited to the amount of music that it can house. Though it comes pretty close to having everything you could possibly need.
Why We Love It: Sea Level has a personal touch that no other store in town has. They have regulars and know their tastes. When something new comes out that you might like, the Sea Level employees always know where to direct you. Conversely, if you’re about to purchase the new Meat Loaf album, they might convince you otherwise.
[Jeff Weiss]
Everyday Music
112 Broadway Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
About: This large independent store is part of a Northwest chain. Everyday has seen some big changes in the last couple years, adding a second floor to effectively double their space, but this Capitol Hill staple still offers a great used selection and a friendly staff who insists on playing pretty post-rock all day.
Specialty: Best used selection in Seattle, hands down. This is one of the better places to go in Seattle for recent rock, electronic, and experimental releases. Staff is willing to cut the discs open for listening stations as well.
What They’re Missing: Vinyl selection is a little weird—I mean, how many copies of the Batman soundtrack can you reasonably expect to sell for four dollars? Jazz and classical could probably use a catalog injection as well.
Why We Love It: I had my first experiences with Tortoise and Glenn Branca at this store, and that was hot shit.
[Mike Orme]
Jackpot Records
203 SW 9th Ave or 3736 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
About: The third branch of Portland's pride-and-joy media trifecta—get a book at Powell's, a film at Movie Madness, and a record or two at Jackpot—is almost as good as your friends tell you when they meet you at the airport.
Specialty: Indie rock and vinyl—this month's canon is as well-covered as you could hope, they're dutiful about selling imports early and for manageable prices, and Jackpot's vinyl selection, particularly on Hawthorne, is a pleasingly deep grab-bag of established classics and stuff you might actually buy, at prices at which you might actually buy it.
What They're Missing: Curious omissions in Jackpot's CD back-catalog might not actually abound, but they're definitely there. Other times their selections by particular artists may seem perverse—some Wednesdays it seems they've got everybody's Metal Machine Music and nothing else—but then again you can go to Borders for the canon; record stores are for the rest.
Why We Love It: Because the week I moved here I wandered into the Hawthorne location, bought an Ella Fitzgerald record for $2, and listened to it on a really terrible turntable while drinking cranberry juice from a wine glass. They could institute a store policy under which they shoot you when you walk in and it wouldn't ruin that.
[Theon Weber]
Reverb Records
3623 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214-5143
About: The idea is that everything's under $10. And though Reverb may abandon its otherwise admirably followed rule when pricing items for collectors with a capital C, if you just want to hear stuff you can walk out with change.
Specialty: Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl. The CD section, piled thin, occupies a cramped stretch of cobweb-strewn wall; the vinyl section is, essentially, the store, and though there's little here that your dad hasn't heard of, there's a lot he doesn't have. Perfect for cheap-and-thorough excavations of the less savory parts of well-known artists' back catalogues. The 75s section is bigger than it has to be, too, and what Reverb files under "Independent" most indie shops aren't aware exists.
What They're Missing: Anything recorded after 1985. It isn't that the occasional Pavement or late-period Depeche Mode record won't float to the surface from time to time, but Reverb's a 70s-and-back store at heart, venturing consistently into the present only for local bands and for the seriously little-heard. And since it's also a used store at heart, without much reliable influx, your luck's in inverse proportion to the luck of the guy before you.
Why We Love It: $10. And the fan, which stutters like an old typewriter.
[Theon Weber]
Cellophane Square
115 E. Magnolia Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225
About: A short bus ride from Western Washington University, Cellophane Square is a big building plastered with posters, filled with CDs, and situated at perhaps the most useful intersection in town; its neighbors are a Taco stand, the bus station, and another record store (the also commendable Avalon Music).
Specialty: Solid selection of hip-hop, electronic music, and indie rock covering new and old releases, with a good variety of local acts as well.
What They’re Missing: No noticeable flaws; rather it lacks any distinction to make it genuinely magnificent.
Why We Love It: It has a nice but not fantastic range, and prices are usually better at the mall, but I still like going here. The staff are cool, and the store has a slightly musty smell, giving it a unique quality you can’t get from your local Best Buy. Open late, it’s a warm refuge downtown from the constant Pacific Northwest downpour.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Wax Trax
638 E. 13th St.
Denver, CO 80203
About: Within spitting distance of a church and a junior high school, the red brick Wax Trax complex fills half a block in Denver’s Capitol Hill. The place is a true-blue record shop, from the crammed, confusing racks to the typically indifferent clerks. Really two adjacent shops, the vinyl side is Mile High’s best bet for used records.
Specialty: Punk and metal, but more importantly, soul. Other shops have higher volume, but Wax Trax has style. Navigating it can be a hassle, but it’s yet one more reminder that business comes second.
What They’re Missing: The shop’s out of step with press hype, causing some gaps. Their electro- and dance- stuff is about five years dated, and the hip-hop section is little more than a token effort.
Why We Love It: It’s a relic of another age. Instead of clearing space for anti-Bush bobbleheads to boost slumping music sales, Wax Trax has hand-decorated boxes for local comps. Precisely coded name cards are replaced with Sharpie-scrawled biographical tidbits and exhaustive listings of side projects. Enjoy it while you can.
[Bryan Berge]
Twist and Shout
300 E. Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80209
About: Denver’s largest independent music store, Twist and Shout is the type of all-everything shop that keeps the shelves full and the selection wide. They’re also the type of shop that sells t-shirts and hemp products, but the vastness of the place makes wading through a few Tool t-shirts mostly worth it.
Specialty: It may sound sort of silly, but you’ve rarely seen a store cover rock music so well: Amon Duul to Frank Zappa, Twist and Shout carries the extensive back-catalogs of rock’n’roll’s footnotes. A surprisingly strong selection of music-related literature—from the 33 1/3 series to a shelf of Bob Dylan tomes—conveniently placed near relevant artists makes for nasty impulse buying.
What They’re Missing When your catalog is this vast, some things are bound to get overlooked, and while the World Music and Electronic sections look large, they’re months behind on new releases, poorly organized, and rarely re-stocked. The store’s vinyl is relegated to a small shop across the street, with a pricey, meager selection. Not sure anyone would complain if the staff was friendlier/more knowledgeable, either.
Why We Love It: Because it’s the biggest, best shop in town, and the only place a Denver visitor needs to turn to get a handle on the city’s music scene.
[Andrew Gaerig]
International
Track Records
50 Goodramgate
York
North Yorkshire
YO1 7LF
About: Despite a recent switch-o-change-o of location, Track Records remain based in the city literally tens of people are still calling the Former Viking Capital of Great Britain. They have provided records to slovenly cynics with no appetite for major outlets since 1979.
Specialty: Track try to flog a bit of everything. New releases rub shoulders with the usual Rock/Pop back catalogue, who subsequently cosy up to oddly disproportionate Metal and Country sections. You might find what you came in for. You might not. Anything you do want could be curiously expensive or ridiculously undervalued. It’s a lottery of a place. If downstairs becomes tiresome, an out of place Swiss-chalet staircase can be followed to a mini-horde of vinyl, which dwells alongside other marginalised genres deemed unfit for general consumption (bad luck, Jazz) and a few t-shirts.
What They’re Missing: A ceiling high enough for persons taller than 6’2” to remain comfortably unacquainted with. And someone who knows the alphabet. The record racks are cheerfully inspired by the city’s most famous street; The Shambles.
Why We Love It: I live in a small market town where, although everything is charmingly picturesque and quaint, the best hope of acquiring any music is at the supermarket. Track Records may not have been the finest independent record store to ever grace the planet, but as the only shop within a 30 mile radius that had a chance of stocking semi-obscure 80’s bands, it held—and still holds—a special place in my heart. Besides, how many other record shops can you walk out of and see this? Exactly.
[Peter Parrish]
Alt Vinyl
61/62 Thornton Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
ne1 4aw
UK
About: Coming out of nowhere in 2003, Alt Vinyl has cracked the back of an already established record store market in Newcastle.
Specialty: Unsurprisingly enough, Alt Vinyl really knows its vinyl. Rare Clash seven inches sit happily on the walls next to the latest single-sided lathe cut. This isn't a hipster emporium though, you can still get your Coldplay CDs here and they won't snigger. Their famous Curious and Carnal section stocks some tasty promos and antiques for rock bottom prices. The newly installed local section brings together the area's finer talents (and that’s not even including the obvious Maximo Park and The Futureheads).
What They’re Missing: They could do with a having a late Thursday night opening slot. Those of us on the daily office grind could do with a few extra hours flipping through the racks.
Why We Love It: The Alt Vinyl team manage to balance a musical anal retentiveness with a waving-their-hands-in-the-air passion for music.
[Scott McKeating]
Rough Trade Shop
130 Talbot Road
London
W11 1JA
About: The Rough Trade Shop has history on its side. Located in Notting Hill near the historic store’s original location, Rough Trade spawned the post-punk record label of the same name and inspired an army of fashionable windowlickers on Talbot Road.
Specialty: Extremely fresh new releases crowd the bins here. There isn’t much space here, so there’s a lot of turnover. Of course, there’s always a little space reserved for Rough Trade’s tastemaking genre compilations.
What They’re Missing: As mentioned above, there’s not much space in this store, so the selection is pretty limited, and rather expensive at that. Don’t come here expecting to find some great used shopping—come here to keep up with the Joneses.
Why We Love It: Rough Trade is a pilgrimage. You’ve really never lived until you’ve been to London, braved the Tube to Notting Hill, wandered down Portobello into Rough Trade, paid far too much for a 12 inch single that was pressed five hours prior, walked out, and turned your nose up at the professional class.
[Mike Orme]
Sister Ray
34-35 Berwick Street
London
WIV 3RF
About: Central attraction to Soho record mecca Berwick Street, a place featured in countless music videos and the cover to Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. Formerly located in cramped premises at the strip club filled end furthest from Oxford Street, Sister Ray recently took over the more spacious and central Selectadisc.
Specialty: Always unfailingly excellent for new indie releases and rarities, they’ve now added Selectadisc’s expansive back catalogue section and a fantastic range of North American imports.
What They’re Missing: The vinyl selection is still comparatively limited and prices on better known stuff can rarely compete with the nearby likes of Mister CD. Their tendency to play unlistenable records very loudly also varies from endearing to annoying depending on mood.
Why We Love It: The reassuring knowledge that they’re very likely to have whatever new release the local megastores have failed on (Jeniferever, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene). And without Sister Ray coming through on the Arctic Monkeys’ debut single I’d now be 100 eBay pounds poorer.
[Iain Forrester]
Volcanic Tongue
Rooms 3&4
1129 Argyle Street
Glasgow, Scotland
G3 8ND
About: With material ranging from the blackest Japanese folk, Leeds’ dirtiest noise, and reissued glorious psychedelia, you’d need to be dead from the neck up to not find something to match your taste. The handmade shelving, fanatical staff, the sheer number of records in the intimate space makes it clear this is first and foremost a labor of love / obsession. Can you name another store with a Jandek shrine?
Specialty: As a store, label, and mail order / distribution company it’s swiftly become a lightning rod for the free/drone/noise/psych scenes. VT stocks all of those records that you would normally never have a chance of finding, unless you had some umbilical connection to the bands in question. Poetry books, t-shirts, DVDs, cassettes and CD-Rs—the place is jam-packed, and it demands more than a cursory visit.
What They’re Missing: Space and a more central location. It took me 30 minutes going up and down the road to find it.
Why We Love It: If the leftfield is your thing, then you can’t help but get seduced. Their weekly email updates cover such a huge amount of stock, and feature mini-reviews to let you know exactly what’s coming out. There isn’t anywhere else that does such a comprehensive round-up of what’s what in international underground music.
[Scott McKeating]
Remix
Via del Fiume 9
00186 Rome
Italy
About: Rome's primary DJ shop.
Specialty: 12"s of all kinds, from house to techno to new wave classics.
What They’re Missing: Techno selection leans towards minimal stuff.
Why We Love It: Rome isn't known for DJ record shops; Remix is the best place for that (L'Orso Buddy, at Via Crescenzio 41, may also be worth a look). The ambience is very "Rome," with photos of local DJ's on the ceiling and the trendy Via del Corso shopping area nearby. The selection is decent across all genres; if you're looking for classic '80s 12"s, you might strike gold here. It’s also a good place to pick up flyers for Rome's nightclub/party scene. Any place with a copy of X-101 signed by Mike Banks and Jeff Mills deserves a visit.
[Cosmo Lee]
Metropoli Rock
Via Cavour 72
Rome, Italy 184
About: Near Termini Station, on the treacherous Via Cavour, Metropoli Rock is a fascinating study in the vicissitudes of shopping for records in Italy. As tiny, cramped, and disorganized as a squatter's knapsack, it nonetheless proffers rewards for those with the patience and time to scratch beneath the surface.
Specialty: Overpriced home-grown pressings of UK/US faves (Italian pressings of the Cure's Mixed Up were going for 40 Euro) mostly serve to conceal the much-less-costly local artists. They also seem to do a fair trade in CD singles, comps, and impulse buys—I imagine most of the indigenous shoppers come here for a quick 10 euro fix—the shop reminds me of nothing so much as rap-fixated storefronts in DC and Manhattan, peddling the Europop/trance equivalent of East Coast mixtapes.
What They’re Missing: Only a sense of organization—ANY kind of organization. Also, I got the sense from my last visit that there was a certain suspicion of those trudging through the dusty, unsorted reams of vinyl. Considering that the clutter had not been re-organized one bit since my last visit there TWO YEARS prior I can understand why.
Why We Love It: Despite (or maybe because of) the lack of sense in the racks, one finds some delicious obscurities hanging about. Also, the lack of sophistication parallels Roma in general—that bizarre combination of Third World Country and World Class City that is part of why the ancient capital remains so charming and so strange. Also, when one finally collects the overpriced records that have been sitting on the shelves long enough to be more dust than wax, one finds that the process of checking out involves a serious, drawn-out haggle with the owner.
[Mallory O'Donnell]
Soul Food
Via San Giovanni in Laterano, 192-194
Rome, Italy 184
About: Weave past the "gladiatori" in sweat socks and digital watches, avoid all three Caesars, and make your way down the Via San Giovanni in Laterano to the hippest record store in the Eternal City.
Specialty: Soul Food rocks the 60's and 70's vibe well enough but has tasty treats on offer from every decade of pop music past. Funk, soul, punk, garage, psyche, jazz and power-pop all get love here—but it's mainly reissues (primarily on vinyl) that Soul Food stocks with unimpeachable taste.
What They’re Missing: Not much—there's little new music to be had here, but that's part of the point of Soul Food—they eschew the Tower / Virgin-esque ethos of big Rome record stores like Disfunzioni Musicali and Ricordi to focus on retro sounds and vinyl.
Why We Love It: Let's face it—record shopping in my favorite city is a daunting prospect—arrogant employees, high prices, mysteriously-labelled stock, and typically Mediterranean insouciance make for a frustrating experience. Soul Food, beyond their awesome stock of reprints, are admirable for flipping all the negatives of record shopping in Rome upside-down. A ridiculously friendly and helpful staff, casual and intimate atmosphere, and a small but deep selection make for the best vinyl-digging experience in Roma. Buying records in Italia without some greebo breathing down your neck? Priceless. Scoring a sweet Kraftwerk t-shirt for 10 Euro while the Delta 5 compilation plays in the background? Off the map.
[Mallory O’Donnell]
Jet Set Records
410 Shimomaruya-cho (5th & 6th Floors), Kawaramachi-Sanjo,
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
About: Located in the lively downtown center of Kyoto, Jet Set Records offers the selection of a DJ specialty shop with a number of rock titles and an enchanting selection of novel electronic and electro-acoustic releases from primarily Japan and Europe.
Specialty: Electronic/House in the 6th floor store, and jazz, soul, world, and dancehall reggae in the 5th floor store. There’s a healthy serving of vinyl, but CD’s can be found too, especially in rock & electronic music.
What They’re Missing: In the end, Jet Set is a DJ shop, so casual record-seekers should obviously beware that much of the store may not specifically appeal to them. Specifically, the rock section is probably going to be a little thin for some, but in general the store has a nice selection of cross-over genres.
Why We Love It: This writer was first turned on to Junior Boys, Hypo, and a lot of Childisc artists via Jet Set. The old Pan Am memorabilia makes the place a worthy visit even if you’re not in the market for music.
[Mike Orme]
Third Ear Music
23 Shenkin Street
Tel Aviv, Israel
About: Forget the conflict in the Middle East, the rather cosmopolitan Tel-Aviv actually possesses one hell of a record store, right next to the bustling Dizengoff shopping center. With a stellar collection of vinyl and CD in a myriad of genres, this is a diamond in the rough for a place with fairly repetitive music stores.
Specialty: Unlike other Israeli music stores, this store is defined by its extensive assortment of sub-genres of music abroad, including oddly prodigious stacks of jazz, psych, folk, metal, punk, noise, and electronic music, on both record and compact disc.
What They’re Missing: The record collection could be more extensive, and some electronic titles could stand a bit of a price cut, but that's a complaint at many music shops.
Why We Love It: Well, for one, prices. A great deal of music, especially UK and Japanese imports, are much cheaper than in the States, Anywhere where you can buy Can's Future Days and Faust's IV for a combined twelve bucks is at least worth visiting. But it's also unique for containing CD's that are usually sold out or absent from many CD stores, like Herbie Hancock's Crossings and mu-ziq's Lunatic Harness, both for under ten dollars.
[Tal Rosenberg]
JB Hifi
Kotara Homemaker Centre
Building D, Shop 5 & 6
Kotara, NSW 2289
(And other locations around Australia)
About: Chain specializing in budget price music, movies, and electronics, with the strip mall banality of its exterior hiding a range and depth worthy of an indie record store.
Specialty: Being very cheap. With standard prices about a third cheaper than other stores, it’d be worth a visit even if its collection was no better than your average department store. But when its bargain bins look better than other chain stores’ entire catalogues, my visits all too frequently result in me leaving with a $2 Built to Spill album or a $5 Go! Team record.
What They’re Missing: While the range of recent releases is superb, lower profile older albums are more difficult to come by. At times its chain store qualities can’t help showing, making for a somewhat cold, impersonal experience.
Why We Love It: Apart from heavily discounted stock, its best quality is the way it manages to feel like an indie record store, despite being located in a gigantic warehouse. The promotion, for instance, is endearingly amateur; TV on the Radio’s latest release is advertised with a staff-member’s hand-drawn picture of Cookie Monster. The selection, too, seems motivated less by the clinical approach of a large corporation, and more by the idiosyncratic whims of a record obsessive. It has an admirable range of box sets and vinyl, and a refreshing willingness to do stupid things like import bulk amounts of Kanye West and G-Unit mixtapes across the Pacific, less because there is a demand for such releases, and more because the store has the ability stock them.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Red Eye Records
66 King St
Sydney, NSW 2000
About: Sydney’s largest independent music store, Red Eye is a local icon and the starting point for any music obsessive in the city.
Specialty: Between its two locations, the original two story King Street store (downstairs for new stock, upstairs for used) and the Pitt Street location for used and collectors’ items, Red Eye is ground zero for a day’s music shopping in the city. A nice touch is its practice of including a brief description on the front of every release in the store.
What They’re Missing: Despite an exhaustive range of every form of rock imaginable, the hip-hop section is irritatingly patchy.
Why We Love It: The admirable range is a definite plus, as is the well-stocked second-hand section, but my favorite thing about Red Eye is the vinyl and multitude of turntables provided for listening. I’ve killed many an afternoon picking selections of obscure remixes and b-sides from the punk and electronic sections, and, with headphones on and a big stack of records sitting beside me, coming to the realization that I could never buy even half the great music I was listening to.
[Jonathon Bradley]
Black Market
Gonzagagasse 9
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
About: The bricks & mortar component to online DJ shop soulseduction.com.
Specialty: Anything with an electronic beat—house, techno, broken beat, hip-hop, etc.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: The one time I visited, the store had a lingerie fashion show. I kid you not. Normally, when I'm listening to records, I'm locked in. But tons of scantily clad women walking around with drinks—that was distracting. I don't know if that sort of thing happens often there, or if that's adequate endorsement, but the store's selection is more than enough to recommend it. This is the rare place that's good for both breakbeat junkies and four-on-the-floor purists. Particularly impressive is the selection of dancefloor techno—Intec, Naples sound, Spanish techno, etc.
[Cosmo Lee]
Core Tex
Oranienstrasse 3
10997 Berlin
Germany
About: Punk megastore in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: CD's, DVD's, vinyl, and clothing for all flavors of punk, from '77 to Oi to hardcore to metalcore.
What They’re Missing: More metal would be nice (a personal bias), especially since most hardcore these days is practically metal.
Why We Love It: A punk store that's not a rathole! In fact, this store is huge, clean, and professional. The hardcore punk selection is incredibly deep—how Germans know about obscure West Coast labels is beyond me. Need that old Integrity album or Champion split EP? You'll find it here. The clothing selection is jaw-dropping, with racks and racks (two walls' worth) of band T-shirts, hoodies, and Doc Martens. The staff is friendly, too, patiently putting up with my lack of Deutsche. If you call yourself a punk, this store is Mecca.
[Cosmo Lee]
Hard Wax
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44a
10999 Berlin
Germany
About: Legendary techno record store in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.
Specialty: Techno along the Berlin-Detroit axis, reggae, drum 'n' bass, dubstep.
What They're Missing: The latest trendy minimal records, though there is some of that.
Why We Love It: This place oozes history. Founded by one of the Basic Channel guys, this store is central to the Berlin-Detroit techno connection. Here, you'll find all those Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, Burial Mix, and Maurizio records that sell for loads on eBay. You'll also find classic records by the Detroit masters, like Carl Craig, Robert Hood, and Jeff Mills, whose selection is so well-stocked he gets his own section on the website. Chicago, the birthplace of all things jacking, is well-represented, along with UK techno, especially the Birmingham sound (Surgeon, Regis, Downwards, etc.). True to the spirit of Basic Channel, there's also a large reggae selection. Come here enough, and you may spot Richie Hawtin or Ricardo Villalobos shopping for records.
[Cosmo Lee]
Rotation Records
Weinbergsweg 3
10119 Berlin
Germany
About: Minimal techno record store in the Mitte district of Berlin.
Specialty: 12”s, a few CD's. Used bins yield the occasional house or hard techno record.
What They’re Missing: Not much for this kind of stuff.
Why We Love It: Minimal techno records are so common in Berlin that your neighborhood falafel stand probably sells them. What distinguishes Rotation is its pleasant atmosphere. The store is clean and new, with plenty of listening stations, several of which have a nice view of the street. The selection is strong, with all the usual suspects—Crosstown Rebels, M_nus, Poker Flat, and so on. Used bins offer bargains and cut-rate white labels. You might also find rave classics or represses thereof. This is a good place to pick up flyers for Berlin's raging club scene.
[Cosmo Lee]
Encore Records
54 Queen St S
Kitchener, ON N2G 1V6
About: Tucked away across the street from a big second hand book store in Kitchener's downtown, Encore (motto: “Not a dog disc in the dump!”) is surprisingly big on the inside and has that weathered, not-dirty-but-definitely-not-clean feel that all the best record stores have.
Specialty: As Kitchener is not exactly a huge metropolis, stores like Encore have to have breadth rather than obsessive depth, and so in addition to the large main indie/rock collection that is their bread and butter they have decent, gratifyingly diverse selections of everything from metal to jazz, rap to krautrock/Japanese psych (filed together, of course).
What They’re Missing: Honestly, after years of struggling with the local HMV in next-city-over Guelph to find anything worthwhile, I have a hard time spotting any flaws in their stock, and the distance means I haven't been able to keep close tabs on how quickly they get things. But like any shop, it's not actually perfect, and of the records I was desperate to get when I first went there, the (helpful) employees had not heard of the Knife at all, let alone their album.
Why We Love It: After spending literally my entire life hours away from a half decent record shop, inadvertently walking into Encore and finding that not only did they have Coil and Muslimgauze, but that they had about ten releases apiece, plus other personal favorites like the Mountain Goats and Sleep. My utter joy at finding the place was only rivaled by my chagrin at living nearby for five years without knowing.
[Ian Mathers]
Orange Monkey Music
5 Princess St W
Waterloo, ON N2L 2X7
About: A small L-shaped space above local institution the Jane Bond (which makes some tasty vegetarian food), the Orange Monkey's proprietor is known around Guelph as DJ Charless when he runs a popular local funk/soul/R&B night; the rest of the time he runs this cozy nook stuffed to bursting with CDs, vinyl, and movies (mostly of the monster/genre variety).
Specialty: Well, the last time I visited companions walked off with the original score to Dawn of the Dead and a CD compilation of 70's porn music, and I managed to get Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies Man and Big Black's Songs About Fucking, and we collectively scratched the surface. I didn't manage to even glance at the vinyl. As with Encore, Waterloo is small enough that the Orange Monkey needs to carry a decent selection of everything, but glancing around I definitely got the impression that the place prefers music that is either hard, weird, or both. Also, zombie movies.
What They’re Missing: Well, it's certainly not the first place I'd go to look for rap music, and those cramped quarters are both part of the charm and kind of a pain in the ass; there were four of us, and I'm not sure how many more people you could have fit in the place.
Why We Love It: If you'd seen the look on my brother's face when he saw that Dawn of the Dead vinyl up on the wall, you wouldn't need to ask.
[Ian Mathers]
Rotate This!
620 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
About: Probably the biggest and best, definitely the most well known, non-chain music store in Canada's largest city, Rotate This! gets nearly as much exposure from the fact that they sell tickets for most of the shows in Toronto proper, barring the type of thing that might show up at the Air Canada Centre. It's a bit of a hipster mecca, the sort of place that's careful to note on their website that although they don't stock Britney (since you can find her anywhere) they still like her.
Specialty: Pretty much what you'd expect. Their current top ten in sales ranges from Thom Yorke to the Black Angels (pausing to take in Sufjan, the Knife, and MSTRKRFT along the way), and they have an abiding love for vinyl, striving to have as much of their stock available on LP as possible.
What They’re Missing: Well, their own website proclaims a lack of nu-country and classical as well as anything that's “not appropriate for our store, for any number of reasons.” More importantly, unless things have changed since the last time I dropped by, they're missing anything even approaching a decent filing system—many albums are filed just by letter with no divisions by band. If you're looking for something or in a hurry, you're in for the record shop equivalent of Hell.
Why We Love It: It's an institution, it's got a great selection, and don't neglect how nice it is to pick up the disc you were looking for and score tickets to that show you wanted to see at the same time.
[Ian Mathers]
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By: Stylus Staff Published on: 2006-09-18 Comments (0) |
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