Most Impressive Record Store?

I was too young to really be able to judge it as a store but considering how once something gets on MV it's hard to escape I can only imagine the albums that were never bought by collectors.

It's funny, as a kid a store like that seemed really "rinky dink" and 1/10 as cool as a chain store but nowadays I'd love to go in it.

The local scene there is interesting but kind of dull from what I remembered. The 70's singer-songwriter era never ended.

In that order and really no other stores comes close, and I have traveled quite a bit.

http://www.amoebamusic.com

Is Amoeba ever going to open a store in NYC? I know rent is expensive, but hell, put it in Jersey City or one of the outer boroughs. Dammit, this has to happen soon or I'm moving to CA.

I've still never been to a single great record store in new york city, though there's some basement supposedly full of $1 records in greenpoint I've heard of that I really need to check out someday. The stores on St Marks Place are all pretty mediocre, at least as far as used stuff goes. And in general, all the used stores I've been to here are completely overpriced (and pretend that totally dime a dozen stuff, available from a couple bucks in most other cities, is "rare"), yet they give no money at all when you try to sell stuff. These stores are totally for suckers, total rip-off palaces --Anybody who's spent any time anywhere else in the country should know what I'm talking about. But again, I'm sure there are some I've never been to -- one of these days, I also need to check out the thrift stores in Staten Island, obviously.

Chuck, I agree: NYC record stores in general are overrated, overpriced and understocked. Even compared to NJ (where I grew up) there are more than few stores (Princeton, Vintage Vinyl in Edison) that are way better than any store in Manhattan.

If we are a world-class city we need a world class store. Amoeba, go get a late pass.

david allen coe *i've got something to say* (columbia, 1980)
imagination "just an illusion" 12-inch (mca, 1981)
rev. jesse jackson the country preacher - *i am somebody* (respect, 1969)
chas jankel *questionairre* (a&m 1981)
meade lux lewis *barrel house piano* (everest records archive of folk and jazz music)
loretta lynn - *when the tingle becomes a chill* (mca, 1976)
the lemon pipers/1910 fruitgum company *checkmate* split album (buddah)
carl orff *catulli carmina* arlen auger/wiestaw ochman (deutsche grammophon)
dmitri schostakovich *sinfonie nr. 4 c-moll op.43/sinfonie nr. 9 es-dur op. 70* moskauer philharmonie//kyrill kondraschin (veb deutsche schallplaten berline double album)
the whispers *imagination* (solar, 1980)

This is exactly my experience shopping for records in New York. Stuff easily available everywhere else for a dollar or two is like seven bucks.

I was at Amoeba SF on the day it opened and every trip since has been a source of joy. Someone mentioned Muslimgauze, I remember seeing 20+ different used records at Amoeba, tons of used Boredoms for $6, it was crazy.

"gelbe musik" in berlin (for the high probability of running into akio suzuki then having him sigh his books/records for you while describing in detail some sort of flute he made from a rock he found on the beach)

"a-musik" in köln (for the high probability of meeting members of mouse on mars and getting drunk with them)

"twisted village" in cambridge, ma (for the high probability of finding gold, every time, plus listening to wayne tell stories about things that members of "BAND X" did while drunk after a show is certainly better than seeing them in person)

"ecstatic yod" in florence, ma (for the high probability of finding original silence-label lps for over $100)

"aquarius" in san francsico (for the high probability of finding something you never new existed, or something that has fallen through the cracks right away, without having to overcome certain agoraphobic tendencies brought on by cavernous ex-bowling alleys)

"wah wah" in barcelona (for the high probability of finding that lasry-baschet record that's not even in their discog plus maybe some new tone cds)

the nyc shops are good but... yeah, as said better above... why shop for collectable items in the places the most people will think to look for them, thus the high probability of their prices being inflated far beyond what any fan-of-music-at-large would ever begin to think of paying for them? they're akin to museums for chrissakes...

also... aboveground records... it's good? i'm purportedly playing there in a few weeks and, despite living in the boston area for over 10 years now, have never been to martha's vineyard... i'm looking forward to it.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour/graphics/sfmassive.jpg

It’s all about selection, selection, selection and than price. I’m into Indie Rock and buy new releases when they hit the streets. Whomever they hired for the San Francisco store, they really know their stuff. A funny thing started happening, you would find the real rare new stuff at the SF store but not in Berkeley. Another example of why SF is king: I always wanted to buy the Electric Soft Parade’s debut but was never a pressing issue. SF has it new for cheap at $9.98 while Berkeley didn’t carry it. Never did get around to buying it and relocated back to the Los Angeles area. Found it used in Hollywood for $14.95 with no copy of it new. Most UK imports new usually run at $19.95 or higher, so either way it was a deal in my mind. There was no way I was going to pay $5 more and would rather do without. Finally made my way back to SF, as I still have my apartment there, and got the album new for $9.98. San Francisco is king because of its unparallel selection. Berkeley has the best prices but evens LA selection is far superior.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour_openhollywood/graphics/amoeba_35.jpg

The best thing about Amoeba (correct spelling) is their used section. I have spent thousands of dollars at these stores and believe that they have a connection somewhere. There is no other explanation for their fresh inventory week after week. I had a three-week schedule and could never get over that fact of how fresh the inventory was.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour_openhollywood/graphics/amoeba_36.jpg

Don’t hold your breath for an Amoeba coming to a place close to you. I read an interview with an owner and he said they would never open a location outside of California. Doubt that they would of ever thought of opening a location outside the Bay Area as well. By spending too much time inside each store, I can tell you that the Los Angeles store makes the most money and is really the crown jewel of the three. So maybe there is hope because of the success of San Francisco.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour/graphics/sfmassive.jpg

It’s all about selection, selection, selection and than price. I’m into Indie Rock and buy new releases when they hit the streets. Whomever they hired for the San Francisco store, they really know their stuff. A funny thing started happening, you would find the real rare new stuff at the SF store but not in Berkeley. Another example of why SF is king: I always wanted to buy the Electric Soft Parade’s debut but was never a pressing issue. SF has it new for cheap at $9.98 while Berkeley didn’t carry it. Never did get around to buying it and relocated back to the Los Angeles area. Found it used in Hollywood for $14.95 with no copy of it new. Most UK imports new usually run at $19.95 or higher, so either way it was a deal in my mind. There was no way I was going to pay $5 more and would rather do without. Finally made my way back to SF, as I still have my apartment there, and got the album new for $9.98. San Francisco is king because of its unparallel selection. Berkeley has the best prices but evens LA selection is far superior.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour_openhollywood/graphics/amoeba_35.jpg

The best thing about Amoeba (correct spelling) is their used section. I have spent thousands of dollars at these stores and believe that they have a connection somewhere. There is no other explanation for their fresh inventory week after week. I had a three-week schedule and could never get over that fact of how fresh the inventory was.

http://amoebamusic.com/tour_openhollywood/graphics/amoeba_36.jpg

Don’t hold your breath for an Amoeba coming to a place close to you. I read an interview with an owner and he said they would never open a location outside of California. Doubt that they would of ever thought of opening a location outside the Bay Area as well. By spending too much time inside each store, I can tell you that the Los Angeles store makes the most money and is really the crown jewel of the three. So maybe there is hope because of the success of San Francisco.

Still learning and hope this works...

i moved to NYC from the boston/cambridge area 3 years ago and i've never been able to find record stores here that match my faves in boston....i'm still totally rudderless here. i mean, i go to other music, kim's, etc but they're all so pricey...and then i go back to massachusetts and find great new techno albums and old 2step comps for five bucks or less. my old fave is still the record store i grew up with in jersey -- the princeton record exchange. best stores for techno i've seen in the world (caveat: i've never been to detroit): hard wax (berlin), kompakt store (cologne) and von's (west lafayette, indiana). i think you can apply what chuck was saying about NYC record stores to thrift stores here, too--i still go back to massachusetts when i want to find cool 'n cheap clothes, because everything i see here is more expensive and more picked over.

Well, apart from buying a mammoth amount of stuff on site, the store also does off-site buys, including buying the inventories of stores that go out of business. I was working on the Berkeley staff when the LA store first opened, and I remember that they were really psyched about some amazing collections that they acquired; one in particular was an incredible collection of Criterion Laserdiscs, for example.

Doubt that they would of ever thought of opening a location outside the Bay Area as well.

Especially since all three of the owners are pretty hands-on, and they're just not the type of guys who I could see flying around the US all the time, and not the kind of guys to defer control to a fourth party, or to move, etc. I doubt they'd split apart either because they work so much in tandem with each other. It's not the kind of operation that I can imagine them franchising. The stores are still very much a mom n' pop thing, just on a very large scale.

I had a three-week schedule and could never get over that fact of how fresh the inventory was.

It helps when you have a staff of over a hundred people... how many used record stores do you know of that have that?

I’m into Indie Rock and buy new releases when they hit the streets. Whomever they hired for the San Francisco store, they really know their stuff. A funny thing started happening, you would find the real rare new stuff at the SF store but not in Berkeley.

Yeah, Berkeley's surprisingly bad about new indie, especially imports. I used to go up to Mod Lang for tips and try to come back to buy it at Amoeba and Amoeba would often not even have it in the computer yet. But I don't really think the point of Amoeba is the newer stuff. The Berkeley store isn't quite as picked through, and so even though it's smaller, I find a lot more stuff there that *I* look for.

The used jazz is kind of poor at all the Amoeba's, in my opinion. The pieces are in poor condition, heavily picked through, overpriced, dirty, etc. unless you're looking at the wall pieces, whereas you can go to any number of smaller shops and find great 10$/less records that you would NEVER see at any of the Amoebas for under 10 because (a) they'd be overpriced or (b) they'd be taken already — probably by the staff!

The Bay Area might just have the best music stores in the world.

I have paid Mod Lang’s rent as well and loved talking to their staff best, over any other ones. I agree that is was 1998 or 1999 that seem to affect this store. It was not the store fault but moreso the quality of British music.

I bet I know who you are polyphonic it I could only see a picture…

it is a very good store....nicely laid out, great selection....but, seeing those pictures of Amoeba -- wow, don't expect anything like that....i've never seen a record store like that in my life...that looks like a Sam's Club.

have fun on MV. it's a great place. you say you're playing there?

-- Alex in SF (clobberthesauru...), February 28th, 2005 2:15 PM. (Alex in SF)

take a looky yourself

http://www.towerrecords.co.jp/images/layout/grammy_banner.gif
http://www.towerrecords.co.jp/images/layout/post_134.gif

PDQ Records, Tucson AZ
http://www.pdqrecords.awebaddress.com/

Princeton Record Exchange, Princeton NJ
http://www.prex.com/

The next two dont really count but when I was a child, they blew my mind:

Vintage Vinyl, Fords NJ
http://www.vvinyl.com/

Tower Records, 4th & Broadway

Washington, DC, officially has the LEAST impressive record stores of any major city i've been to.

Also, Berwick Street in London generally... lots of good used shops along that stretch including Reckless. I also find a lot of good stuff at the Music Video Exchange in Notting Hill.

I was similarly disappointed by the LA Amoeba when I visited it last year. I had very fond memories of the Berkeley Amoeba from when I used to live in the Bay Area, and it seemed the LA store didn't quite live up to them. Considering how huge the place is, I wasn't that bowled over by their selection - and there were voluminous amounts of extremely useless, bottom-of-the-barrel-type used records and CDs.

I usually find that by knowing which store to go to for certain things I can make do pretty well with the NYC stores: Tower and Virgin for major label stuff; Other Music, Kims, or Etherea for indie label and electronica; Downtown Music Gallery for avant-jazz, classical and experimental stuff. Actually the best dollar CD bin that I've come across in the area is right by where I live in Hoboken - it tends to be a lot less picked over than the St. Marks places.

they sell vinyl only (well, a few cd's too), and have a good stock of unusual non-western, experimental, classical and outsider music, and they sell art books and do exhibitions too...

and i like Downtown Music Gallery!

I blew over $600 in a weekend most at Disk Union alone and still had to be picky. And I still got sweet deals on most of this stuff too!

-- The best is in Krakow, Poland. Didn't have a name. A little cavern off of an apartment courtyard with vinyl in shelves and boxes everywhere and no room to move. A good deal of clean, good Soviet bloc stuff, as well as shitloads of amazing Cental European and German jazz. I spent the equivalent of 20 dollars and got...18 records? And a few of them are among my prized posessions.

-- EAT (because the African and Indian sections never let me down) (and also the vibe is good)

-- Corrupted Image Records (Uh, an old punk/hardcore record store that had two 'branches,' which had everything one could have possibly wanted in the genres and sub-branches. When I was 12, I used to drool over the rare 7"s. Jesus.)

Everyday in Portland, especially the one on Burnside in downtown, comes close though.

For club music, Beat Street in Vancouver.

Plan Nine in Richmond, VA for the east coast.

CD Alley in Chapel Hill, NC for the holy-shit-how-do-they-fit-all-this-great-shit-IN-here factor.

Also that one big vinyl place in Nanaimo BC, which is definitely the highest rarity-for-dollars capita I've encountered in a record store ever.

there are a couple of quite nice record stores in kansas, that are well-stocked and regularly produce some amazing finds for reasonable prices, but i'm not sure i'd use the word "impressive" to describe them. they're quite comfortable places.

didnt know the name of it but had heard rumors and successfully found that new place on Grand. spent several hours digging around and came away with very little. but as you mention, the avant-garde and experimental/ethno stock is excellent.

i'm pretty sure ILX (NB?) turned me on to this place: http://hospitalproductions.com/, which i finally checked out recently.
great little metal/noise shop in the basement of ANOTHER record shop (Jammyland, good reggae spot).

Also, if I have a chance to go to the Everyday on Burnside in Portland, should I take it? (The one on Sandy was alright, at least when it came to what I happened to be looking for yesterday.)

I just moved to Portland. This place has quite a few good record stores. The already-mentioned Everyday Muisc is great, and Jackpot Records, which is only about three or four blocks from EM is stocked with somewhat-rare vinyl.

And where I moved from, Tampa, had a great record store called Vinyl Fever. Vinyl Fever is better than any record store I've been to in Portland. Portland has a much better live music scene, though.

gotta shout out my favourite record shop here in Vienna.

Moses Records celebrated its fifth birthday this week by giving away 30 free records to every customer! .. (of your choice, from the bargain bin room at the back).

The missus and I left with 60 slabs o'vinyl - too many to list, but managed to find some quite good stuff..

The regular vinyl is pretty reasonably priced too.

I haven't seen anyone mention my favorite, but it recently caused LTJ Bukem to add another day in the burgh on to the end of his tour just for the one shop.

Amoeba on Haight is pretty great too, I must say. That's probably the best spot I've seen for new records.

Oh well it won't be a secret now that LTJ Bukem went there so you might as well spill. . .

i also love Everyday Music but Jackpot is horrible. I hate how they display the cds, no listening station for vinyl and everything is overpriced. OH! tiny selection too.

Perhaps it is not on par with the Amoebas of the world, but I've gotta rep for Encore Records in Ann Arbor, as it will always be closest to my heart. An afternoon spent digging there will surely yield at least a handful of treasures.

Many popular hiphop producers and just about every out of town hiphop or dance deejay who comes through make stops (with deejay sometimes spending all their gig $$$ there!) while it still remains pretty unknown. if you come to pgh it's not hard to find! People worldwide ask me about it when I buy/sell records on the web. That French cat who runs Boogie Times goes there once a year to stock up on shit. Almost all LPs and 12"s are $3-5, 45s are $2. I can't even imagine what % of my collection is from there but it is pretty high.

Whenever I think of Pittsburgh I think of this:
http://cdn.filmdrunk.uproxx.com-s1.simplecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/googlestreet-crop.jpg

l-r; pipecock, kent tekulve

Lololololololol

Note to PDX: Your record stores kinda suck.

Kent Tekulve is the shit but I'm more of a Dock Ellis fan. That pic was part of some artist's idea to stage things for the Google cameras when they did pgh, shit is pretty hilarious.

i used to imitate Kent Tekulve when i played wiffle ball. it's good to throw in some variation in delivery styles.

I just moved to Portland. This place has quite a few good record stores. The already-mentioned Everyday Muisc is great, and Jackpot Records, which is only about three or four blocks from EM is stocked with somewhat-rare vinyl.

The best record store in Portland by a pretty wide margin is Exiled out at around SE 46th & Hawthorne. One of those for-true-geeks-only, curated, not-even-catering-to-Pitchfork-kids kind of shops one only finds in strip malls or basements--even has faux-wood paneled walls. Online version is also great, but isn't selling the in-store stock, so you need to get over there. Great experimental section, Psych/proto-punk/Krautrock/etc. sections, especially.

Anthem Records is also pretty nice, at SE 34th & Belmont, if you're looking for underground contemporary stuff, limited CD-Rs, etc.

You can find decent stuff at Everyday Music, especially in the Jazz/Classical room; but the main room is remarkably unimpressive for being so huge. Exiled is probably literally 1/30th the size and has more good stuff. Jackpot is ok, pretty standard.

Used to have a lot more good stores, too. Ozone was better than Everyday or Jackpot by a wide margin, and Django's had great used stuff.

I don't know if 3rd Ave in PDX still exists but damn between that and the Ooze in the 80s Portland was secret record store heaven

I wonder if 3rd Ave became 2nd Ave? Except that place sucks--overpriced tattered vinyl copies of "rock classics" you wouldn't buy for $4 from the used bin of a suburban CD shop.

Another vote for the greatness of Exiled here.

2nd Ave is right! it was a long time ago so I had forgot the name

It kinda kicked ass in a loose post-seventies Oregon kinda way when I lived there. there were some really smart young enthusiastic employees who really like to talk music. however they were also very open-minded which was a great crime to my goth mind. the ooze was massively elite - still friendly, but in a tiny little shopfront out toward NW a little IIRC - super-exclusive, like only records that were limited and weird and unheard-of - psychic tv, whitehouse, zos kia, early 4ad, that kinda stuff. and select new Factory stuff as it came in, though 2nd Ave had a dude who got every Factory record. sue me, I am reminiscing about cool ass record stores of my misguided youth

The best record store in Portland by a pretty wide margin is Exiled out at around SE 46th & Hawthorne.

Yeah, I ended up out there one of the last times I was in Portland, really liked it.

does cheapo in cambridge, MA still exist?

There's this kickass place in Brussels someone took me once that had a Fonal section, loads of Tod Dockstader and basically a lot of equally kickass stuff. I bought some shitty CD there that I only listened to a couple of times.