In honor of tomorrow’s National Record Store Day (which really total bullshit in the sense that music fans should celebrate the existence of “indie” or mom-and-pop record stores every day), I’m going to geek out and blog about music nerd stuff today. We’re having a big sale at the store tomorrow, so I’ll be surrounded by collectors and hobbyists all day. To say that it’s on my mind would be a huge understatement. I’ve spent much of this week trying to figure out how to increase our social networking presence in anticipation of this event of ours. Oh well. Enough about me. For once. Let’s talk about records and record stores.
I’ve traveled all over this fair country buying music. From Ernie November in Billings, Montana to giant chain stores (now closed, ha!) in New York and Los Angeles, I’ve visited an endless numbers of music retailers to satiate my disgusting appetite. Here’s a brief list of what I believe are the best stores in the country. Unranked. For the sake of being unbiased, I’m leaving my current employers off this list, even though I am convinced I work at the single best record store in the country. If you want to know why shoot me an e-mail and I’d be more than happy to answer.
– Princeton Record Exchange (Princeton, NJ) – This is a bit of a sentimental pick, because I owe most of my record collection to the store. The only problem with my having purchased hundreds upon hundreds of albums at PREX is that now that I am older and care more about the condition of a record, I am having to re-buy many titles because the ones I got in Princeton are completely wrecked. Why did I pay $11.99 for that copy of Live Kink wit the cover that was split on three sides? Oh well.
– Armageddon Shop (Providence, RI) – Whenever I visited Ian when he was in law school we’d hit up this store and drop a lot of money. The used vinyl selection was generally well-kept, with some nuggets available on the cheap. Ian found much more of those “steals” than I did. Always a great place to find Load Records stuff as well as other punk and experimental titles.
– Reckless Records (Chicago, IL) – I’ve been to both locations many, many times and have found some really good deals at both. On one trip five or six years ago I found a bunch of Yo La Tengo and Stereolab records (which were out of print at the time) in their $1.99 used section. I don’t know why there were there either.
– Double Decker (Allentown, PA) – This store nearly bankrupt me in college, and I make sure I take a day trip down to the ol’ stomping ground whenever I fly home for the WFMU fair. The one guy who is always running the store and the table at WFMU is super-knowledgeable and nice, too. It’s a fine store that manages to stock some great titles considering it’s Allentown.
– Drastic Plastic (Omaha, NE) – This pick is equally about the store and its location. I had a lot of fun when I was last in Omaha, and waking up and wandering around Old Market on a Sunday morning before hitting up the store was so relaxing. I bought a couple records, I don’t remember how their used section was, but it had a nice vibe and the employees were nice. I don’t feel at all awkward wearing my Drastic Plastic t-shirt to work.
– Waterloo Records (Austin, TX) – I wasn’t impressed with their used section last time I visited, but I dropped a pretty penny there on new CDs. I believe they sell on eBay too. I won a sealed copy of the Gary Higgins album from them, so I guess that’s worth some bonus consideration.
– Aquarius Records (San Francisco, CA) – People from all over the world revere this store for its ability to uncover and expose some brilliant music that would otherwise be left in the margins. I visit every time I’m in SF, and am a frequent mail order client. I’d say at least 25% of the music I’ve shared through this blog was learned about directly from Aquarius, and their reviews are often cited when I post “treasures from the collector’s slum” entries.
And, because this is about the music, here’s a list of the ten best records of purchased since last year’s Record Store Day:
10. Klaus Schulze – Cyborg – An original pressing on the Kosmiche Kuriere label in VG++ condition. This is like the holy grail of ambient electronic music as far as I’m concerned, and what artists like Emeralds are doing now, Schulze was doing almost 40 years ago. That’s ridiculous. I think I dropped $50 on this record, but it was totally worth it for.
08. Ride – Nowhere (White Label Promo) – It doesn’t have all the original artwork, but it’s definitely cool to own a promo of this album with the custom Creation Records sleeve. Considering how common stock copies are (and they still fetch money if they’re in good condition), the scarcity of a promotional copy makes this a fun addition to my collection. I nabbed it for twenty bucks, and I think someday it’ll be worth multiple-times that amount.
07. Alec Seward – Creepin’ Blues – An original Prestige/Bluesville pressing in VG condition. It’s a vintage blues record so I don’t mind the surface noise. I got it for pennies, and fell in love with it instantly. It’s no Robert Curtis Smith (Clarksdale Blues) but it’s a fantastic example of top Piedmont blues.
06. Dock Boggs – Legendary Singer & Banjo Player – Not even on the Folkways label, this is on the Disc label (DI-111, 1964). I got this for five dollars. It was my introduction to Boggs, and I was immediately taken by his banjo and croon. I found a copy of the awesome Country Blues double-LP set at the last WFMU record fair. It was un-played, still in the shrink, and definitely underpriced. [Dock Boggs – Danville Girl]
05. Nurse With Wound – The Sylvie And Babs Hi-Fi Companion – I don’t know why this was $2.99 at Amoeba, but it was. That store is pretty underwhelming, but I’ve found some embarrassingly mis-priced records there throughout my time in LA. The proof is in my PayPal account.
04. Evergreen – Evergreen – I won this for $0.99 on eBay. I consider it to be one of my best auction wins ever, probably more exciting than the time I won a mint copy of James Chance & The Contortions Buy for $1.04. I try not to spend so much money on eBay anymore because I’ve had some bad luck with ending up with wrecked records, but every once in a while I’ll steal something for well less than its worth.
03. This Heat – Deceit – Embarrassingly mis-priced at $4.99 at a store here in LA, this is one the best deals I found on a rare record all year. The top edge of the cover was creased but the record was clearly never played. Actually, come to think of it, I think finding Houdini (Melvins) and scoring it for mere pennies was equally cool. [This Heat – Paper Hats]
02. (tie) Jorge Ben – Forca Bruta / Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso – Both mono first presses from Brazil, snared at the WFMU record fair in October. I paid full value for these, so there wasn’t anything special about the purchase, but it’s nice to know that I own originals of both these amazing records. I don’t even care that the manufacturing work is less than optimal, or that there’s a bit of crackle during quieter parts. I love these albums too much to notice. [Caetano Veloso – Tropicalia]
01. Entheogens – The Gnostic Mass – For $15 I got a record that no matter how hard I search I will probably never see again. Limited to 500 copies on an obscure Swedish label. It’s more about the story than the music, but it’s such a cool item to have or to bring along to a record listening party. Three long tracks, one valiant effort to replicate the feelings of an acid trip. I remember seeing the cover as I searched through a crate of records at the WFMU fair and pass it by, only to re-find it later and recognize what it was. Pure record collector nerd bliss.
