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On the eve of Record Store Day 2010, we revisit our indie music shop feature from the July 2008 issue of Paste.
--People are no longer leaving their houses. They are content to wirelessly import digital music straight into nano-engineered storage devices implanted in their grey matter, and the digital revolution is killing brick-and-mortar retail. But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of the record store’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Just as people of faith need houses of worship in which to commune, music zealots are no less dependent on shrines dedicated to their own decibel-cranked passion. For that reason, Paste hereby celebrates the record store, bestowing superlatives on a few of America’s finest. May they live long and loud!
AMOEBA MUSIC LOS ANGELES
The Best Store in the World. Not Just Music. But Store. Including Target.
Tour posters climb the 50-foot walls, surrounding you as you join the skinny-jeans-wearing bass players and bespectacled screenwriters who listen to an in-store performance from The Bird and the Bee. You can then wander off in search of a red-vinyl Vince Guaraldi album or Tom Jones’ Live at Caesar’s or the latest posthumous Tupac release. Looks like L.A. doesn’t suck after all.
[6400 Sunset Blvd., Amoeba.com]
CRIMINAL RECORDS ATLANTA
Most Likely to Get Arrested for Cramming Too Much Addictive Stuff Into Such a Small Space
Criminal makes the most of its tight square footage, snugly fitting loads of DVDs, books, comics, magazines, toys and stereo accessories, plus multiple listening stations and, of course, its impressive CD-and-vinyl selection—everything from classic Smiths to obscure noise rock. Bonus points for having helpful clerks (not jerks), amazingly diverse in-stores (both Japanese drone-metal band Boris and sweet-voiced gospel singer Charlie Louvin), and for being hugely supportive of the thriving Atlanta music scene.
[466 Moreland Ave. NE, CriminalATL.com]
OTHER MUSIC NEW YORK CITY
Most Trusted One-Stop For New York Record Dorks
Named partly for the albums the massive Tower Records across the street didn’t carry, New York’s Other Music has now outlived its late, monolithic neighbor. With a staff that birthed Animal Collective, the adventurous buyers aren’t afraid to curate sections classified merely as “In” and “Out.”
[15 E. 4th St., OtherMusic.com]
WATERLOO RECORDS AUSTIN, TEXAS
Best Record Store to Grow Up and Grow Old With
Austin’s Waterloo Records has not only grown up with the Texas college-town/cultural crux, but has also stayed weird over the years. Teens find cool indie-rock 7-inches; college kids pick up Vampire Weekend or Criterion Collection DVDs, while their parents can buy Willie Nelson boxed sets and vintage Stevie Ray Vaughan posters.
[600A North Lamar, WaterlooRecords.com]
AQUARIUS RECORDS SAN FRANCISCO
Best Place to Bankrupt Yourself on Limited-Edition Psychedelic Black Metal Imports
This San Francisco institution specializes in extreme and esoteric recordings—they’ve sold hundreds of copies of a 4-disc set on which wobbly shortwave-radio voices read lists of numbers. The store’s biweekly email blast features lengthy reviews of their latest Latvian black-metal CD-Rs and doom-improv LP reissues.
[1055 Valencia St., AquariusRecords.org]
CAT HEAD DELTA BLUES & FOLK ART CLARKSDALE, MISS.
Best Way To Support The Delta Economy
An essential stop on any Mississippi-blues pilgrimage, Cat Head is one of the most vibrant spots in the decaying Delta, a rustic-chic shrine to handmade art and hardscrabble music. It’s probably the only store on this list to sell face jugs along with Fat Possum vinyl.
[252 Delta Ave., Cathead.biz]
DUSTY GROOVE AMERICA CHICAGO
Best Place To Buy Funk Records No One’s Ever Heard Of
The web store rocks, but nothing beats browsing at this cozy, impeccably curated soul/funk/jazz emporium. The place is especially great for rarities and compilations, which turn at frightening speed from obscurities to must-haves. Close your eyes and grab a stack—every record in your hand will be a keeper.
[1120 N. Ashland Ave., DustyGroove.com]
ERNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP NASHVILLE
Best Opportunity To Purchase Travis Tritt Albums Without Irony or Shame
“So,” you think to yourself when visiting Nashville, “I should probably buy some country music while I’m in town. But where?” Then you see it, amidst the bright, boozy lights of downtown Nashvegas—a 61-year-old shop that’ll send you home with a stash of musical souvenirs, along with some new cowboy boots and a Jack Daniel’s hangover.
[417 Broadway, ETRecordShop.com]
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I can't believe you don't have the oldest Record Store in the United States on the list. George's Song Shop in Johnstown, PA. 5 floors of vinyl. If you collect 45 rpm records you have got to see this place!
http://www.georgessongshop.com/
Don't forget Atomic Records or Bulls Eye Records in Milwaukee. Both do an outstanding job of getting the music to the people in a plethora of forms.
It's a shame that you missed a true classic of the heartland, St. Louis' Vintage Vinyl. After buying my first two albums ever (Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits and Black Sabbath's Paranoid) from a local drug store chain, this was the place that taught me that music wasn't just another commodity product to be sold next to the shampoo and Cheetos. I've always suspected that the fine folks who founded Missouri had someplace like Vintage Vinyl in mind when they coined the phrase "Show-Me State".
How about Bop Street Records in Seattle? Over 1 million pieces of vinyl. The walls are covered with autographs of musicians who come by tasty treats.
Why isn't Princeton Record Exchange on this list? GQ even named it as one of their top 20 record stores. Here's the article: http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_8277
It's one of the largest independently owned used record shops in the country. Come on, Paste.
Right on target with Ear X-Tacy in Louisville. Excellent selection, in-store events and a staff so knowledgeable I dare you to stump them!
Best record store ever!!!
Don't forget Antone's In Austin, TX with an Unbelievable Blues Section and the occasional in-store Live music. The Vinal Edge (Spelling intentional) in Houston, TX. The store is in a strip center in suburban Houston, but don't let this fool you. You will find everything from the Latest Vampire Weekend record to the most obscure Herbie Hancock Jazz LP. PACKED TO THE WALLS WITH VINYL!
No Vintage Vinyl, no peace.
Of course, there's also Cactus Music in Houston. Not only do they have an excellent selection of music, but they typically have several live bands play during the week, with beer provided by a local brewery.
When my wife and I first discovered this place, we were floored. We didn't believe such places still existed.
B-Side Records, Madison, WI, must be on the list somewhere. Evidence?: They have all my money!
Also Down Home Records, El Cerrito, CA, one of the grand-daddies of record stores.
both Shake It Records and Everybody's Records in Cincinnati should be added to this list. They are both top notch!
Hello, what about Sweat Records in Miami?
Tiny but awesome!
http://www.sweatrecords.com
Check out Vertigo Records in Grand Rapids. The selection is fantastic and you can always come across some great finds in their used LP and CD sections. Best record store in town, by far.
http://www.vertigomusiconline.com/
In San Francisco/Berkeley/Bay Area you can choose from two Amoeba's and several Rasputin's. Plus there's also Streetlight Records in S.F., San Jose and Santa Cruz.
It's interesting how you'll find different stuff at different locations. (No Stereolab at one store, lots at another.)
Also, a lot more sq. footage is being dedicated to vinyl in all of the stores I've visited. Both new and used.
I meant http://www.sweatrecordsmiami.com
I grew up in Portland, ME. I know it's not a big city, but Bull Moose Music, there (and in a few other locations now), is still leagues above so many other record stores I've visited. Newbury Comics moved in when I was a teenager, but it always seemed to be a slightly-less-gothy Hot Topic that, I guess, also sold records. I live in Boston now, and the original one doesn't seem much better, honestly.
I would also nominate Bull Moose to the list because despite the whole "there's a Portland in Maine, too?" thing, some pretty good bands have played shows in the store, and Regina Spektor has a live album recorded in one of them.
Vintage Vinyl is definitely in the rankings. Amoeba is hands down the winner. I'd campaign for Homer's Records in Omaha (I'm old enough to remember when it was also a head shop back in the early 70s). it's been on the margins of the Omaha music scene's recent blossoming...
You guys forgot possibly the best record store on the east coast - Princeton Record Exchange. The foot traffic there on weekends beats most of these stores business on Record Store Day.
I'd also like to put in a good word for Jazz Record Mart in Chicago. I know Paste doesn't cover jazz but for god's sake, that place is an institution.
Josh! I was just going to post about Vertigo in Grand Rapids. Let me just second what was posted about that store. The guy that runs it has an uncanny way of remembering every person that walks into his store as well as a mental catalogue of most of his extensive inventory, rarely looking anything up when I ask him. He just seems to know where it is and if they have it... which they usually do. :)
Aw Paste you missed by bestest record store in the world that I really enjoy so I infer that it is one of the best in the country! JK, you gave Memphis one, so I am placated. Take that, whiners.
uhhhhhhhhh you forgot PRINCETON RECORD EXCHANGE (NJ) , RED ONION RECORDS AND BOOKS (DC), and CROOKED BEAT RECORDS (DC)
When you're in RI it's In Your Ear Records in Warren, the East Bay side of the state.
what are some of yr big record score memories?
http://bit.ly/dDnU0k
Village Music, Mill Valley
RIP
Do I have to write Wuxtry Records in Athens GA? Isn't this an obvious
TWIST & SHOUT RECORDS - Denver CO
Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, how can you not include this one?
Who in the HELL wrote this article ? It is VERY obvious and completely transparent that the folks who conspired to enlighten us are very young in age and are more than a tad naive, and ignorant of a REALLY great RECORD shop. Completely omitting ..these 3 HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT shops, Three shops that are so cool they happen to be frozen in time....
1) WAX Tracks Records in Denver . The Coolest record shop west of the Mississippi River. It would take 6 weeks to attemp to look at every LP in this INCREDIBLE store..
2)Bleeker Bob's Records GV NYC. This is the ONLY record shop in the USA where you can walk in and buy a original 45 of "The WHO" doing their version of the BATMAN TV shows opening song. Which by my estimations makes them the absolute coolest record shop in the country.
3)ANTONES Records Shop Austin TeXas.. I knew this artical was suspect when they mentioned Waterlou Records, which is cool, and completely left this shop off the list. Hell, WaterLou is not even the coolest shop in Austin.. and I love Water Lou.. However Antones is the BOSS when it comes to records... So get hip quick .. and get on down to ANTONES..
I've got to disagree about Wuxtry. At least when I was in Athens ten years ago I didn't think it was special. Low Yo Yo Stuff down the road was AMAZING, though - best record shop I'd ever seen (though the size of your bathroom) and I was sad to hear they closed. Anyone been to the new Low Yo Yo in Atlanta?
I don't know about any of these fine shops, but my personal vote goes to Permanent Records in Chicago. Can't be beat on selection, price, and live shows. God Bless the record store owners hearts.
Record stores are indeed a source of great music, especially for those musicians are undiscovered. Or so they use to be, as such stores are an extinct species now, which is a sad note. Check out this article on the future of independent record stores and see what you make of it. If you agree - http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/05/exile-from-mainstreet-the-future-of-the-local-record-shop/