Music Stores You Like to Go To

[AndrewHill]

Here in L.A., it's got to be Amoeba Records. Unbelievable selection, HUGE store, lots of OOP items... It's heaven, I tells ya.

Although, truth be told, I liked to browse at Aron's Records a bit more... there were some real gems in there from time to time... it's a shame they're gone.

Cheers,

Shane

Yeah, reminds me of Tower back in the day...memories

[Hot Ptah]

The open toilet lid and the wet 'n' dry vac give me pause.

Hey, those are the kind of details that give a good used record store its charm!

[Hot Ptah]

Encore Recordings, PJs Used records, Wazoo, Underground Sounds, and of course the flagship downtown Ann Arbor Borders.

Good to hear that Wazoo is still around. I shopped there a lot in 1978--81.

Back then, I also shopped at the Wazoo in Madison, Wisconsin, owned by the brother of the guy who owned Wazoo in Ann Arbor.

I wish I could support them more. Great store.

Is Wazoo in Ann Arbor still in the upstairs location?

[Hot Ptah]

I'd like to visit Met Music on the South Side of Chicago in 1966/8 as I did then (without money). They had tons of great stuff in the basement.

I'd like to visit the Discount Records store I managed in the early '70a. Many lps from this time went away - and I'd dive into the file cabinet to save the letters from Lester Koenig. I was a good customer.

Chuck, I visited your Discount Records store on State Street in Madison about ten years ago. It was unrecognizable to me. I spent a lot of time there from 1974-82, but it was a different store inside when I went back in the late 1990s. It had been totally remodelled, into a charmless place, with a completely different atmosphere. If there were any vestiges of your tenure left there, it would be very surprising.

Also, the nearby Record World was gone in the 1990s. Charles, the boss of Record World in the 1970s, was working as an employee of The Exclusive Company, a very good music store on State Street close to Badger Liquor (if you remember that corner). He was managing the jazz and classical departments in the basement. They were truly outstanding jazz and classical departments under his guiding hand. Charles passed away a few years ago.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I like shopping at Spillers Records in Cardiff - the oldest record shop in the world (est 1894).

Decent selection of stuff the multiples don't bother with - not brilliant, but decent. And the people are so nice and eccentric. One of the young ladies is a rapt fan of Ella Mae Morse and Connie Francis! You can't beat a place with real people working there.

MG

[BillF]

My impression from the comments so far is that the sort of record stores I like have survived far better in the US than in the UK. A couple of years ago I would have had a few good places to mention, now there's virtually nothing and every sign that even this will go shortly - and this in a conurbation of 2.25 million population!

[Pete B]

Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ was great in the early 1990s, but I've heard it's not as good in recent years. Not sure if that's so.

PREX can still be an excellent place to find jazz vinyl. I go there 5 or 6 times a year, immediately head to the new arrivals vinyl bins. One visit, for example, somebody had evidently turned in an Ellington collection and I ended up buying 20+ "gray labels" at $3 apiece average. Last visit was a remarkable group of Japanese imports, priced in the $10 range. I bought a group of VSOP reissues on that visit, average $4 each, plus a bunch of Boris Rose issues average $3 each. From what I overheard, word had gotten around the local circle and guys were all coming in to check it out. Also, they sometimes stock Mosaic sets at excellent prices - I picked up the Quincy Jones box (Euro edition) for $50 awhile back. I never leave there empty handed.

[Dan Gould]

In my parent's neck of the woods, Sally's Place in Westport, CT. Very small but extremely well stocked in just about every jazz label. Just outside of Danbury is Gerosa's Records, which has been a profitable stop the last couple of times I went home for the holidays. I presume its still there, though they used to have two or three units in the shopping center, now they are down to one.

In south Florida, Blue Note Records of North Miami Beach relocated to a storage bay in Hollywood about 14 months ago, after their landlord jacked up their rent. Bob decided to go back to his roots in vinyl and seemed to have managed to keep his best customers, but I've only made it down there a grand total of two times.

North of Miami-Dade, Radioactive Records in Fort Lauderdale is about the only store left. They actually expanded their shop and put out a ton of vinyl. Unfortunately I can't support them like I used to but it looks like they are in for the long haul.

[ejp626]

Well, this could be its own thread of strangest record shop, but I'll leave it here.

I was cutting through an alley in Lakeview (a Chicago neighborhood) a few years back and came across a garage that was stuffed full of LPs and CDs. I have no idea about the legality of the store, but it had some pretty nice stuff. It was open odd hours, mostly on the weekend. I went back twice and got a sealed copy of the Andrew Hill 2-fer One for One (think that was the title) for a fair, not great price. Then one other BN 2-fer (either the McLean or the Hill/Rivers). Of course, more recently I combed the neighborhood looking for it. Not only does the store appear to have vanished, but the garage too! Still have the Hill, so it wasn't just a dream!

[Hot Ptah]

Another store I have liked is Mad City Music Exchange on Williamson Street in Madison, Wisconsin. It is not very large, but it puts a hurt into my pocketbook all the same. The first time I went in, there was the Sun Ra/John Cage LP for sale in a display area behind the counter.

Has anyone gone to Mad City Music Exchange in the past few years? I read that one of the employees took over the ownership and wonder how it is doing now.

[Stereojack]

Stereo Jack's in Cambridge, MA. I still have dreams about their dollar bin, and sometimes dream of an imaginary back room where they have all this amazing stuff. I will be in Beantown in May 2009 and will show up with lots of spending money, God willing.

The back room is real, but the "amazing stuff" is imaginary!!

[A Lark Ascending]

Music Matters in Bath - a small jazz shop. Limited back catalogue but good on new releases with some imports.

Sounds Good in Cheltenham - a classical shop with a fair jazz selection. It closed a while back but reopened in a less central part of town under new management - I thought it had got better with an impressive array of new releases. I got the impression that it was not finding it easy. Wouldn't be surprised to see it gone when I'm in Cheltenham in May.

Bath Compact Discs and Banks in York are good for classical.

When I was last in London Rays was fun and HMV/Zavvi on Oxford Street still had large jazz sections.

[TedR]

Dan mentioned Blue Note Records. I lived in Florida through the 80's and 90's and shopped there fairly regularly. At his previous location Bob bought the store next door and set it up as the jazz/blues room with a small stage and cafe. Mike Longo (one of Dizzy Gillespie's pianists) played there. I met Bob Weinstock there too. They had the 78 version of the Jazz Scene (not for sale) in a back room. I loved that store.

Edited December 4, 2008 by TedR

[AndrewHill]

Dan mentioned Blue Note Records. I lived in Florida through the 80's and 90's and shopped there fairly regularly. At his previous location Bob bought the store next door and set it up as the jazz/blues room with a small stage and cafe. Mike Longo (one of Dizzy Gillespie's pianists) played there. I met Bob Weinstock there too. They had the 78 version of the Jazz Scene (not for sale) in a back room. I loved that store.

Live in South Florida up until 1988 and never heard of this store! I wish I would've known about them.

[Dan Gould]

Dan mentioned Blue Note Records. I lived in Florida through the 80's and 90's and shopped there fairly regularly. At his previous location Bob bought the store next door and set it up as the jazz/blues room with a small stage and cafe. Mike Longo (one of Dizzy Gillespie's pianists) played there. I met Bob Weinstock there too. They had the 78 version of the Jazz Scene (not for sale) in a back room. I loved that store.

Sometime after 2000, the landlord jacked the rent so Bob condensed to two rooms, but he took the storage unit he had a couple of miles down the road and turned it into a retail outlet for all the jazz and blues stock. So that was the last great hurrah of the store, as a lot of the LPs that were previously in storage were now available for crate diggers in the "Jazz and Blues Annex". About the only complaint was that most of the LPs were upstairs which was unairconditioned, just had a couple of fans spreading warm Florida air around.

Eventually though the traffic through the annex dwindled to the point that he couldn't justify having someone there anymore. So he closed it up, moved jazz and blues back into the main store (which was now down to one room) and then a year ago in the summer, the final rent hike pushed him over the edge.

[danasgoodstuff]

I like Music Millennium here in Portland. I used to work for Terry and I still know a lot of the staff. He closed the branch I worked at in NW and if he didn't own the bldg the main branch is in I don't know if they would still be open. I also like Empire on Hawthorne but I have no idea how they stay open. Would love to go back to the Electric Fetus in Mpls, i also worked there briefly in the late 80s to early 90s.

[seeline]

I like shopping at Spillers Records in Cardiff - the oldest record shop in the world (est 1894).

Decent selection of stuff the multiples don't bother with - not brilliant, but decent. And the people are so nice and eccentric. One of the young ladies is a rapt fan of Ella Mae Morse and Connie Francis! You can't beat a place with real people working there.

MG

Sounds like a wonderful store. And you might be surprised to know that there are young music bloggers who are ardent fans of singers like the ones you've cited. Makes me smile.

Edited December 4, 2008 by seeline

[Teasing the Korean]

The back room is real, but the "amazing stuff" is imaginary!!

I was in the real back room once or twice when I had to use the bathroom.

The "imaginary" back room that keeps showing up in dreams is in the back but also upstairs. So you guys don't have a secret upstairs with amazing stuff?

[paul secor]

In my parent's neck of the woods, Sally's Place in Westport, CT. Very small but extremely well stocked in just about every jazz label.

Sally's is still going strong - I was there last Saturday. Always find some things worth listening to there & Sally has a lot of good stories.

[Jay]

Well, this could be its own thread of strangest record shop, but I'll leave it here.

I was cutting through an alley in Lakeview (a Chicago neighborhood) a few years back and came across a garage that was stuffed full of LPs and CDs. I have no idea about the legality of the store, but it had some pretty nice stuff. It was open odd hours, mostly on the weekend. I went back twice and got a sealed copy of the Andrew Hill 2-fer One for One (think that was the title) for a fair, not great price. Then one other BN 2-fer (either the McLean or the Hill/Rivers). Of course, more recently I combed the neighborhood looking for it. Not only does the store appear to have vanished, but the garage too! Still have the Hill, so it wasn't just a dream!

That was "Broadway Records" in my 'hood - right around the corner from Reckless. Funny, I bought a bunch of stuff there - including, yes, Andrew Hill's One For One (sealed as well) back in the day. I loved the owner of that place - a character of the neighborhood that is really gone now.

There are some interesting stores still in Chicago - Groovin' High on Belmont (near my office) is pretty good and you can't beat chatting with the owner, Joe (who worked at Record Exchange on Morse for ever), JRM (of course), Reckless (damn, it must be you, ejp, that grabs all of the stuff before I get to it) and my friend Johnny's shop, Second Hand Tunes (down to only one outlet - in Evanston). Of course, there is the mighty Dusty Groove - the cleanest record store in the world! There are a few in the hipster/soon-to-be-gentrified areas of the city, but I haven't been there yet (Permanent Records for one).

I'll have to think of some others I've found in different cities that I loved - Digelius in Helsinki for one, a few in Quebec City, Paris Jazz Corner, Berwick Street in Soho (that's what I often dream about as the mecca of record stores, but I haven't been to London in ages), Amoeba and Rasputin's in the bay area. I mean, heck, when I go on vacation, I want to find some good wax.

[robviti]

I like Stereo Jack's because...

... it's the best place to run into other quirky jazz fans like yourself.

... it's got great $2 bins (explore some different sounds)

... you may get rung up by the great multi-reedist Charlie Kohlhase.

... or you can get some good advice or maybe hear an interesting piece of jazz history as told by Jack himself.

... it's my Cheers. now if i could only get Jack to sell beer and allow cigar-smoking in the store.

support your local record store by buying new cds and lps, and selling them unwanted titles from your collection for their used section. it's the circle of life.

[poetrylover3]

In St Louis (Webster Groves, MO a suburb) I'm blessed with Euclid Records which sports a beautiful collection of vinyl new and used in Jazz, a well- stocked new and used CD selection and-gasp-truly knowledgeable sales people who can take a look at an import and tell you the origins of particular tracks so that you don't arrive home to find you already own these tracks or offer a caveat as may be necessary on the audio standards of the label. Joe Schwab, the owner, has been listening to Jazz deeply since before I first met him in the early 70s and while we disagree on the merits of Claus Ogerman, his critical acumen is unfailingly useful. He knows what I collect and what I might like.Much of the same applies with local radio host and columnist Steve Pick, who mans the Friday night desk, which is my usual time to visit. I've only focused on Jazz, they're also strong on rock-both classic and indie and I have yet to hear anything that would send me to the exit. They operate an extensive and efficient mail order business and auction business on Ebay.

Definitely worth your while, the next time you find yourself in St Louis.

Peace,

Blue Trane

[poetrylover3]

I would be remiss in forgetting the wildly eclectic Vintage Vinyl in St Louis-highly knowledgable staff and ownership-especially with respects to blues and reggae. Definitely worthwhile for browsing and special orders.

[Niko]

in town (bonn) we have one real cd shop left, which has a small but pretty decent jazz section (meaning, they got rvgs... at good prices and sometimes surprise me with having something unexpected in stock at a reasonable price (say, the two cds of humair louiss ponty for 9 euro a piece) and they are nice people... i like to go there but to some extent this is just due to the fact that i like to spend time in record stores... no good used cd stores in town (i am only aware of two actually both with very small selection and high prices i check them out once a year maybe), zweitausendeins opened recently but that mainly means i can order from them without shipping, the selection in the store is just a random fraction of their catalogue... in nearby cologne there used to be a great used cd store called music rebel but that one closed recently as did some of the others... i am probably not aware of all places but i think essentially all that is left there is the big "saturn" shop, not bad, the claim they have the largest cd section in the world - i doubt it, i mostly find something when i go there but rarely the type of thing i'm looking for at a good price (means, amazon marketplace is better) and there is a used cd shop on the other side of the street... staff couldn't be less knowledgable but that means at least they tend to set completely random prices with nice outliers in the cheapo range (and since they are the only ones left the selection has improed considerably recently)... given that the two cities with their surroundings have like 2 million inhabitants a pretty depressing picture...

[Dan Gould]

Regarding St. Louis shops, I was living there in the late 80s when I discovered jazz, and back then, Vintage Vinyl was far superior to Euclid. Of course, I lived in U-City so VV was more convenient but I recall going to Euclid twice, maybe three times before realizing that I'd find much more of what I was interested in at Vintage Vinyl. And right down the street was a good new music store where I got some great late 80s BN reissues. Long after I left St. Louis and discovered the Web did I end up a semi-regular customer of Euclid.